Felipe Massa left 2017 United States Grand Prix in a happy mood, after securing another points finish after bringing home his Williams Martini Racing FW40 in ninth position; although the Brazilian believes that he could have Sergio Perez in the closing stages of the race.
Starting from tenth place on the grid, Massa moved up to ninth on the opening lap, running as high as sixth place at one point.
After pitting for the ultrasoft Pirelli, Massa dropped to twelfth place before passing both Haas cars to move back up to tenth place, this put him in the hunt for ninth place as he chased down and passed Daniil Kyvat.
“It was definitely a good result. It was a good race, and points were always what we were looking to achieve.” said Massa. “We lost a few points to Renault, but it was a positive race and I’m happy with the result.”
After Massa overtook Kyvat he had set his sights on the eighth placed Sergio Perez, he couldn’t find the right opportunity though as the race leaders came around to lap the pack, forcing the cars to yield to the blue flags.
“Unfortunately, the blue flag took away my opportunity to overtake another car at the end and take eighth instead of ninth, but I’m happy with the race and the job I did. That’s the most important thing.”
