Ricciardo, Massa reflect on start clash
| 1. | L. Hamilton | 1:28:06.508 |
| 2. | N. Rosberg | +18.964 |
| 3. | S. Vettel | +20.850 |
27 September 2015 – Daniel Ricciardo and Felipe Massa were unwilling to blame each other after they made contact at the start of the Japanese Grand Prix.
Ricciardo, starting from seventh, attempted to dive between Massa's Williams and Kimi Räikkönen's Ferrari after a strong getaway.
But as the gap closed, Massa and Ricciardo banged wheels, resulting in punctures, and early unscheduled pit-stops, for both drivers.
"At the start, the best line for me was straight down the middle," said Ricciardo, who ultimately crossed the line a lap down in 15th position.
"I saw the gap between Kimi and Felipe and I knew it was close, but I thought they would make a bit of room. I haven't seen the footage and don't want to put the blame on anyone so we'll call it a racing incident for now.
"It's a shame for the team, I think we could have gained some positions off the line and then the race would have been completely different. But we had the puncture, and that damaged the floor.
"We started to catch some cars at the end but by then I didn't have the grip to do anything."
Massa finished 17th, two laps down, after struggling to make it back to the pits.
"A very tough day for me today right from the first lap," said Massa.
"I had a bad start and then had contact with Ricciardo and it took me a long time to get back to the pits. From there it was the end of the race barring any miracle."
