Massa calls for cooler heads on young shoulders
By Alan Baldwin HOCKENHEIM Germany (Reuters) - Brazilian Felipe Massa has urged Formula One's younger drivers to calm down after he suffered another big collision in Sunday's German Grand Prix. The Williams driver had qualified third on the grid but failed to complete a lap after being pitched out at the first corner in a coming together with McLaren's Danish rookie Kevin Magnussen. Massa, whose car flipped and skidded along upside down before righting itself, blamed the Dane for the crash. "This is not the first time he was in an accident on the first lap. Most of the time these young drivers they want to win the race at the first corner," said the former Ferrari driver. "If you take most of the accidents that happen, they happen always with them." Asked what he would say to Magnussen, Massa continued: "I would say what I’m saying to you: ‘Just take it easy’. I’m not the only one losing, he’s losing out as well. He spun, maybe his car was not the same, so for sure he lost points as well. "I hope it’s enough for him to understand to take it easy a little bit more in the next race." Massa's frustration was understandable, with the Brazilian sidelined while Finnish team mate Valtteri Bottas took second place - his third successive top-three finish and the 300th podium in Williams' history. Massa has yet to stand on the podium this year, despite having one of the quickest cars after the dominant Mercedes, and has scored just 30 points to his team mate's 91 in 10 races. He drew a blank in the British Grand Prix two weeks ago when he started slowly and was then caught up in the aftermath of Kimi Raikkonen's first lap crash into the barriers. The Brazilian was fourth in Austria in June, after starting on pole position, but crashed out of the Canadian Grand Prix before that when he tangled with Force India's Sergio Perez on the last lap. Perez was handed a grid penalty for that crash in Montreal, despite the Mexican's team appealing. "I don't remember myself, Kimi, Fernando (Alonso) being involved as young drivers in so many things like that," Massa said of Sunday's incident. "Sometimes you need to understand that you cannot win the race at the first corner." Magnussen, who finished ninth, said he had nowhere else to go and McLaren backed him up. "He’d made a great getaway, and was pushing to stay close to Valtteri Bottas. Massa was on the outside and probably didn’t see Kevin, who was on the inside line, and had nowhere to go," said McLaren racing director Eric Boullier. "Kevin was quite blameless in the accident." (Editing by Ed Osmond)
