Massa – I lost the car

Felipe Massa

(GMM) Felipe Massa on Sunday did not take the blame for his retirement from the Malaysian grand prix.

The pole sitter, who had fallen behind his teammate and grand prix winner Kimi Raikkonen through the first pit stops at Sepang, mysteriously spun into the gravel around mid-distance.

"I don't know what happened, I just lost the car completely," he was quoted as explaining to the British broadcaster ITV.

"There was strange behavior on the rear, so I don't know," the Brazilian added.

Massa's second retirement of 2008 means that while eleven drivers have scored points in the opening two races, the 26-year-old is now fourteen points behind championship leader Lewis Hamilton.