Felipe Massa recalls the Lance Stroll interview comments that destroyed their relationship

Follow us on Google Discover

Felipe Massa left Ferrari at the end of the 2013 Formula 1 season after a seven-year stay. With Kimi Raikkonen replacing him as Fernando Alonso’s teammate, he moved to Williams.

Massa would partner Valtteri Bottas for his first three seasons at Grove, reaping the benefits of the best-in-class Mercedes engine. The Brazilian would bag a pole position at the 2014 Austrian GP and add five podiums to his career tally.

When Nico Rosberg retired following his world championship triumph in 2016, Mercedes moved for Bottas. That paved the way for Lance Stroll to graduate from his development driver role at Williams to a full-time race seat.

Williams weren’t quite as competitive in 2017 as they had been in the previous three years. While they remained fifth in the championship, their points tally fell from 138 to 83.

Massa was responsible for 43 of those points, with Stroll very nearly matching the veteran driver in his rookie campaign. The Canadian’s podium finish at the Azerbaijan GP accounted for nearly half of his points haul.

Over a single lap, though, Massa was a long way clear. He thrashed Stroll 17-2 in the qualifying head-to-head with an average gap of more than six-tenths of a second.

Lance Stroll hurt Felipe Massa by saying ‘he didn’t help at all’ during Williams partnership

Speaking to Motorsport Brazil, Massa recalled the guidance he offered Stroll during their single year as teammates. He retired at the end of the season, with another rookie, Sergey Sirotkin, succeeding him.

Massa says he had a ‘good relationship’ with Stroll until a post-season interview where the youngster denied receiving any ‘help’ from the other side of the garage. These remarks stunned his teammate and caused lasting damage.

“I had a good relationship with him, and then at the end of the year, I remember they did an interview with him saying ‘oh Felipe helped you a lot’. [He said] ‘he didn’t help me at all, he was a normal teammate’,” Massa told the podcast panel.

“Wow, I never imagined I would hear something like that given the relationship we had, given how the championship went. The relationship died.”

After a brief partnership with Sirotkin, Stroll joined Force India for the 2019 season to race alongside Sergio Perez. He’s since gone up against two of the sport’s biggest legends in Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso.

Lance Stroll under fire for comments to Aston Martin race engineer

Stroll has now completed more than 150 Formula 1 races but he continues to face questions over his attitude. His demeanour during his media obligations has been repeatedly criticised.

At the Italian GP last month, Ted Kravitz said Stroll was ‘uncommunicative’. He barely got ‘six words’ out of the Aston Martin driver.

And after Baku, Stroll came under fire for a team radio exchange with his engineer. The 25-year-old lamented the ‘useless feedback’ he was receiving during a practice session.

He’s currently set to repeat the 10th place he achieved in last year’s championship. Alonso is only one spot ahead, but he’s scored more than double the points (58 vs 24).