Massa blames lack of grip

Brazilian says fifth on grid is "not an easy place to be"

Last updated: 11th October 2008   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Massa blames lack of grip

Massa: Starts fifth

Related links

Teams

Drivers

Also see

Felipe Massa has said a lack of grip in the final session of qualifying was to blame for the fifth position he secured on the grid for Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix.

The Ferrari driver had shown promising pace during the first two sessions at the Fuji Speedway but suddenly found the going tougher in the third.

It leaves the Brazilian struggling to make ground on World Championship leader Lewis Hamilton, especially as the McLaren Mercedes driver will start from pole.

The result comes two weeks after Massa dropped from pole position to 13th in Singapore following a pit-stop blunder.

"It is a shame," said Massa after setting a time of one minute 18.874 seconds in session three. "I was the quickest man on track but at the wrong moment. In Q3, I never had the right amount of grip from both sets of tyres that I used.

"On my first run I was a bit cautious on my 'out' lap and so suffered in the first sector, making a mistake at Turn Three.

"On the second run, I did the opposite and found myself without grip at the end of the lap.

"So, I've ended up fifth on the grid, which is definitely not an easy place to be.

"I will try and work my way up in the race to score big points for the Championship."

Massa currently stands seven points behind Hamilton in the Drivers' Championship with three races to run.