F1
Laurence Edmondson, F1 Editor 8y

Williams blames DRS for Felipe Massa's FP1 accident in Canada

MONTREAL, Canada -- Williams believe Felipe Massa's first practice accident at the Canadian Grand Prix was triggered by the DRS flap failing to close properly as he hit the brakes for Turn 1.

The rear wing on Formula One cars features a moveable flag known as the Drag Reduction System to help aid overtaking at designated parts of the circuit. In practice and qualifying the DRS can be used in certain zones, with Montreal's situated on the back straight and the pit straight.

Massa lost control of his car under braking for Turn 1 and the team believes the lack of rear end stability was caused by the DRS flap not closing fully under braking. The accident left the rear of the car significantly damaged after heavy contact with the tyre barrier at the end of the run-off zone.

"The accident was nothing to do with me, it was a problem with the rear wing, the DRS," Massa said. "When I braked I even switched it off myself before the braking zone, but it didn't close so when I braked the DRS was almost 100% open and I had no grip on the rear so that is why I crashed. So it was also the first time we tried this rear wing so we are analysing what actually happened.

"It's a shame because crashing like that at the beginning of the day is definitely a pain for everybody, for the team, for me as well. The afternoon was OK, for sure I didn't have everything we can have in the car for the performance in the afternoon because of the crash so I am really looking forward that tomorrow everything will be in the car and we can be competitive. The car showed reasonably good pace straight away so I think that's positive and I hope it can be even more positive for tomorrow."

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