Massa forced to take a Resta
SCOTLAND’S Paul di Resta was drafted in as a replacement for an unwell Felipe Massa yesterday.
Williams’ reserve driver Di Resta last raced in 2013 with Force India and took over for Brazilian Massa ahead of qualifying in Hungary.
Massa had gone to hospital for precautionary tests on Friday after feeling unwell and dizzy during practice.
He was cleared to take part in yesterday’s final practice session before qualifying but completed just 12 laps before calling it quits for the weekend.
“After feeling unwell during practice in Budapest on Friday and Saturday, Felipe Massa will not drive for the remainder of the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend,” Williams said in a statement.
“He felt unwell again during third practice and has made the decision to withdraw from the weekend.
“Williams supports Felipe’s decision and the team will work with him to ensure he makes a full recovery, with a view to returning to the race track for the Belgian Grand Prix.”
Massa was due to leave
F1 at the end of last season but returned after Valtteri Bottas moved to Mercedes as replacement for retired 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg.
Hungary has been a race of special significance for the Brazilian since he suffered near-fatal head injuries after being hit on the helmet by a bouncing spring during qualifying in
2009.
The then-Ferrari driver spent several days in hospital in an induced coma after that incident.
Di Resta, 31, had not previously driven the latest generation of F1 cars but put in a time of
1min 19.868secs.
The Scot said: “I’m not going to lie, I was scared, nervous, anxious.
“I’ve not driven one of these cars for three-and-a-half years and you get thrown into qualifying which is the deepest of all deep ends.
“It’s like jumping off a cliff and seeing how you fight for survival.
“But honestly I felt quite comfortable quite quickly.
“As soon as I let go of the pit limiter it was kind of there and I was improving by half a second a lap. There is still plenty of potential there.”