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IndyCar drivers respond to Felipe Massa’s criticism of sport’s safety

By Asher Fair

SINGAPORE - SEPTEMBER 15: Felipe Massa of Brazil and Williams walks in the Paddock before practice for the Formula One Grand Prix of Singapore at Marina Bay Street Circuit on September 15, 2017 in Singapore. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
SINGAPORE - SEPTEMBER 15: Felipe Massa of Brazil and Williams walks in the Paddock before practice for the Formula One Grand Prix of Singapore at Marina Bay Street Circuit on September 15, 2017 in Singapore. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) /
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After former Formula 1 driver Felipe Massa criticized IndyCar’s safety standards, several IndyCar drivers took the time to respond.

Former Formula 1 driver Felipe Massa took to Twitter following the nasty wreck involving Nico Hulkenberg, Fernando Alonso and Charles Leclerc at the start of Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix to praise the halo device, which Formula 1 just implemented at the start of this season.

Just 13 races into the 21-race 2018 season, the halo has already proven its worth.

This wreck began when Hulkenberg ran into the back of Alonso heading into the first turn on the first lap of the 44-lap race around the 19-turn, 4.352-mile (7.004-kilometer) Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps road course in Stavelot, Belgium.

In doing so, Hulkenberg sent Alonso’s car up into the air, where it climbed over the top of Charles Leclerc’s car. To be specific, it went right over the cockpit of the 20-year-old Monegasque’s Ferrari-powered Alfa Romeo Sauber machine.

Here is a video of the accident.

Here is what Massa had to say about the halo on Twitter after the wreck.

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Massa, the 11-time Grand Prix winner who retired from Formula 1 after the 2017 season came to an end, has every right to be grateful for the halo. In fact, even some the biggest critics of the new device admitted that it is good that it was in place, and justifiably so.

Several camera angles show that had it not been in place, parts of the body of Alonso’s car and even one of the car’s tires would have likely hit Leclerc’s helmet, and the consequences of that could have been devastating for the rookie.

However, in his praise of the halo, the 37-year-old Brazilian also took a shot at IndyCar’s safety standards. Here is what he had to say about the matter.

Several IndyCar drivers did not take too kindly to Massa’s remarks, and they certainly did not neglect to let him know it. Here is what some of them had to say about the matter.

Massa quoted Tony Kanaan’s tweet, which stated, in Portuguese, that he disagrees. Massa stated that he is only looking out for the safety of his “little brother” — also in Portuguese.

Several other IndyCar drivers liked and/or retweeted some of the tweets of their fellow drivers.

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Do you agree with the IndyCar drivers who responded to Felipe Massa’s assessment of the sport’s safety standards that the former Formula 1 driver’s take on the matter is highly inaccurate, or do you agree with Massa?