F1’s Felipe’s endure Mixed Fortunes at Brazilian Grand Prix

The Felipe’s on the grid had diametrically opposed emotional results at the Brazilian Grand Prix with Nasr saving Sauber’s bacon with a great drive to 9th whilst Massa crashed out of his final home Grand Prix at the pit entry leading to a tearful pit-lane.

Nasr’s 9th place finish at his home Grand Prix were Sauber’s first championship points since the Brazilian’s 9th place finish at the US Grand Prix in 2015. His race was executed well strategically as he was one of six drivers to avoid pit-stops, only changing his tyres at each Red Flag.

The 2-points gained see’s Sauber jump Manor in the Constructors standings and comes as a big relief for the Swiss team. After the race, Nasr said,

“It was like a dream come true and I couldn’t have imagined of a better way to score these two points in a home grand prix here in Interlagos. Right now I cannot describe it but it just feels really good.

It was a difficult race for everybody, difficult conditions and we were able to keep the car on track, hold some quicker cars. I was hoping the race was going to finish earlier on because we were a bit higher but I’m still super satisfied.”

– Felipe Nasr

Felipe Massa crashed out of his home race on lap 49 in 13th with a similar incident to Sauber’s Marcus Ericcson earlier on. He was ahead of Valtteri Bottas and chasing the gap to Daniil Kvyat’s Toro Rosso in 12th when the extreme conditions caught him out.

It wasn’t the last home race that Massa wanted or deserved for his commitment to the sport over the years and the pit-lane ovation for the Brazilian driver was a fitting tribute to the 11-time race winner.

 

After the race, Massa said,

“We couldn’t finish the race. I wanted to finish in the right way, with the flag on the top.

I was just walking, in front of my people, with this amazing reaction. Not just from the fans but from all the people in Formula One coming out to clap their hands for me. It’s impossible to explain these emotions.

I never expected this in my life, I don’t think I deserved as much as this. The minimum I can say is thank you very much to everyone, all the people I’ve worked with, all of the fans. I will never forget this day.”

– Felipe Massa

massa

Massa goes into his final Formula One race with Fernando Alonso in his sights in the Driver Standings, the 2-point gap a possible target for his Williams in Abu Dhabi. There’s also the fight for 4th that heavily fell into Force India’s favour in Brazil, the gap between Force India and Williams now 27-points.

 

 

Start the discussion

to comment