After scoring his third consecutive victory in Istanbul, Felipe Massa reckons he now qualifies for a Turkish passport.
Brazilian joint second in title race
After scoring his third consecutive victory at the Istanbul Otodrom, Felipe Massa jokingly wondered whether he now qualifies for a Turkish passport.
The Brazilian calmly dealt with the presence of Lewis Hamilton - the McLaren Mercedes driver running a three-stop strategy which allowed him to lead parts of the race - before easing towards the chequered flag after the Englishman dropped back following his final stop.
Massa, who had to endure questions about his future at Ferrari after spinning out of the Malaysian Grand Prix, also won in Bahrain and now lies joint second with Hamilton in the Drivers' Championship, seven points behind Kimi Raikkonen, who finished third on Sunday.
"It was difficult but we made it and third time in Turkey was fantastic. I think I can get a passport here already," Massa said.
"It is just fantastic. Today was a very difficult race. Lewis was pushing me hard a lot for the whole race and I thought he was very light at the beginning because he was pushing me so heavily.
"And when I did my pit stop I thought he was straight away there so I thought maybe he had less fuel, and the team told me he was on three stops and for sure that was a help.
"He was strong and I could not hold him on track so he passed me. I knew I still had a big chance to win the race as three stops were quite optimistic.
"But anyway I create a reasonable gap to be at the front after the pit stops."
