Felipe Massa has echoed Ferrari’s calls for the FIA to review the safety car rules, in light on last weekend’s European Grand Prix.
As well as his team-mate, Fernando Alonso, the Brazilian driver’s race was also ruined by the introduction of the safety car, resulting in him eventually finishing eleventh.
Although the 29-year-old does not want to comment directly on the penality attributed to Lewis Hamilton, he is also of the view that the safety car rules must be examined.
“Unfortunately, this incident affected, in a negative fashion, our race,” the Brazilian wrote in his Ferrari blog. “By the time the track was completely under the Yellow Flags, we were already at the last corner of the lap and by the time I saw the ‘SC’ board, I was out of the final corner and going onto the main straight. At the same time, looking in my mirrors, I saw most of the field going into the pits as they had seen the board before the last corner.
“It was a matter of moments and we were very unlucky in that we had to spend a very long time behind the Safety Car, whereas Vettel was already ahead of the Safety Car before it came on track and Hamilton chose to pass it, thus breaking the rules.
“I don’t particularly want to go over what happened after that, because it changes nothing in that our race was ruined. However, what happened needs to be looked into because it is not normal than someone commits a serious infraction like overtaking the Safety Car, when there is a dangerous situation on track and is not really penalised in practical terms. We must talk about this together and do something to ensure a situation like this does not happen again. The team has told me that, next week there will be a meeting of the Sporting Working Group: that’s good and it’s an obvious indication that the FIA is paying close attention to the matter.”
