July 10, 2011
Felipe Massa just failed to get the better of Lewis Hamilton in the last corner © Press Association
Felipe Massa said a damaged floor may have cost him time on his way to fifth place in the British Grand Prix.
Massa started fourth but lost out to Jenson Button off the line, and having cleared one McLaren he was then jumped by the other of Lewis Hamilton in the pit stops. With Fernando Alonso going on to win the race, Massa said he felt Ferrari had made improvements but that his less competitive pace could be down to damaged sustained early in the race.
"I think we have made a step forward this weekend in terms of performance, both in qualifying and the race," Massa said. "It's true my pace wasn't amazing today, but that could have had something to do with the fact my floor was damaged, after I hit something at Turn 6; maybe a part from another car. In terms of the strategy, maybe we could brought forward the second stop a bit, but the team did not want me to end up having to complete the final part of the race on tyres that were too worn.
"In the end, I closed right up to Hamilton, as he was struggling, but when I was behind him, he fought and I only just missed out by a fraction on getting past him. We have to continue to push on the development of the car: there are many races still ahead of us and having improved the car means we can feel more confident about the second half of the season."
Credit: ESPN F1 (en.espnf1.com)
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