Massa endures 'strange' race

Felipe Massa struggled to get past Nico Rosberg early in the race © Getty Images

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Felipe Massa says that he had a "strange race" as he finished eighth in the Belgian Grand Prix.

Massa made a good start to run third early on, before dropping behind his team-mate Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton. He lost out to Jenson Button later in the race, but appeared to be on for some solid points before he suffered a rear puncture immediately after a pit stop and spent the last stint battling back up to eighth place. Massa said it was clear from the middle of the race that the car didn't have the pace to challenge for the podium.

"It was rather a strange race for me," Massa said. "In the opening phase I was absolutely in the fight for the top places, but then I started to have tyre problems and the car seemed to no longer be so well balanced. With the Mediums, the situation improved, maybe also down to an adjustment to the front wing which we made at the pit stop, but we were not quick enough, as was clearly evident and by then it was too late. On top of that, I also had a puncture on the left rear tyre which meant I had to make another stop."

Massa also said that he was compromised by a lack of grip in the slow speed corners, preventing him from staying close enough to cars to pass using the DRS.

"When I found myself behind Rosberg, I could not pass him, despite the DRS, because their top speed is very good. Furthermore, I was struggling especially in the slowest corners - the final chicane and La Source - and that stopped me from getting as good a tow as possible."

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