Massa defends decision to appeal his disqualification

Felipe Massa has defended Williams' decision to appeal his disqualification from the Brazilian grand prix. The FIA said Massa was excluded from the results because a tyre on his car on the grid was found to be a massive 27 degrees above Pirelli's heat limit. F1 teams rarely challenge stewards' rulings, but the Brazilian driver said it is justified in this case.

"Williams will not be quiet, because what happened was very strange," he told Globo Esporte. Williams' chief engineer Rob Smedley has said three separate sensors operating independently showed that Massa's tyre was in fact well beneath the 110 degree limit. Massa continued: "If we put a tyre to a temperature of 137 degrees it catches fire. There's no reason to do so. The team is trying to understand what happened, because at the moment nobody does."

Even with Massa's disqualification, Williams secured third place in the constructors' world championship last weekend in Brazil. (GMM)

Replies (0)

Login to reply

AZ Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Local time 

AZAzerbaijan Grand Prix

Local time 

Test calendar

See full test schedule

World Championship standings 2026

Show full world champion standings

Related news

Give your opinion!

Will Bottas challenge Hamilton for the world championship in 2020?

Formula 1 Calendar - 2026

Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
-
Spain
-
Bahrain
-
Bahrain
6 - Mar 8
Australia
13 - Mar 15
China
27 - Mar 29
Japan
10 - Apr 12
Bahrain
17 - Apr 19
Saudi Arabia
1 - May 3
United States of America
22 - May 24
Canada
5 - Jun 7
Monaco
12 - Jun 14
Spain
See full schedule

Formula 1 Calendar - 2026

Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
6 - Mar 8
Australia Albert Park
13 - Mar 15
27 - Mar 29
10 - Apr 12
17 - Apr 19
Saudi Arabia Jeddah Street Circuit
1 - May 3
United States of America Miami International Autodrome
22 - May 24
5 - Jun 7
Monaco Monte Carlo
12 - Jun 14
See full schedule

Driver profile

  • Team -
  • Points -
  • Podiums -
  • Grand Prix -
  • Country BR
  • Date of b. Apr 21 1981 (44)
  • Place of b. Sao Paulo, BR
  • Weight 59 kg
  • Length 1.66 m
Show full profile

Team profile

Show full profile
show sidebar