Breaking news
Formula E Diriyah E-prix II
Massa has no explanation for starting grid error
Felipe Massa has “no idea” why he started in the wrong grid position for the second Formula E race in Diriyah, for which he received a drive-through penalty.
Jake Boxall-Legge
Edited: Nov 26, 2019, 10:14 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Massa, who had qualified 16th for race two, was elevated a position after reigning champion Jean-Eric Vergne was shuffled to the back of the grid.
However, the Brazilian driver assumed the 16th berth on the grid regardless, having “always in my mind that I should start on the right.”
Massa enjoyed an “amazing” first part of the race, and made his way up to seventh position with a swashbuckling drive in the early stages before being hit with a penalty for lining up in the wrong place.
His misfortune multiplied after he exceeded the pitlane speed limit while taking his penalty, and had 24 seconds added to his race time to stymie any chances of collecting any points.
“The race was going amazing,” Massa told Motorsport.com. I managed to overtake many cars - I started 15th, [then] I was seventh with a good pace and managed to overtake the guys at the right time.
“Everything was going in a good line for me, then I had the message that I had the drive through for the start.
“I totally understand; I started on the right and I'm supposed to start on the left. I have no idea why I did that.
“To be honest, because I was supposed to be 16th and then they gave again a position and I went to 15th, I had always in my mind that I should start on the right.
“I stopped on my row, nobody was there!”
Read Also:
Massa accepted full responsibility for the penalties, and was frustrated by his inability to make the most of his Venturi-Mercedes package.
He was the only Mercedes-powered driver not to score points in Saudi Arabia, as teammate Edoardo Mortara made it to the points in both races.
Mercedes' Stoffel Vandoorne and Nyck de Vries also finished inside the points, and Vandoorne left the weekend with a brace of third places.
“I’m so sorry for what's happened,” Massa continued.
“I mean for sure my fault - it’s positive how the race was going, but very frustrating for this and for the amount of points that we lost for the race today.
“The pace is there; we managed to be competitive and unfortunately we didn't get what we were supposed to get."
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article “Flipped” car set-up led to di Grassi podium
Next article Wolff: Formula E is "Super Mario Kart with real drivers"
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Jake Boxall-Legge
More from
Felipe Massa
On this day: Michael Schumacher wins… and stuns tifosi with F1 retirement
Formula 1
Formula 1
Italian GP
On this day: Michael Schumacher wins… and stuns tifosi with F1 retirement
Defendant ordered to pay £250,000 legal fees in Felipe Massa F1 title case
Formula 1
Formula 1
Defendant ordered to pay £250,000 legal fees in Felipe Massa F1 title case
Felipe Massa’s F1 2008 lawsuit will proceed to trial
Formula 1
Formula 1
Las Vegas GP
Felipe Massa’s F1 2008 lawsuit will proceed to trial
More from
Venturi
Venturi boss d'Ambrosio leaves rebranded Maserati Formula E team
Formula E
Formula E
Venturi boss d'Ambrosio leaves rebranded Maserati Formula E team
Di Grassi's 1000th Formula E point an "emotional" landmark
Formula E
Formula E
Seoul ePrix I
Di Grassi's 1000th Formula E point an "emotional" landmark
Di Grassi explains London Formula E race-winning tactics
Formula E
Formula E
London ePrix II
Di Grassi explains London Formula E race-winning tactics
Latest news
Five key takeaways from F1's big African Grand Prix reveal in Rwanda
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1 32 min
Five key takeaways from F1's big African Grand Prix reveal in Rwanda
Niels Koolen makes switch to Abel Motorsports ahead of 2027 Indy NXT campaign
Indy NXT
IndL Indy NXT 1 h
Niels Koolen makes switch to Abel Motorsports ahead of 2027 Indy NXT campaign
GT World Challenge Portimao: All you need to know about season finale featuring Max Verstappen
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance
WCEE GT World Challenge Europe Endurance 2 h
GT World Challenge Portimao: All you need to know about season finale featuring Max Verstappen
13 Autosport retains unchanged lineup for 2027 IMSA campaign, eyes global expansion
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 2 h
13 Autosport retains unchanged lineup for 2027 IMSA campaign, eyes global expansion
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe