Formula One: Felipe Massa out of German GP after spectacular smash

Hockenheim, Germany: Felipe Massa, starting on the second row, somersaulted spectacularly out of the German Grand on Sunday after his Williams was bumped at the first bend.

Massa’s car came to rest in the safety gravel. The Brazilian walked away unscathed but clearly frustrated after the accident, which was triggered when Kevin Magnussen’s McLaren clipped the rear of his car.

“Big crash for Felipe but he is out the car and heading back to the garage,” Williams said on its Twitter account.

Magnussen continued, although the Danish driver reported damage to his front right tyre.

The race restarted after a brief interlude when the safety car appeared, with Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg leading from pole.

Massa has suffered wretched luck this campaign.

At the British Grand Prix at Silverstone last time out, his race ended prematurely when in a collision with Kimi Raikkonen’s out of control Ferrari. Only rapid avoiding action by Massa prevented a far more serious crash.

In the Canadian Grand Prix in June, Massa accused rival driver Sergio Perez of being “dangerous” after the Mexican had caused their near-300kph collision.

Brazilian Massa had tried to pass Perez for fourth position as they approached Turn One when their cars collided, an impact that sent both into the barriers at high speed.