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Question: Felipe, tell us about your start and battling very hard with Fernando into the first few corners and then the contact with Lewis Hamilton.
Felipe Massa: I had a very good start. Not as good as Jenson as I think his start was maybe the best. Then I saw them braking very late at turn one and I was looking at my wheels as well trying to be the same direction at the first corner. Then I saw Fernando a little bit wide, so I tried to go to the outside and then on the exit of the second corner he had a little bit better traction, so he was able to be slightly in front of me and then he was on a good side for turn four. I was completely on the left, so when I saw him go into the corner I went as well and then I felt something on my back and that was Lewis. He was just behind Fernando on the inside. I was a little bit on the outside, so we touched. I didn’t see to be honest what happened but just felt something on my back.
Question: You stayed out longer than the other two before you made your first pit stop. Did you think you might be able to jump them?
Felipe Massa: Well, it was a good idea to stay out longer but I expected the hard tyres after one lap, the out lap, to be stronger than the soft. I pitted and then I struggled like Jenson massively on the out lap. But then the hard improved and it was quicker than the soft. But anyway it was a good race. The team did a good job. I think I lost a little bit of time in the pit stop as well. Maybe that was something to fight for the positions in the front. But it was a great race especially to come here and see all these people on the main straight. You don’t see the asphalt. You just see people all around. It is just fantastic. It is a great feeling being on the podium here in Monza. It is a fantastic feeling for us.
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Formula 1: Pole Sitter Fernando Alonso Wins Italian Grand Prix
Formula 1: Italian Grand Prix - Race Results
Question: Felipe, you give the impression that perhaps you would have been better on the prime tyre rather than the option.
Felipe Massa: Yeah, the race was pretty consistent for us three and suddenly we saw Jenson coming in and then he went out his out lap was not very strong. His second sector as well but then after he was improving. I was sure that maybe in one lap he would be quicker on the soft. Then we decided to stop. Maybe I would have been better to stay out, but it is always easy to say after. We talked before, but anyway it was the right case to come in and change the tyres. Then I was struggling as well on the out lap like Jenson was. But I think it was a good race. The performance was good on the car. The start was also quite difficult. The first corner and also turn four as I felt Lewis hitting me. But after that I think it was a good race.
Question: No damage on the car?
Felipe Massa: I don’t think so. I didn’t check everything but I don’t think so.
Question: Happy to have the points for third?
Felipe Massa: Yeah, I think it was a good result in the end. For sure at the start I had the chance to pass… maybe Fernando as well because he was struggling at the second corner with Jenson but then in the next corner he was on the inside, so it was difficult. And also in the pits. He did a very good pit stop, he was a bit closer to Jenson and he was able to pass, because it was difficult on the track. Even though Jenson didn’t have a very good top speed he still wasn’t easy to pass.
Question: Felipe, you have built a winning car for Monza which is a special track. How much work do you have to do to rebuild the car for Singapore and the more conventional tracks at the end of the season?
Felipe Massa: I think that if you compare Monza to the next tracks we’re going to see, it’s completely different, so we’re more or less going to go back to Monaco now, which is Singapore, where you need a completely different car to here and we know that Red Bull is very strong on these kinds of tracks and you need the downforce, so when we go to Suzuka, it’s a bit similar to Silverstone, to Turkey, to Barcelona and we see Red Bull very strong on these tracks. Anyway, for sure we’re not going to have easy races, so we have a lot of strong teams like Red Bull and McLaren which are sometimes very strong. They are there, fighting for victory, for pole positions, so I don’t think it will be easy but anyway we need to prepare our car for every track we’re going to see now and hopefully we can be competitive as we were here in all of these tracks. It’s a big job now, but I definitely trust in the team.
Question: Felipe, you said you lost a little time in your pit stop. What happened, and if it was a normal pit stop, do you think you could have been in front of Jenson at the end of the pits?
Felipe Massa: Maybe. It’s difficult to say because I came out of the pit and they were kind of passing. But anyway, I was quite close to be honest. I don’t know what happened. I just saw that they took a little bit of time to change the front right tyre but I don’t actually know what happened. Anyway, it was not as quick as Fernando’s. Fernando was very strong on the pit stop, so that’s what the pit stop means now, whatever the detail, you can lose a second. It’s difficult to say exactly, maybe little details on the wheel or the position we stopped. Maybe you can lose a little bit. That was the case and maybe it was possible but it’s difficult to say.
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