• Monaco Grand Prix

Massa crash caused by car issue

ESPN Staff
May 26, 2013 « Mercedes test row passed on to FIA | FIA conditions of Mercedes test may not have been met »
Felipe Massa crashed at Ste Devote for the second time this weekend © Sutton Images
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Felipe Massa's heavy crash during the Monaco Grand Prix was caused by a problem with the front left corner of the car, according to Ferrari technical director Pat Fry.

Having crashed heavily in FP3 at Ste Devote and missed qualifying, Ferrari said it was a driver error that led to the incident. Massa then suffered an almost carbon-copy crash during the race but Fry said the early analysis had shown there appeared to be a problem with the car the led to Massa hitting the wall.

"First and foremost, I'm pleased that Felipe is okay," Fry said. "Today's accident looked very similar to what happened in the third free practice session, but in fact the two incidents are very different. Unlike yesterday, it seems that today's incident can be attributed to a problem on the left front corner of the car. It's too early to say precisely what happened and in the next few days, we will try and ascertain the exact cause back in Maranello."

Massa himself said he only suffered "slight pain" in his neck in the accident but that he was focused on having a better weekend in Canada in two weeks' time.

"I was taken to hospital for all the precautionary checks and luckily everything is in order," Massa said. "I'm alright, I've just got a slight pain in my neck, but nothing serious. Now I will look to get in shape and be back 100% for the Montreal race. All I want to do is put this bad weekend behind me and think about doing well in the rest of the season."

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