Not only did
the pair disagree over who was at fault for the incident on lap 24, for which
Massa earned a drive-through penalty, but the Brazilian rejected Hamilton’s claim afterwards that he
had attempted to patch things up between them on the grid before the race.
Hamilton
told reporters he had put his arm around Massa after the one-minute silence in
memory of British IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon and Italian MotoGP rider Marco
Simoncelli, who died on successive weekends leading up to yesterday’s race, and
wished his Ferrari rival luck.
Massa,
though, said that Hamilton’s effort at reconciliation was insufficient and
recalled a previous perceived snub from the Briton as proof that Hamilton was
not interested in a serious reunion.
“No, he
didn’t try,” Massa said. “When I tried to speak to him [after a clash in
Singapore] he passed through. He didn’t look at my face.
Here after
the minute’s silence he just said ‘have a good race’. This is trying to what?
‘Have a good race’ is not part of talking or whatever.” It is unclear what
Hamilton made of Massa’s remarks since the 26 year-old left the circuit early
on the advice of McLaren principal Martin Whitmarsh, without fulfilling all of
his media commitments.
Simon
Fuller, Hamilton’s manager, was also present in the McLaren motor home and was
likely to have been consulted. But it was clear from Hamilton’s initial
reaction that he is weary of the quarrel with Massa and desperately wants to
put both it and the season behind him.
“Disappointed
would be an understatement,” he said of a race in which he started fifth and
then recovered from the Massa incident to finish seventh, five places below
team-mate Jenson Button who now
leads him by 38 points with two races remaining.
“We were
clearly quick enough — Jenson did a great job. I just can’t apologise enough to
my team for the negativity that surrounds me nowadays.” Hamilton cannot catch a
break at the moment.
After his
encouraging second in Korea last time out, he had arrived in India determined
to put his recent woes behind him. He said his main goal was to put his
high-profile split with American pop star Nicole Scherzinger out of his mind
and stay “focused on business”.
Yet it was
almost inevitable, from the moment he closed in on Massa’s Ferrari after 23 laps
of yesterday’s inaugural Indian Grand Prix, that the pair would end up
colliding. Their cars seem almost magnetically attracted to one another this
year.
Hamilton has
been far from blameless — earning two drive-through penalties to Massa’s one —
but yesterday he was deeply unfortunate.
Attempting
to pass Massa up the inside into turn five, he looked to have done enough only
for the Brazilian to turn in on him. The stewards sided with Hamilton and
awarded Massa a drive-through penalty, which the Ferrari driver felt was harsh.
Asked
whether there was bad blood between himself and the Briton, Massa added: “Maybe
for him. Because all the incidents are that he touched my car. I have nothing
against him. Zero. Zero.” Hamilton also denied that he held any grudge, saying
his major concern was cutting out the mistakes which are costing him, such as
his failure to slow down under double yellow flags in practice, which resulted
in him dropping from second to fifth on the grid.
“I should
have been second on the grid and I wouldn’t have been anywhere near Felipe if
that was the case,” he said. “But [as for Felipe] no, before the race, during
the minute’s silence we were standing next to each other — and he hasn’t spoken
to me for a long, long time — and I put my arm around him and wished him good
luck for the race. He hasn’t spoken to me for months now, so I just wanted to
quash whatever beef, or any anger he has towards me. I still have respect for
him.”
Whitmarsh
said the pair needed to sort it out between themselves.
“They’re
young drivers but they’re not that young. They’re men. I have discussed it with
Ferrari but I think it’s got to come from them. If I arranged for the two of
them to shake hands outside the garage you would all take a picture and have a
laugh about it.
“I think
Felipe is under enormous pressure within that team and that causes him to
react. And in truth Lewis will be feeling under pressure because of the great
performance of Jenson at the moment.
“But a
staged handshake... you don’t want that, unless it’s to take the mickey out of
it. They’ve got to sort it out themselves.”
Massa and
Hamilton's five collisions this season:
Monaco: The infamous race that ended with
Hamilton doing his best Ali G impression, joking the stewards might have it in
for him “because I’m black”. Hamilton had been given two drive-through
penalties relating to incidents with Massa and Maldonado. He described them as
"an absolute frickin' joke".
Silverstone: Entering the final lap at his home
grand prix, Hamilton was running short of fuel and coming under severe pressure
from Massa. The two cars touched as they went through the final corner, but
despite losing part of his front wing Hamilton reached the line first. No
penalties were meted out.
Singapore:
This was as heated
as it has got between the pair this year. They collided on lap 12, Hamilton
earning a drive-through after giving Massa’s Ferrari a puncture. In the pen
afterwards the Brazilian grabbed him by the shoulder and said, sarcastically,
“Good job, man” to which Hamilton responded: “Don’t touch me, man”.
Japan: Hamilton apologised to Massa after
the pair again touched on the final run to the chicane; the Briton claiming he
could “not see” the Ferrari in his vibrating mirrors. "For what he says, I
don't care,” responded Massa. “I care about what the FIA does. They have
penalised people for much less this year.”
India: For the first time in 2011 Massa is
deemed to be at fault for a collision with Hamilton, earning a drive-through
after being adjudged to have turned in on the McLaren as they vied for fifth.
“I didn't do anything wrong,” he protested. “He didn't give me any space,” was
Hamilton’s verdict.
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