Nasr handed grid penalty for impeding Massa

Brazilian rookie Felipe Nasr was handed a three-place grid penalty on Saturday for impeding compatriot Felipe Massa in qualifying for their home Formula One Grand Prix.

Only diehard fans are expected to go to Interlagos this weekend, after the championship was settled two races ago in Texas.

“I think we can still have a good race”, he said. I expect to be competitive like a year ago. “With less coverage on TV, it will be hard for us to make their ratings go up again”.

The Williams Martini Racing driver was demoted three places on the grid for passing the Sauber F1 Team driver while the red flags were out due to Fernando Alonso stopping his McLaren-Honda out on track.

Massa’s last victory at Interlagos was bittersweet. Despite winning the final race of the 2008 season, he lost the season title by just one point to Britain’s Lewis Hamilton. “Definitely, it was nice to see what happened in Mexico, and that’s what Formula One needs”, Massa said this week. “I remember going to the grandstand as a kid and shouting every time that a local driver passed”. “They welcomed Formula One regardless of the little chance of their home driver winning the race”.

Its best active driver is Felipe Massa, who hasn’t won a race in seven years, nd no potential champions appear to be in the pipeline. “The team did not comply with the FIA Formula One Technical & Sporting Regulations, FIA worldwide Sporting Code and the instructions of the official tyre supplier in the event preview”. But he didn’t rule it out.

“For the size of the team, I think we’re doing a great job compared to the big teams”, he said.