Massa finding Singapore slip hard to stomach
Felipe Massa admits Singapore struggles are "hard to deal with"
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Monday, 29, Sep 2008 04:46
Felipe Massa has admitted the manner of his 13th-place finish at the Singapore grand prix yesterday has been "hard to deal with".
The Brazilian suffered a nightmare Sunday as an early release from his first pit-stop saw him drive off with the refuelling hose still in his car.
The problem was caused as Massa's Ferrari pit crew tried to release the formula one world championship contender ahead of the car directly behind him.
But after being forced to stop in the pit-lane so that the refuelling rig could be removed from his vehicle, Massa was then hit with a drive-through penalty because of the unsafe release - effectively ending any hopes he had of challenging for a points-scoring finish.
"It is hard to deal with losing in this fashion," Massa told the Press Association.
"It was a race that was within our grasp with a car that was just the way I wanted.
"We had a good strategy and all the signs were there that we could get a one-two finish. But things can change in a moment and that is what happened."
A philosophical Massa added: "One of our guys made a mistake but we are only human.
"Each one of us always tries to do our best and these things can happen. On this track it is almost impossible to overtake and ending up at the back meant I had no chance of getting into the points."
While the Brazilian struggled, his title rival Lewis Hamilton drove a composed race to finish on the podium in third - extending his advantage in the drivers' standings to seven points with three races left.
But the Ferrari man refused to give up hope of a maiden F1 title, adding: "We have the potential to do well as we saw [in Singapore] and we will give it our best shot.
"We mustn't give up and I'm sure we won't."