Ferrari deny Massa told to cause Hamilton crash

2011 Singapore Grand Prix

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Massa and Hamilton clashed in Singapore

Ferrari have denied Felipe Massa was encouraged to provoke the collision with Lewis Hamilton in Singapore.

Massa’s engineer Rob Smedley urged him to “hold Hamilton as much as we can. Destroy his race as much as we can.”

Ferrari’s latest anonymous ‘Horse Whisperer’ column states: “It might not have been the most politically correct choice of word, but it definitely carried no malicious intent.”

It adds: “This exhortation to Felipe came at the exit to turn five on lap 11 of the race, at the end of which both the Ferrari man and Hamilton were due to come in to the pits together.

“In other words, it had nothing to do with the collision between Felipe and Lewis that happened on the following lap.”

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    Keith Collantine
    Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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    108 comments on “Ferrari deny Massa told to cause Hamilton crash”

    1. Absolutely, the whole thing is totally blown out of proportion.
      I am actually surprised by the inclusion of message clip in race edits.

      1. Exactly. If Massa hadn’t been forced to re-pit, this whole thing never would have been dragged up.

        1. To be fair not many of the comments blamed Massa, Smedley or Ferrari for the crash – everyone including myself know it was Hamilton’s fault.

          The point was that Ferrari are again just using Massa (by slowing him down AND putting him at greater risk of a potential collision) and not letting him score some decent points for himself.

          Massa is finished in F1 and this just highlighted that Ferrari really don’t care about him anymore.

          1. I guess they tried to stay ahead of Hamilton to score the most possible points. He was not slowing, as he had catched Alonso up by lap 11.

            1. I don’t really think that was what they were doing. Sure, keeping Hamilton behind might have helped Massa, but I think it would have rather ended up for him like its been most of this season, low top ten position for badly timed stops and suffering on the tyres.

              I really feel they were working on helping Alonso getting a shot at the podium (which would have kept him theoretically in the championship hunt together with Button).

              But I am almost completely sure there was no intention whatsoever to force an accident.

      2. Surely this whole thing is pointless anyway?

        If the FIA were at all suspicious wouldn’t they be able to request the telemetry from the teams and see if Massa was off throttle, or delaying etc which would have caused the contact?

        It was a misjudgment that’s all, Hamilton would’ve been 4th or maybe 3rd at a push without it.

        1. Mate, this is Ferrari we are talking about… do you really expect the FIA to investigate Ferrari?

          1. If there’s reason to, then yes.

            1. No they wouldn’t, they did what they always do – punish the other guy – even when drivers like Webber(over Hamilton) get away with similar accidents(last year, I believe?).

            2. Yes they would. In this case, the incident was clearly Hamilton’s fault, and the instructions given to Massa are nothing worth investigating.

      3. That is no proof my friend. Only Massa really knows what he did. And I still believe he went slower than normal through the corner to break Hamilton’s wing.

        1. Yes, I agree with you, trying to break someone’s wing is realistic than trying to puncture someone’s tire with your wing.

          1. trying to break someone’s wing is realistic than trying to puncture someone’s tire with your wing.

            Either scenario is detrimental to a drivers race and just plain stupid to boot. No driver in their right mind would do such a thing deliberately.

            (Unless of course the world championship is at stake ie. prost/senna/schumacher) :P

    2. I wouldn’t have taken “destroy” literally to begin with. And without seeing a full transcript we should be wary of reading too much into it.

      That said, the order is a curious one. Reading (cautiously) between the lines, it seems like they were telling Massa to keep Hamilton behind as long as possible to increase Alonso’s chances of finishing ahead of him.

      As ever, if we heard more of the broadcasts from teams, and we heard it in real time, we’d be far better informed and able to judge these things more accurately:

      Team radio is F1′s wasted asset

      1. Very well said Keith, spot on as usual!

        1. Well it’s good to know that Massa has a purpose on the race track…LOL.

      2. That said, the order is a curious one. Reading (cautiously) between the lines, it seems like they were telling Massa to keep Hamilton behind as long as possible to increase Alonso’s chances of finishing ahead of him.

        I actually feel Massa had a chance of beating Hamilton on this occasion. Massa was on the harder, slower tyres while Lewis was on the softer, quicker compound. In order for Massa to finish ahead of Hamilton, he had to negate any advantage Lewis would gain on the fresh options, and that’s what he was doing before the incident. Ferrari may use Massa to help Alonso on some occasions, but this time I think it wasn’t the case.

        1. Doubt it. Nothing Massa did in that race showed any indication of him being capable of finishing ahead of Hamilton. He dawdled while his nemesis disappeared off into the night.

          Instead, the genuine significance of the radio traffic in question is in fact nothing to do with Hamilton, or a crash, or the semantics of ‘destroy’.
          It is what it reveals about Massa’s headspace, in 2011, in a Ferrari. How he is clearly beaten before he starts, instead of race-radio urging and assisting forward progress, the communication is instead negative. About looking backwards, not ahead. He is treading water and clearly a broken and frustrated figure.

          From half-a-damp-lap away from being WDC, we have to witness him getting pushed around in pitlanes, pushed around by team orders, pushed around by rivals arranging seat fittings, and now the ultimate insult to any racer’s pride, being told over the radio to act as a roadblock, a mobile chicane.
          That’s enough to bring the lid down on any driver’s self-confidence, he’s beat, and he’d pretty much done … Rob Smedley just said so.

      3. I wouldn’t have taken “destroy” literally to begin with. And without seeing a full transcript we should be wary of reading too much into it.

        Yes, but there is more of a story in it if you imply Massa’s action was deliberate.

        1. If there had been a “Massas action” at all. At the point the crash happened it was simple defending into a corner as we saw dozens of times in the race. No point discussing it at all.

        2. Which is of course the whole problem.

          What is the role of the media here?

          If they believe there is nothing to it, is it responsible to post it as news knowing the act of doing so will likely cause others to think otherwise?

          I mean I know that the media ideally does not form a judgement and reports enough to let the reader decide, but there is _inference_ in what is reported. When reporting such a snippet, is it more responsible to publish it with some commentary regarding why the piece is interesting?

          Keith’s opinion of what’s interesting about the radio message is all over the website. He’s the reporter, and thus we trust him to have done the majority of the research for us.

          I think as readers of news we have a realistic expectation that the reporter will use the research gathered to couch the story in the proper terms. I don’t think a lot of news outlets have done that, they’ve deliberately kept the reporting of this vague so that readers will draw an unlikely conclusion because that conclusion sells ad-space.

          Keith, would you care to comment on this?

          1. It’s not for me to decide what others make of it. If I decide it’s worthy of a place on the site I’ll put it there.

            Of course I have tighter restrictions on my time and resources than a national newspaper or a dedicated weekly motorsport magazine, so it doesn’t necessarily follow that everything I want to cover gets the attention I think it deserves.

      4. Reading (cautiously) between the lines, it seems like they were telling Massa to keep Hamilton behind as long as possible to increase Alonso’s chances of finishing ahead of him.

        While it benefits Alonso, it also benefits Vettel, Button, Webber, everyone who is ahead of them at that point and it benefits Massa himself.
        So, Massa is perfectly justified in trying to keep Hamilton behind him. He was only been given encouragement by Smedley by the “destroy” comment.

        1. Not Vettel, if Hamilton finished in second maybe…

      5. I don’t think this has anything to do with team orders or Alonso.

        Considering Hamilton had one less set of option tyres, Smedley and Ferrari would’ve realistically thought they had a good chance of beating Hamilton on the night, and as such, it would be beneficial for Massa to stay ahead.

      6. In 2006 there was a similar radio message for Barrichello in which he was told “to kill” Heidfeld in the race!!! Now, why wasn’t that story covered as well as this one? Was it because no British driver was involved? :)

        Btw I completely agree with your opinion Keith that it was just another way of motivating the driver.

      7. That Horse Whisperer collumn is nice, as it confirms exactly when the radio message was sent.

        Fully agree with you on the need to hear more of it so we can better understand what’s going on.

      8. Let’s presume it’s not a question of taking ‘destroyed’ literally, as in taking Hamilton out of the race through a collision. So what was it supposed to mean? It’s not irrelevant as it’s a strongly worded instruction. Aside from the aggression and maybe even animosity shown towards Hamilton by Smedley – and presumably shared by Massa – the curious aspect is the focus on Hamilton’s race rather than Massa’s own race. This is the damning part. It suggest Massa was secondary to some other objective: directly, ruining Hamilton’s race. But is that it? If so, it would be bizarre. More likely, then, that there was an indirect objective: protect the other Ferrari driver. So I’d go along with Keith’s conclusion. Strange, though, that Ferrai therefore seemed to think Massa would eventually fall behind Hamilton in the race. Low expectations indeed.

        However: by making this strongly-worded instruction to ‘destroy’ Hamilton’s race, Smedley was clearly asking Massa to drive differently in some way. Not faster. For me it would be enough to put a question mark at least over the collision a lap or two later, pushing it towards a ‘racing incident.’

    3. It’s quite an odd thing to say over the radio to a driver, but I can understand that Massa and Smedley have a special kind of driver/engineer relationship. Of course Smedley wasn’t telling Massa to actually crash into Hamilton – nobody does that, especially when they’re in a decent position.

      1. Nobody is stupid enough to imply that a driver or any driver will on purpose crash. I dont think massa wanted to crash BUT it wouldnt be at all surprising if massa was slower on purpose to exit that corner so that Lewis would have to lift off.

        Massa & smedley probably thought that they could do a schumacher from monza…but forgot that to do that…massa would need to have some serious talent – which he hasnt.
        If you play with fire you WILL get burnt.

        Mind you piquet jnr did (crash on purpose) but that was more to do with the pressure & threats heaped on him by flabio and pat.
        -However whatever the circumstances….its not right. And instead of focussing on ruining others’ races…you should stick to improving your own races & impressing your employers….maybe then you wouldnt be humiliated for being known as someone who is going to be out on your ear.

    4. Good to know when that message was said.

      Interesting that the Whisperer didn’t lament and critisize the choice by the race editors to show this message out of context, they must have really felt Massa and Stepney were unfairly treated and decided against the usual polemic response.

      So, that’s what it takes to make the Horse Whisperer change its tune and post a very sensible and calm, reasoned post, I knew they could if they wanted to.

      I do feel somewhat sad they felt they had to go out and state what could be considered obvious (well, or not, as it seems).

      1. Interesting that the Whisperer didn’t lament and criticise the choice by the race editors to show this message out of context

        Assuming it was taken out of context – maybe it was representative.

        1. Well, sort of yes, and we can’t check, because we don’t know the full set of communications. But what I meant was that showing it as a precursor to the actual collision, suggest a connection.

          While perhaps Massa’s driving was changed thanks to the message, which was a factor that lead to Hamilton making the mistake, there is no direct connection between the two events, but the edit makes it seem as if there is.

    5. “In other words, it had nothing to do with the collision between Felipe and Lewis that happened on the following lap.”

      I suppose some people fail to realise that the race edits are exactly that; edited. The radio message could have come after the incident for all we know. (I know that’s not the case, but before this statement from Ferrari, we couldn’t tell)

      1. In fact, during the race we also have no real idea how long ago that message we hear was actually sent, although we do indeed know it isn’t from the future :-p

        The radio is often only heard when the significance of a message has become clear already; even Brundle and DC often have trouble realising that. But for all we know it could have been said half a race ago, or more usually, several laps before.

    6. no one ever said he deliberately tried to make him crash…

      its just called ‘karma’ or in this case ‘bad karma’ as it totally back-fired!!!

      of course massa didn’t want to crash but had he had both eyes on getting a good result instead of one (or both) eye/s on trying to hold up a car behind then this would not have happened

      I mean, its not as if he could have kept lewis there for another 44 laps was it…had it have been 12 laps from the end then sure…hold the man up but come on…who holds up faster cars these days???

      1. That was Massa’s first real defensive move, you make it seem as though he’d been defending and blocking for laps on end.

    7. Yep people as always blowing it out of proportion,I’m sure this would not be as big a deal, If a Mclaren driver was asked to destroy a Ferrari drivers race. Now I can’t to read Andrew Benson’s thoughts on this,he never misses an opportunity to have a dig at Ferrari.

      1. I’m sure this would not be as big a deal, If a Mclaren driver was asked to destroy a Ferrari drivers race.

        I don’t see any reason to assume that. I certainly would have run it because it’s a strong and potentially revealing quote.

        And Andrew Benson doesn’t work for this website so if you have a problem with him, go complain to him.

        1. And Andrew Benson doesn’t work for this website so if you have a problem with him, go complain to him.

          Yes I know he doesn’t i’m just stating a fact.
          I know your job is to inform us of news in the world of F1, I was referring to others blowing it out of proportion. Thats all :)

      2. It amazes me that fanatism for a particular team eclipses the rationality of right and wrong.
        It would have generated equal reactions if this episode would have turned other way round.

        1. Well said. But what team are you reffering to??

        2. vickyy comments = a breath of fresh air. Thank you. The irrationality infrequently displayed here is remarkably similar to observations of American politics…
          The rest of my comment has been redacted due to scar tissue not quite healed from my previous comments, specifically in other forums far less rational than here…

      3. But a McLaren driver wasn’t asked to destroy a Ferrari’s race.

        That’s the whole point.

        1. So, it’s not that a Ferrari driver did the common sensical thing and hold up a rival while his points leading teammate disappeared over the horizon, it’s that the common sensical thing was vocalized.
          Irt to a McLaren driver destroying a Ferrari’s race (some would argue that was the result anyway) I think it’s wholly dependent on which McLaren driver was asked irt the reactions seen.

          1. No idea what you mean in the second sentence. Perhaps give the obscure acronyms a rest.

            1. Sorry, irt = in regard to. Too many years in the Navy (the acronym capital of the world), yet another bad habit I need to break.

    8. Hamilton’s pass may have been ill judged but Felipe backing him up wouldnt have helped matters, that tactic was always going to lead to contact.

      1. That tactic often leads to a clean pass as the defending driver leaves his braking to late and goes wide, we see it all the time in many disciplines of motorsport.

        1. Unless you are saying Massa staying longer on the brakes was the tactic that was going to lead to contact.

    9. None of the issue makes sense. I saw nothing wrong with it the first time, but knew that the media would stretch it to its limits. If the Barrichello had an incident with Heidfeld after this radio message, who would claim that Rubens was literally trying to kill Nick?

      1. I agree.

        Is just like a motivation line, like this:

        When I jumped in the car before the race everybody said ‘ok, now destroy them or push like hell.’

        Sebastian Vettel after Monza 2008

        Obviously no one on his team wanted him to destroy anyone, they just wanted to encorage hi, to do good…

        Is just sport…

    10. God, why are people still going on about this? Smedley told Massa to destroy Hamilton’s race, NOT his car. Move on.

      1. Because it shows Ferrari don’t care about Massa.

        It has nothing to do with Hamilton or is car.

        1. TheScuderia (@)
          4th October 2011, 15:41

          Massa would have helped himself by holding up Hamilton. Not just Alonso. So I don’t see how this is a case of Ferrari not caring about Massa.

          1. Scud, Alonso helps himself by not wasting time defending against a car that is to fast to keep back, Alonso looks to be close to the frontrunners not a lap back acting as a moving chicane, the points tell which tactic is more successfull.

    11. Storm in a teacup

        1. Trenthamfolk (@)
          5th October 2011, 21:54

          -2

    12. I still can’t believe this developed into a major story. Are we that bored?

      1. It’s all part of the showbiz of F1 to cause controversy to feed the media interest. F1 is much TV entertainment, as a sport and big business . Just like Xfactor is no more a talent finding competition than TV entertainment. Oh and bad news sells !

    13. I hope that’s the last article on that topic, because it’s completely pointless.
      RS could have just said “Give him hard times” and the whole “scandal” wouldn’t exists.
      Still, despite the many “don’t waste your time” comments from fans, different media keep on posting about it, trying to do … what, I’m not even sure, visits to web sites, comments?

      1. Well, Smedley didn’t say “give him a hard time”, so there’s your answer.

        It was obviously a potent comment, and who knows where a story might lead. I was sceptical about the “Piquet crashed on purpose” claims after Singapore 2008, and look what became of that.

        1. “Hold Hamilton as much as we can. Destroy his race as much as we can. Come on boy.” _ Thats the complete quote. Courtesy ESPN. Too bad they changed to partial quote even there

          1. I don’t know what your point is, or why you’re quoting back something that’s already in the article.

    14. It seems to me like it’s a Brazilian thing to crash on purpose to affect the outcome of races…
      First Piquet now Massa???

      1. When did Massa crash out?

        1. he be trollin’, saying that Massa caused the crash

    15. Alonso benefits from a guinea pig team mate being ordered to act in an unsportsmanlike manner at the Singapore GP. Deja Vu?

      1. I think you’re looking too much into it. It’s not like Alonso is fighting for the WDC, or Ferrari for the Constructors for that matter.

        1. Which is exactly the reason why I think the excuse to massa to keep Lewis at bay in order to cover off alonso is a load of tripe.
          Massa hasnt made any effort before to help alonso so why start now when its too late?!

          Massa and smedley had a severe case of sour grapes towards Lewis especially after quali…so once Lewis fell behind….smedley and massa had an opportunity for some payback.

          But what they forgot to remember was that if you poke Lewis with a stick and toy with him…you will get severely burnt.

          So serves massa and smedley right!
          Massa has proved that he is not even a half-decent no.2 driver – a number 2 driver who should be helping out his team mate.
          So to think that massa may all of a sudden be great at holding up a driver is just wishful thinking.

          I hope this ‘own-goal’ by massa and smedley make them realise that instead of trying to be clever…they should stick to try and improving their own performances whilst they still have a chance!
          -But it is too late which is what I think they’ve already sensed hence the temper-tantrum and running to the headmaster…uncle charlie!

          1. So to think that massa may all of a sudden be great at holding up a driver is just wishful thinking.

            According to Button, Massa is one of the toughest drivers to get past (Australia 2011).

            I think that Alonso wouldn’t agree with that, though. He would say that Petrov is the toughest…

            1. “…I think that Alonso wouldn’t agree with that, though. He would say that Petrov is the toughest” all Alonso needs to say the magic words: “This is ridiculous” and Rob will do the magic for Alonso, so no reason for Alonso to try to pass Massa :)

              For the radio message in singapore, i think if no one intervene, massa/hamilton will have some serious issues later on out of frustration and vengeance of previous issues. I dont think Hamilton did anything wrong into the corner, but there is more to his side of story, as whenever he tries similar things he gets burned more than anyone else and other usually get away with it.

    16. Smedley and Massa were too late, Webber had destroyed Hamilton’s race at the start. Getting within one car length or width of Mark at the start has been trouble for everyone who was not on pole this year.

      1. Unfortunately you are right, being only one car length from Mark at the start, even if you are in front, is a poor start.

    17. BTW, are people from Middlesbrough all like Rob? I say this because the “whispering Pony” used it as an excuse for Mr. Smedley. I quote: “being a Middlesbrough lad(!), born and bred….” does this give Mr. Smedley the licence to lash-out as he wants?

      Massa is a Latin guy and English not being his mother tongue could lead him to understanding his Engineer “literally”. This calls to mind the way he gave the last instruction to Massa in Germany with the question: “can you confirm you understood this message?” Or with the phrase: “You have been magnanimous, I know you don’t understand the word but I will explain to you later, good job boy!”

      I don’t really belong to the set of people who take this message too lightly as everything concerning Hamilton is always swept under the carpet when he is not at fault (see Monza) and whenever he makes a mistake all is blown out proportion with the likes of Niki Lauda calling him names … too bad!

      1. “You have been magnanimous, I know you don’t understand the word but I will explain to you later, good job boy!”

        Maybe he was talking bout the english word and how you translate that to portuguese… If Massa weren´t smart I don´t think he will still be on F1… Pluss you are talking about a guy that speak english, portuguese and italian he has to be smart!

    18. There are several parts to all of this story.

      There it’s the incident itself, which is a simple racing incident where hamilton got frustrated and made an error getting past a slower driver. The only person in the world who hasn’t seen it as such is massa.

      There are massa’s comments and behaviour after the race and quali, which were sad, unprofessional, unjustified, and a clear case of him finally venting out all his frustration – he’s being treated like a doormat by ferrari, but he’s not allowed to say anything about them, so he’s jumped at an available target.

      Then there is the history between the two. Lewis has commented before about massa blocking him, slowing him down, and feels he’s been treated unfairly by the stewards, while Massa is getting away with this behaviour. Massa feels he’s been crashed into a lot. Both have evidence to support
      their feelings. (Monaco).

      Than there is this radio transmission, which proves that Massa wasn’t driving to win, or get up the field, he was driving to frustrate, annoy, and spoil Lewis’s race. Lewis was faster on all tyres all weekend. Keeping him behind was only going to last so long.

      On the one hand, Massa wants us to believe Lewis is a dangerous, impetuous maniac who needs to be taken in hand. On the other, he wants us to believe that driving like an old lady in a shopping trolly isn’t likely to inspire this dangerous maniac into an impetuous lunge where there isn’t a gap.

      I blame lewis 100% for the contact. I blame Massa 100% for behaving like a disingenuous,weaselly prat who on reflection deserved what he got.

      Both of them had most of the race to recover. Lewis got up to 5th with speed and determination. Massa dawdled along and looked for a scapegoat.

      1. +1, good analysis.

      2. i disagree with your perspective and the points you outline

        1. That’s actually the best response to a post I’ve seen on here in ages.

          Disagreements without vitriol, the way it should be.

          COTD, Keith.

          1. LOL you should have seen my first attempt at a response

      3. Funny how whenever there is contact – certain people in the ‘couch-sitting viewers association’ assume that the driver who tried to make the move is ‘Frustrated’.

        -Sorry but how on earth can we who sit and watch from the TV know in anyway if a driver is frustrated unless we hear them admit as much??

        Is there a little on-board graphic from FOM which spells the word ‘frustrated’ which flashes in red that I cant see on my TV?

        Either that or the number of mind readers who watch F1 is on the increase.

      4. Indeed, sounds like a good analysis.

    19. This really didn’t warrant a statement from Ferrari, at all. That’s not a dig at Ferrari, more a dig at the people who let their imagination run away with them.

    20. Martin Brundle said on twitter:

      “Real story is Smedley must constantly direct + motivate his driver, has done for some time. Felipe hasn’t been so strong since Hungary smash”.

      Would have to agree with that. It’s a shame that Massa’s racing recently has been either damage limitation or assisting Alonso’s challenge instead of actually racing himself. Seems like a nice guy so I hope he can rediscover some of his previous form although my feeling is that it would have to be outside of Ferrari.

      1. I think you’re right with that one, Germany 2010 won’t do him any favours either, especially given it was the anniversary of his accident.

    21. Hamilton made a mistake no doubt about it, but i don’t agree that Massa was totally faultless or fair. He could have avoided it or made it little easy which also would have been good for him at the end aka Positive defense. Hamilton passed so many drivers during the race(tough ones like MSC too) and some he passed twice but why contact happened ONLY with Massa?

      Let’s read the Radio transcript of Smedley and Massa again:

      Smedley: Hamilton got a bad start, you are racing him. Felipe baby remember 2008 and beat him. Also remember why you are here(To Help Alonso)

      Massa: Yeahhh i can’t remember too much, only remember what he did to me yesterday in qualifying.

      Smedlley: Lewis is passing all cars ahead very quickly, he is catching you. push push

      Smedley: hold Hamilton as much as we can. Destroy his race as much as we can

      Massa: Mention Not, let him try passing

      Bang………..

    22. I don’t think it is being taken out of proportion. I also don’t believe it was Massa’s intention to make contact or ‘to be hit’ by Hamilton, but I think the direction of the aggression is what should be acknowledged, that and the fact that not only are team orders allowed along the lines of “Move over for your faster team mate” but now we are seeing a deliberate sabotage of another driver’s race. It is a completely different scenario and is well outside the spirit of racing.

      It’s akin to the whacky races.

      If I were Massa or Smedley I’d be ashamed to be in F1 right now.

      1. I don’t think this kind of “sabotage of another driver’s race” is anything new to Formula 1. I’ve followed the sport since 1998 and for as long as I can remember, having one of your drivers hold up an opponent to give your other driver an advantage and improve his chances of winning has been part of the game and part of team work.
        In my opinion there’s nothing wrong with that.

      2. Putting white powder in rival teams fuel tank – Sabotage. This is NOT. Neither Massa nor Smedley need to feel ashamed.

      3. Keith has said something ot the effect that he once doubted crashgate based on the initial information. I don’t really endorse a conspiracy theory here, not that Keith quite pulled the trigger on that one.

        But the situation is interesting. Having just arrived on Massa’s tail, Hamilton did not apprehend just how slow the Ferrari was on entry. Or he just made a mistake. Hamilton makes mistakes, but he also makes passes. He passed, what, 15 other guys that day for position.

        But it just happens that the one guy he hit is the one who was fuming at him after qualifying.

        In qualifying, though being blocked by Massa on the out lap, Hamilton got by anyway. Massa’s sole and proper job on the out lap was to ensure Alonso could back up into a nice gap (and to screw up Hamilton’s timing). I’m sure the team were not amused. On top of it all, Alonso buries him in Q3 by a second. Certainly he does not get a hearty pat on the back from Stefano.

        Back to the scene. Smedley, with the Ferrari malocchio burning his back on the pit wall, commands Massa, in effect, not to lose face again with Hamilton. A couple laps later, bang.

        1. Some excellent points, there. I’d agree that Massa felt like he was losing face. For his own good, I think he needs to get out of ferrari.

      4. Ashamed is a bit too much maybe, but it sounds incredibly unsportshmanshiplike.

    23. What would be the state of mind of the affected two drivers while arriving at Suzuka espcially Lewis.

      I hope he doesn’t get demotivated coz he is in the news ever since the season started and adding to the insult – “a special meeting” this weekend to condemn his driving. I like both Felipe and Lewis & I would prefer for them to reset their rivalry; friendship and move on rather than lingering on something which is not going to make much difference. Championship battle is long over… they can focus on their individual racing for the rest of the year.

    24. Wasn’t Massa’s fault, I want to bealieve that Ferrari didn’t want him to cause the accident… but Karma is really a bitch ain’t it?

      1. wasnt massa’s fault?

        -Well if you are going to play with fire then you WILL get burnt – hasnt he learned his lesson enough?!

        Lewis is a very tough driver – as well as all the acollades, he is also known as one of the toughest guys to overtake.
        So really smedley and massa shouldve known that if you are going to poke Lewis with a stick and toy with him he WILL bite you.

        Massa shouldve done what hes suppose to be doing right now: To makesure he gets a great result and impresses his team and the watching world who are all not impressed with him.
        He shouldve focussed on getting a great result in order to save his career and reputation – BUT NO…..he and smedley decided to act like a pair of clowns who cant punch above their own weight.

        massa, smedley and ferrari now quite rightly look very silly and it serves them right!

    25. only if Massa had hit Hamiton from behind or had he slowed significantly more than the previous lap we could have said it was Massa’s fault. but Hamilton destroyed his own race… people are reading too much into this. he has crashed so many times this season, let’s not assume that all other driver / engineer radio said the word destroy. The crash kid needs calm down & Hamilton fans need to understand that even a champion driver can have a bad run of form. He needs to sort this & figure how to drive a car which is not always on the front row & not always will be fighting for the wins. Can’t believe this the same person who made the debut in 2006 & had a faultless season except a couple of races in his rookie season.

    26. This may not explain anything about what happened in the collision, but it does explain Massa going bezerk after the race. Here he is being told in the most undiplomatic terms to finish ahead of Hamilton, and more, to ensure that Hamilton had “destroyed” race(which would be the same thing, of course). Neither happened. Even after their respective repairs, Massa could not get Hamilton in sight again. Massa’s only brief now is to thwart Hamilton; and Hamilton, by hook or crook, or often just plain speed, just won’t let him. *Sad trombone*

    27. Sorry but it makes NO sense for massa to hold back Lewis.

      Alonso as hes touched on before said that…. he needs Lewis to help take off points from vettel. So alonso will also need Lewis to help take points away from button and webber too.

      This whole assumption about massa doing it to help out alonso is totally baseless and is yet again typical of those who dislike Lewis to try and think of any excuse even if invalid just to paint massa in a better light. With team orders now legal…ferrari havnt even come out and officially confirmed.

      Infact they actually were unhappy with smedley’s choice of words and can see how they were provokative.

    28. It seems everyone now feels they can do whatever they want to Lewis and get away with it…
      Thanks a million to the STEWARDS!!!

    29. OmarR-Pepper (@)
      4th October 2011, 18:37

      Massa’s time in F1 as a poswsible champion is over. Why driving a Ferrari if the team drags him back? Obviously going to another team would probably mean no more finishing points, a Barrichello-like switch. We saw good ones on Barrichello like that clash with MSC in Hungary, but that was just a spark from the past. He is not matching Maldonado and he’s a rookie. More points than MAL? Yes but 4 points by a race winner is almost nothing. Massa’s fate looks alike.

    30. Hahah thats funny Felipe provocked the accident, Im getting home sick I got this strange rush to read the The Sun. No comments

      1. What’s your point?

    31. I think the point being missed here is that for a long time we have known that Massa is a tail gunner in Ferrari, along with Barrichello and Irvine, but this is a actual voice com to a driver telling them (surely there is a voice above smedley who decides things)that there job is to ruin the driver behind them there race. And this is from a team campaining for a 3 drivers per team system.

      1. Trenthamfolk (@)
        5th October 2011, 22:03

        I think we’re there with you, but the Ferrari fanatics won’t admit it… they know it though, they know it…

    32. Just a thought…

      If Smedley asked Massa to ‘Destroy Hamilton’s race’ which resulted in a collision which did indeed (as well as his own) in a literal manner, does that mean whenever every race engineer asks their driver to ‘Push’, do they expect a baby to come out or something?

    33. I meant unimportant in relation to opinions, certainly not invaluable

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