Things are not going on the right track for Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa as the two drivers have brought out their rivalry in the public yet again. The situation seems to be slipping out of hands, as they collided with each other for the sixth time this season, during the first ever Indian Grand Prix on Sunday.
The celebrations of Sebastian Vettel's 11th win of the season were unable to gain its full form, owing to the incident that unfolded at turn 5 of lap 24, wherein Hamilton, in a bid to surpass Massa faced an aggressive hit by the Brazilian. The stewards decided to go in Hamilton's favour and came down heavily at Massa by handing over a drive-through penalty.
Martin Whitmarsh, the McLaren Team Principal, was quite annoyed with the attitude being displayed by both the drivers. "They're young drivers but they're not that young. They're men. They've got to figure it out for themselves. They have to sort it out. They've been coming together too frequently. Clearly Lewis and Felipe are magnetic," he said.
Besides Whitmarsh's strong comments, the Ferrari Team Principal, Stefano Domenicali too stated in a somewhat similar tone, on being asked whether the pair was 'magnetic'. "Who is the plus and who is the minus?” he said. "We can sit down together and play cards but it will not solve the issue. One thing that is crucial in my view is that we need to make sure there is a coherent approach from the stewards about things that happen on the track,” Domenicali further added.
As a matter of fact, the latest incident took the number of collisions between the two racers to 4, within a month, with two such situations happening before, in Singapore and Japan. Ostensibly, Massa seemed to perform better during the initial stages of the race; however, Hamilton took over as time passed, finishing 7th. Nothing at all went Massa's way as he had to discontinue the race due to a front suspension damage.
Hamilton was asked to keep the media at bay; however, as he left the track, the driver was quoted as saying, "There is not much to say. Disappointed would be an understatement. I tried to overtake but I tried to pull out of it as he didn't give me any space and we collided. I've had to apologise to the team after yet another disastrous race. It's been an eventful year. Felipe is very reluctant to let me by. He makes his car as wide as he can."
Massa was heard commenting in a defensive tone, as according to the racer, he applied the brakes after Hamilton and being ahead, he could not realise that he was closely followed by Hamilton. He was surprised to be at the receiving end and said that there was no reason to be adjudged at fault.
The Brazilian driver pointed out that Massa may have a grudge against him because, according to Hamilton, all incidents took place as Massa hit his car.
Thus, in view of the unprecedented niche that the popular car racing event has carved over years, such unhealthy trends may hurt the spirit of the highly-admired sport and its enthusiasts.
