Williams tech boss Paddy Lowe reckons that Felipe Massa would have won Sunday's Azerbaijan Grand Prix without a rear damper failure which put the Brazilian out of the race.
Massa was P9 on the Baku grid on Sunday but found himself third behind Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel when the race was red-flagged on lap23 following the presence of debris on the track.
The Williams driver lost performance on the restart unfortunately and rapidly lost ground before retiring from the race.
"It was a failure of part of our damping system, it had locked the rear suspension solid, at a high rear ride height as well, so it was locked up at the full droop position,” explained Paddy Lowe.
"It was close on the restart with Daniel (Ricciardo) but in truth, the problem Felipe had with the car had existed from the minute the cars had left the pit lane.
"As we retraced it, it occurred on the in lap [before the red flag], which we hadn’t been able to spot in the data.
"We wouldn’t have been able to fix it anyway in the red flag period, so it was what it was. He had no pace, that’s why Daniel was able to overtake into Turn 1."
Given how events at the front later unfolded and in light of team mate Lance Stroll's race pace, Lowe believes Massa could have pulled off a comfortable win on Sunday without his misfortune.
"We saw the problem with Lewis (who pitted from the lead because of a loose headrest) and then Sebastian got his penalty," said Lowe.
"When you put that together, Felipe could have been leading that race and finishing on the top step.
"Of course you worry, as there was a long way to go and so many cars had fallen out already. But he had the performance to sustain those positions."
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