Motor Sport: Felipe Massa has backed team-mate Kimi Raikkonen's claim that an administrative mix-up by the FIA ruined Ferrari's chances of success at the Japanese Grand Prix.
The pair began the 67-lap race at a drenched Fuji Speedway on intermediate tyres but were told by motorsport's governing body they had to come in and change to extreme wets or be disqualified.
The order came after an e-mail was sent out to all teams at
12.37pm informing them for safety reasons cars would have to start
the race — which ran for the first 19 laps behind the safety
car due to the appalling conditions — on extreme
wets.
However, the Italian team did not receive notification until 1.37pm, seven minutes after the race had begun, forcing the two drivers to come in within the first three laps and rejoin in 20th and 21st places.
Although Raikkonen still has a mathematical chance of claiming the title despite trailing leader Lewis Hamilton by 17 points with just two races to go, Massa's challenge has now ended after his sixth-place finish and the Brazilian was fuming about the situation.
"The biggest problem is that we were not permitted to start on intermediates and that Ferrari was not informed," he said. "Everyone had the information to start on the extreme and not to start on standards — we were not informed.
"It's unacceptable because every team has to be informed."