Accident Pérez / Massa: Both sides blame each other

Major and final event of a spectacular Grand Prix, the collision between Felipe Massa and Sergio Pérez generated a lot of discussion and digital ink. The two drivers collided at the end of the pit straight as the Brazilian pulled alongside the Mexican, sending both drivers into the tire wall at turn 1. The stewards took up this incident and decided to penalize Sergio Pérez, whom they deemed guilty of changing his line, triggering the crash.

However, since the end of the race, the two camps have been clashing and blaming each other, whether through the press or social media. Furthermore, F1 observers from all backgrounds are questioning the alleged responsibility of one driver or the other, using photos or videos that are supposed to shed light on the intentions or mistakes of Pérez or Massa.

Massa believes that Pérez turned on him

On the side of the main parties involved, the perspective is obviously different. Felipe Massa—who endured an impact of 27 g—expressed his feelings about the incident and afterward about Pérez to Autosport: « I spoke to him at the medical center. I was very disappointed in him. I told him he needed to learn. I wanted him to put himself in my shoes because I had a big accident and honestly, I thought it was going to hurt. »

For him, the Mexican is clearly at fault because he veered to the left at the moment of braking: « It’s not the first time he’s turned into someone during braking. He’s done it plenty of times. He didn’t say anything, he just turned around and left. I hope he understood. We’re going at 300km/h there. With another car in front, it could have been a very serious accident. » The Brazilian even shared a photo montage on Twitter supposed to support this version.

“@paschettafer: @f1writers: It was not Felipe’s fault. #F1 pic.twitter.com/y9X56BvYG9 via @shailesh6666” @MrSwagmark”— Reginaldo Leme (@RegiLeme) 9 Juin /f1/actualite/17842-vettel-chanceux-davoir-echappe-a-laccident-entre-massa-et-perez.html

« We have had rules for a few years now that say when one car is beside another, the other car must not move. He just moved and we touched. It’s dangerous. For me, a 5-place penalty is not enough. He was dangerous. We could have crashed into Vettel, he explained. Indeed, Sebastian Vettel believes he was lucky to escape from the wayward Williams.

Smedley is upset with Force India

In the Grove team’s staff, Rob Smedley, the performance director, believes that Pérez braked too early: « Pérez braked very, very early. In addition, he moved his car to the left, or due to a braking problem it moved to the left, I don’t know. »

Moreover, he accuses Force India of having left the Mexican on track despite a braking issue: « I think it was on the 67th lap, [he] said he didn’t have any rear brakes. So they told him to be careful if he could, and if not to come into the pits, which seemed to me to be a damn terminal problem to be honest. Leaving a car out when you have this kind of problem is beyond me. »

He relies on the cases of Lewis Hamilton, during the same Canadian Grand Prix, and Valtteri Bottas, during the Monaco Grand Prix, to highlight the precautionary principle: « You saw two teams, one of them being ours, who knew how to withdraw: with Valtteri, we had to tell him to come in to save his brakes and engine, but especially the brakes because it can be dangerous, and we lost points. That’s life, » he declares. « Lewis Hamilton, because of his problems – with brakes, again – had to stop his car. He’s a guy fighting for the championship and he stops. »

« I am a bit upset that this happened, to be honest. We were very lucky that no one was seriously injured, » he concluded for Autosport.

Pérez does not understand Massa’s maneuver

Sergio Pérez, precisely, wants to refute the statements claiming that the VJM05 had become dangerous: « I am not happy with the comments saying that we should have withdrawn the car. It was perfectly drivable with just a few adjustments, and we showed that until the moment we were taken out. »

« The other cars had similar problems for much longer than we did, and they finished the race without issues. If anyone thinks you can keep two Red Bulls behind you for as long as we did with supposedly terminal problems, they’re wrong. » The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal is a very demanding track for brakes, and it’s not uncommon to hear drivers complain about premature wear.

According to him, regarding the incident, the fault lies with Felipe Massa: « I was following the same trajectory and braking point as in the previous laps and I was just hit from behind by Massa. There was plenty of space on the left of my car to attempt a clean overtake and I can’t understand why he stuck to me. »

« I have seen numerous replays of the incident and I couldn’t help but notice that Felipe turns to the right before touching me. I can only think that he must have changed his mind and wanted to get back on the racing line; his error in judgment cost us a lot of points. » Like his colleague at Williams, the Force India driver retweeted a photo supposed to demonstrate that his assessment of the situation is correct.

@clubforce @SChecoPerez pic.twitter.com/5sgBtRH6lv

— Aitor Fernández (@Aitor_Paji) 9 Juin /f1/actualite/17842-vettel-chanceux-davoir-echappe-a-laccident-entre-massa-et-perez.html

Szafnauer criticizes Massa

Finally, Otmar Szafnauer, Chief Operating Officer of Force India, also shared his comment, holding Massa accountable for being too optimistic: « Look at the corner and watch Massa turn into Pérez. He goes on the inside to try to overtake and thinks ‘Damn! You can’t get through turn 1, let me get back on the racing line’ and then he touched him. »

« How many other overtaking maneuvers in the first corner happened during this race? I tell you: zero. Why? Because you can’t do it, » he explained to Autosport.