Massa Baffled by Accident

The Brazilian spun at the track's first corner near the end of second practice after locking up his right front wheel.

The car spun sideways across the track before crashing into the tyre barriers at the exit of the turn - thankfully without major damage to his car.

"The car was getting better and better with every run, but on the last the rear end felt a bit soft and the right front tyre was quite lightly loaded," said Massa, who ended the day eighth overall.

"I know I didn't make a mistake at Ste Devote, but when I braked hard there the right front wheel locked, the car went sideways, and then I crashed into the tyre wall. I'm fine, but I'm not sure what happened.

"On the positive side, I'm feeling very confident for the rest of the weekend after the way the car went this afternoon."

Massa's teammate Jacques Villeneuve could only set the 14th quickest time but claimed he was pretty happy with how his day had gone.

"A lot depends here on when you put the new tyres on the car. The track is always dirty at the beginning of a session and the first and last laps you do can vary by as much as four seconds.

"I was quite happy with the car today. We are in much better shape than we were in Barcelona. I tried to keep my set-up consistent and let the track improve, and I'm okay with what we did this afternoon. Our long run was acceptable.

"Now we just have to make sure that we make the right tyre choice for Saturday."