Massa does not want to talk about the Hamilton case in briefing

Just a week ago, our Italian colleagues from Autosprint reported that the drivers had asked Charlie Whiting to place Lewis Hamilton’s driving on the agenda for the drivers’ briefing, which traditionally precedes each Grand Prix. This request followed various incidents between the British driver and his title rival in 2008, Felipe Massa. However, judging by the statements of some drivers, it seems that the case of the McLaren driver will ultimately not be discussed, as evidenced by the declarations of Rubens Barrichello, president of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association: “I don’t think it’s going to happen. I think someone made that up. We discuss everything during the briefings and then, in the GPDA, we meet and discuss a bit more. But a lot was said about what Michael Schumacher did to Lewis at Monza, and it was unfair. Then, when it was brought up during the briefing, no one said anything. I don’t think anything will come of what happened in Singapore.”

More surprisingly, perhaps, Felipe Massa himself believes that there is no need to discuss Lewis Hamilton’s case during the drivers’ briefing: “I have nothing to say because everything he does, he pays for,” explains the Brazilian in the columns of *Autosport*. “The FIA does what the regulations allow: if you cause an accident or if you’re not driving properly, you receive a drive through, and he got a drive through. To be honest, it’s time for him to learn,” states the Brazilian, echoing the comments he made after the race where he advised the 2008 champion to learn lessons from his mistakes.

The Paulista, in fact, also does not intend to discuss it one-on-one with Lewis Hamilton: « I tried to talk to him, but he didn’t want to talk to me. That’s why I was disappointed because if I had been in his position, I would have apologized. I was disappointed and I tried to talk to him away from the media. Then, when I saw him there, [doing a TV interview], I did what I did because I expected a different reaction. I won’t talk to him. Honestly, I didn’t do anything, I just had a flat tire during the race, so I have nothing to say to him. If he comes to talk to me, that’s fine. »

The Ferrari driver also commented on the radio communications from his race engineer, Rob Smedley, who was encouraging him to ruin Lewis Hamilton’s race, just moments before the collision, sparking a controversy: “If you listen to all the radios, you will hear strange things. Rob said that to motivate me, not to ruin someone else’s race. Anyway, even if he had asked me, I wouldn’t have done it.”