F1 Canadian Grand Prix: Felipe Massa slams Sergio Perez for his part in 180mph crash - 'He needs to learn'
Both Massa and Perez were released from hospital and were lucky to escape serious injury after their last-lap collision in Montreal
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Your support makes all the difference.Felipe Massa has hit out at Force India’s Sergio Perez after a crash between the two on the final lap of the Canadian Grand Prix resulted in both drivers being taken to hospital after a 180mph collision.
The incident happened on the run to turn one as the pair started their final lap around the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, with Massa moving to the inside of Perez as he positioned his Williams to dive up the inside of his rival. Sensing the move, Perez move across to his left, and Massa careered into the left-rear wheel of Perez’s Force India sending both drivers spinning out of control.
The closing speed of the two unstoppable cars-turned –missiles saw Massa nearly take Sebastian Vettel with them as he shot across the front of the four-time world champion, who had slowed to take the normal line through turn one.
With Perez spinning to the right of the track, Massa continued straight-forward and ploughed into the tyre barrier in a heavy and sudden halt that registered a hefty 32G impact. The safety alarm triggered inside the cockpit – a result of any large impact recorded – meaning Massa would have required a trip to the medical centre regardless of his condition, but the collision brought back horrible memories of previous incidents for both Massa and Perez.
Perez was later given a five-place grid penalty for the next event in Austria by the stewards, who deemed he had “changed his racing line which caused the impact” that cost both teams crucial points in the Constructors’ Championship.
Massa later tweeted a picture of himself from his hospital bed in which he informed fans he was ok, and later went on to criticise Perez for his part in dangerous moves in the past.
“We are doing around 300km/h there. With another car in front (Vettel’s) it could have been a very serious accident,” added Massa.
“We’ve had the rules for a few years that when one car is up the side the other cannot move anymore. He just moved and we touched.
“I said that he needs to learn. I wanted him to put himself in my place, because I had a huge crash and honestly I thought it was going to hurt.
“It’s not the first time that he turned into somebody under braking. He did this many times. He didn’t say anything, he just turned and left. I hope he learns.”
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