Massa’s result thrown out of Brazilian GP

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief

The FIA has found the tire temperature on the Williams machine driven by Felipe Massa to be over the maximum allowed ahead of the start of the race and as a result have thrown the Brazilian out of his home grand prix.

The team plans to appeal the decision.

The exclusion will take away Massa’s eighth-place finish and push Romain Grosjean to eighth, Max Verstappen to ninth and Pastor Maldonado to tenth.

The Mercedes-powered Williams was found to have a right rear tire temperature measured at 137 C, which is 27 C higher than the pre-race limit set by Pirelli. The tire pressures were0.1 PSI higher than the minimum starting pressure allowed.

“The rear right tyre on car 19 did not comply with the maximum tread temperature as specified in the event preview of the official tyre supplier,” the FIA said in a statement.

“The temperature of the rear right tyre was measured in compliance with the FIA Technical Directive TD/029-15. The team did not comply with the FIA Formula One Technical & Sporting Regulations, FIA International Sporting Code and the instructions of the official tyre supplier in the event preview.”

This is the second disqualification of Massa’s 13-year F1 career with the first one coming in the Canadian Grand Prix during the 2007 season when he exited the pits under red light.

About Joey Barnes 624 Articles
Joey Barnes is the Founder of Motorsports Tribune, an outlet that began with the goal of helping aspiring journalists break into and grow the industry. A regular on the racing scene since 2013, the journey for Joey started by covering a Grand-Am event at Circuit of The Americas in his home state of Texas. He has since primarily focused on the IndyCar Series, with appearances in the garages of NASCAR, paddocks of Formula 1, IMSA and World Endurance Championship, while also occasionally engulfing clouds of dust at the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals and select Supercross rounds. With previous stops at Autoweek, IndyCar.com, Motorsport.com and RACER, among others, Joey evolved from the singular task as a freelance writer to advanced roles behind the copy desk and alongside some of the best editorial teams in the business. Recognized as a multi-time award winner by the National Motorsports Press Association, Joey currently resides in Dallas-Fort Worth with his trusty four-legged canine companion, Rocket.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.