Google+ Jack Leslie F1: F1 Flashback – Pit stop disaster in Singapore

15 September 2016

F1 Flashback – Pit stop disaster in Singapore

The 2008 Singapore Grand Prix is now best-known for ‘crashgate’, but the first race at the Marina Bay Street Circuit also threw up many more dramatic moments.
One of those proved to be crucial in the fight for the 2008 drivers’ title, with Felipe Massa losing a potential victory due to a disastrous pit stop.

The Brazilian started from pole position but the deployment of the safety car for Nelson Piquet Jr’s crashed Renault brought many drivers into the pits. 

Massa took to the Ferrari pit box but the team released him prematurely with the fuel hose still attached. It was ripped from the fuel tanks as Massa left the box. 

He travelled to the end of the pits with the fuel hose attached and had to park up at the end of it, before his Ferrari mechanics sprinted down to remove it and let him return to the track. 

But the dramatic incident dropped Massa to last place and he could only recover to 12th, costing him a huge haul of points.

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