Felipe Massa was left to reflect on the occasional cruelty of motor-racing after being robbed of victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Following a superb start when the Brazilian left the all-McLaren front row of Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen trailing, Massa then cruised around the Hungaroring for 67 laps.
The Brazilian's pace was surprising given Ferrari's poor performance in Germany a fortnight ago and Hamilton's recent domination.
But then just three laps and eight miles from home, the engine on Massa's car blew down the home straight - the first failure of its kind on one of the Prancing Horse cars for almost two years.
With it went 10 points and the potential lead of the championship, much to Massa's obvious bitter disappointment.
"It was a near-perfect race, one of my best - but it's one of the most frustrating races in my career," said a dejected Massa.
"My race was focused on the start because it was the only place we could have passed them (McLaren) to give us the opportunity to win.
"That's why I took a lot of risk, but it worked, and then we showed very good pace afterwards.
"When Lewis had a problem I knew straightaway and reduced the RPM on the engine to save everything I could for the end of the race.
"I was 23 seconds ahead of Heikki. I knew what I had to do.
"I was not in trouble, the tyres were not in trouble, I was just saving the car for the end of the race, but maybe it was not enough.
"As you saw, everything was perfect - then you know what happened, and it did so without warning, without the slightest indication.
"Unfortunately, racing can be a cruel sport."
Massa now trails Hamilton by eight points as the Briton was fifth due to a puncture sustained on lap 41, while he is three points behind team-mate Kimi Raikkonen who came home third.
With seven races remaining, Massa knows a topsy-turvy season to date is likely to throw up many more twists and turns.
"We gave it our all, but these things can happen," added Massa.
"Now we must not give up, but instead we must react quickly.
"There are seven races to go and 70 points up for grabs, which means there is plenty of time to make up ground.
"Our rivals are strong, but we have shown we are at their level."
No comments:
Post a Comment