Felipe Massa insists his crash during opening practice for the Belgian Grand Prix had nothing to do with the illness that ruled him out of the Hungarian Grand Prix.
The Williams driver was attempting his first flying lap in the opening stages of the first practice session at Spa-Francorchamps when he ran wide at Malmedy and slammed into the barriers. The impact caused significant damage to the left-hand side of the Brazilian's FW40, forcing his team to complete a chassis change following an inspection.
Under article 25.5 of Formula One's sporting regulations, a driver cannot run again on the same day if a chassis change is needed because the car must be re-scrutineered, meaning Massa had to sit out of second practice in the afternoon.