Massa needs more time
For rookie Felipe Massa getting track time at unfamiliar circuits is essential, especially at a Sepang, where the teams don't ordinarily test. So the last thing he needed was to lose half the session after taking to the gravel on the entrance to Turn 11
"I think it was still quite dirty today because a lot of people spun," he said. "Unfortunately I was one of them. I saw (Enrique) Bernoldi go off, and then suddenly I lost the back end of my car. I don't know if there was anything on the surface, but it snapped out of line pretty quickly."
At one stage the Brazilian had been on the fringe of the top 10, but as the others improved he slipped down the order and finished back in 21st place. In contrast team-mate Nick Heidfeld had a much better time of things; setting the third quickest time in first free practice and ending up 10th in the second.
"Things went quite well for me right from the start of the morning session," admitted Heidfeld. "We made some changes to improve the balance of the car, but I wanted to do a longer run at the end and was frustrated because there were so many yellow flags."
This weekend the Saubers are running with the Malaysian flag on their bargeboards, so the team will be especially keen to impress tomorrow in order to give them a chance of taking their first points of the season on Sunday.
Share Or Save This Story
Massa’s F1 2008 lawsuit will proceed to trial, judge rules
Massa's lawyer: Ecclestone, Mosley involved in "deliberate concealment" of Crashgate
Prost-like Massa deserved to retire an F1 world champion
MotoGP British GP: Bezzecchi leads Aprilia domination in Friday practice
FIA wants F1 cars to lose another 80kg under next rules overhaul
KTM allowed to fix faulty MotoGP engine after U-turn from rivals
How a Le Mans winner is changing the game for female racing in Japan
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments