Felipe Massa was left to reflect on how cruel F1 can be after an engine failure robbed him of victory in the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Brazilian had no warning of engine failure
Felipe Massa was left to reflect on how cruel Formula One can sometimes be after a dominant display in the Hungarian Grand Prix was scuppered by an engine failure just three laps from home.
After making a superb start from third on the grid to pass polesitter Lewis Hamilton at the first corner, the Ferrari driver appeared set for a victory which, coupled with the McLaren driver's lap 41 puncture, would have seen him retake the World Championship lead.
The Brazilian's pace was all the more surprising given Ferrari's poor performance in Germany a fortnight ago and the recent domination which had netted Hamilton two successive wins.
However, just eight miles from home, Massa's car appeared on the start-finish straight trailing smoke - the first failure of its kind on a Ferrari for almost two years.
Hamilton's team-mate Heikki Kovalainen thus inherited the win ahead of Toyota's Timo Glock and Massa's own team-mate, World Champion Kimi Raikkonen.
"It was a near-perfect race, one of my best - but it's one of the most frustrating races in my career," a dejected Massa said.
"My race was focused on the start because it was the only place we could have passed them (McLaren) to give us the opportunity to win.
"That's why I took a lot of risk, but it worked, and then we showed very good pace afterwards.
"When Lewis had a problem I knew straightaway and reduced the RPM on the engine to save everything I could for the end of the race.
"I was 23 seconds ahead of Heikki. I knew what I had to do.
"I was not in trouble, the tyres were not in trouble, I was just saving the car for the end of the race, but maybe it was not enough.
"As you saw, everything was perfect - then you know what happened, and it did so without warning, without the slightest indication.
"Unfortunately, racing can be a cruel sport."
Twists and turns
Massa now trails Hamilton by eight points - the Briton eventually finishing fifth - while he is also three points behind Raikkonen.
However, with seven races of a so far unpredictable season remaining, Massa knows many more twists and turns await.
"We gave it our all, but these things can happen," he added. "Now we must not give up, but instead we must react quickly.
"There are seven races to go and 70 points up for grabs, which means there is plenty of time to make up ground.
"Our rivals are strong, but we have shown we are at their level."
