15/10/2009
NEWS STORY
Ferrari was quick to act upon comments made to members of the Brazilian media ahead of this weekend's Grand Prix at Interlagos when Felipe Massa claimed that Fernando Alonso must have been fully aware of the fixing of the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.
Speaking over lunch earlier in the day, and fully on the record, Massa told a group of journalists: "Alonso knew, I'm sure. It was impossible for him not know about it. I know, without a doubt, that he knew about it".
According to various reports the Ferrari driver was "emphatic" to the point of being "repetitive".
However, with Alonso heading to Maranello for 2010, the Italian team, keen to avoid the sort of shenanigans witnessed at McLaren in 2007, allowed Massa to clear up any misunderstandings, quoting the Brazilian as saying: "What I've said is the outcome of a hunch I've had and is not based on any concrete evidence.
"The FIA World Council announced that there was no indication that Fernando may have been informed of what had happened and I respect this outcome.
"Obviously I'm very disappointed about what transpired last year in Singapore: I have already said several times what I thought about it and now it's time to close that chapter and to look to the future. What is certain is that this episode will not marr in any way the relationship I'll have with Fernando when we will be teammates."
No doubt, should Massa make any further negative thoughts about his future teammate and his involvement - or lack of it - in Crashgate, the Italian team will put it all down to a "bump on the head".