Massa says backmarkers cost him win
Felipe Massa believes the time he lost lapping backmarkers cost him victory in the French Grand Prix
The Brazilian led from pole position and held a small advantage over Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen for much of the race, but was overtaken at the final pitstop when Raikkonen put in a series of quick laps.
And Massa thought that the race had turned on valuable seconds he lost getting past lapped cars at crucial stages of the afternoon.
"For sure I lost the race today because of traffic," said Massa. "In the first stint I was supposed to be more than four seconds in front of Kimi, and it worked perfectly because the track was free. I was 4.8 seconds (in the lead), so I came out in front again.
"Then he had three laps more than me in the second stint and it was supposed to be the same. I needed to be more than four seconds in front.
"But I was so disappointed with the traffic in the second stint. I lost so much time. Even when you are not very close to the car in front, you lose so much downforce and cannot follow the car. You lose speed. That is the biggest problem we had today and I lost the victory because of that."
Despite his disappointment about missing out on victory, Massa was pleased that Ferrari had responded to McLaren's recent dominance.
"The car was great in all the runs, the car was great when I was alone, but it is great for the team to do the first 1-2 in the championship. And looking at McLaren, who are still a bit in front (in the championship) it is good to have a weekend like that."
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