Felipe Massa felt compromised by being the first driver to cross the finish line at the chequered flag during qualifying at the Red Bull Ring, with the ever improving track conditions seeing the Brazilian ending the day tenth on the grid.
The Williams Martini Racing driver had seen himself go third fastest when he completed his final lap, but ended the session tenth on the grid, more than four seconds off the pace set by pole sitter Lewis Hamilton.
Massa is now turning his attention to race day in Austria, and is looking to move up the order and secure a good haul of points around a track the Williams team have traditionally done well on in the past few years.
“The conditions in Q3 were very tricky, one lap you’re third, then the next lap you’re 10th,” said Massa. “It’s very difficult to understand the situation when the track is improving so much.
“I was the first car to start the last lap, so the last car had the track a lot drier. But that’s the way it is, so let’s concentrate on tomorrow to try to have a good race, a good strategy and finish with very good points.”
