Felipe Massa will start from the pitlane for the Austrian Grand Prix as his mechanics have found damage to his new specification front wing.
The team have had to withdraw the car from Parc Ferme on safety grounds to change the wing, so will have to start with Daniil Kvyat from the pitlane.
The last minute change also means that he will have to revert to the previous specification as no more new specification parts were available.
- Long stint didn’t cause Vettel’s tyre blow-out in Austria
- Point earns Wehrlein Driver of the Weekend win
- Mercedes will use team orders if Austrian GP scenario recurs
- Hamilton won’t change his approach after Mercedes discussions
- 2016 Austrian Grand Prix team radio transcript
hahostolze (@hahostolze)
3rd July 2016, 12:57
Isn’t it astonishing that Hamilton is allowed to change tyres he ruined because of safety concerns but Massa can’t change a wing for the same reason?
Mark from Toronto
3rd July 2016, 17:20
Still posted a faster best lap then Bottas even though they used left over parts on his car. Massa has been beset by car issues all season. Willaims is really shooting themselves in the foot here.
Vinicius (@v27racing)
3rd July 2016, 23:03
Massa is being left behind by Williams, and this is very unfair. Only Massa got problems in strategies and in the car so far, everything is going smooth by Bottas. Massa proved many times what he can still do despite of being a “veteran”, and Williams is doing with him the samething Ferrari did, leaving him with problems and giving him a car with weird problems, while his team mate is using a car with new specs and got everything on his favor.
Also I’ve never seen a penalty to a car which has to replace a part that has a failure to an older one, so he’d get no benefit out of it for sure… really weird. If I was to decide I’d let Massa start with the front wing and on the first pit stop I’d replace it… shame on you Williams.