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Classic onboard - Massa slides past Senna

15 Sep 2016

With its tight and twisty layout, Singapore is not a venue that produces a lot of overtakes, but in 2012 it bore witness to one of the best in recent years when Felipe Massa completed a physics-defying, semi-sideways pass of countryman Bruno Senna. Here’s how it unfolded…


It’s lap 43 of the 2012 Singapore Grand Prix and Felipe Massa’s Ferrari is tucked right onto the gearbox of Bruno Senna’s ninth-placed Williams. The Prancing Horse clearly has the better corner exit speed of the two cars, but on the faster parts of the circuit - such as the long curve to Turn 7, one of Marina Bay’s few overtaking spots - the blue and white machine simply accelerates out of reach. If a pass is going to be made, it is going to have to happen elsewhere. Massa tries his luck into the left-handed Turn 9, but Senna just about hangs on as his fellow Brazilian slides and struggles to stay pointing in the right direction. However, Senna's resistance can't last forever, and as the pair head towards Turn 13, Massa commits to an audacious lunge...