ESPNF1 Staff
October 16, 2011
Felipe Massa held Ferrari team-mate Fernando Alonso at bay early in the race © Sutton Images
Felipe Massa said traffic around his pit stops cost him a better result at the Korean Grand Prix after he finished a distant sixth in the Ferrari.
Massa lost positions to Jenson Button and Nico Rosberg at his first stop and then another to team-mate Fernando Alonso at the final stop. He appeared to be lacking pace as Alonso then pulled 9.4s lead over him in the final stint, but Massa reckons there was a fair bit of bad luck involved in his race as well.
"I'm not pleased because small problems prevented me from getting a better result," he said. "I got a good start and, on the opening lap, I managed to make up some places, then at the first pit stop, I rejoined the track behind Rosberg and Button. This was mainly because the team had to keep me on my spot because Michael was coming and also because the other two had pitted before me.
"In the first part of the race, on the Supersofts, I was struggling a bit to match the pace of the guys in front, but then, once on the Softs, we managed to go very quickly. Then, after the second stop, I found myself behind a Toro Rosso and a Force India who were fighting amongst themselves and I lost valuable time which allowed Fernando to get ahead of me."
After qualifying roughly a second off pole position on Saturday, Massa said Ferrari were closer to the front runners on race pace.
"Today, our performance level was better than it had been in qualifying, which has been a constant factor this year. Now we are off to the Indian Grand Prix, a new venue for Formula One. I don't know the country and I am very curious to see what it's like, because I think it has a lot in common with Brazil, given that both are going through a period of strong growth."
Credit: ESPN F1 (en.espnf1.com)
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