Ferrari's Massa insists: I won't dwell on my Silverstone nightmare

13 April 2012

Felipe Massa insists he will not dwell on a nightmare British Grand Prix weekend that saw the Ferrari driver trail home dead last in the race and lose the outright lead of the world championship.

The Brazilian led the drivers' standings by two points after his third win of
the season in France just over two weeks ago, but struggled at Silverstone
despite setting the fastest overall time in Friday's practice sessions.

A heavy crash in the first of those practice sessions restricted his set-up
time in the car, while a delay in the pits during third qualifying on Saturday
meant Massa lined up ninth on the starting grid, from where things just got
worse.

Skid row: Massa hits problems at Silverstone

Skid row: Massa hits problems at Silverstone

The 27-year-old was unable to cope in the difficult wet conditions at Silverstone, the driver himself admitting to committing 'many mistakes'.

By the end of the 60-lap race, Massa had spun the Ferrari five times and was
running 13th and last, two laps down on race winner Lewis Hamilton.

'It was a very tough race, very difficult to keep the car on the track,' said Massa.

'It was definitely a race to forget. It was not just a bad race but a bad weekend.

'For sure I was in trouble to drive the car in the wet, and I made so many mistakes.

'Many of them were just because of the aqua-planing. I couldn't hold the car, even on the straight. The conditions were very difficult and sometimes these things can happen.

'This Silverstone weekend is one to be wiped out. On Friday I had an accident,
Saturday there was the problem in qualifying and yesterday a series of mistakes
at all levels.'

Massa's failure to score allowed McLaren driver Hamilton to pull level at the top of the standings, while Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen completes the trio of leaders on 48 points after coming home in fourth place.

Time to reflect: Massa

Time to reflect: Massa

The Brazilian is adamant there is nothing to be learned from his elementary
mistakes at Silverstone, and has already turned his attentions to the next race
at Hockenheim on July 20.

'We need to think about the next one and not go back and start to see what's
happened today,' he continued.

'We need to think about the next race. We need to concentrate. We know that we
are competitive.

'We have to look ahead, because there is still a very long way to go in the
championship and once again, we've seen that it only takes one result to turn
the situation around.

'After nine races I am in the lead in the classification and I have every chance to fight for the title all the way to the end.'



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