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Felipe Massa claimed he was "screaming" for the Japanese Grand Prix to be stopped as heavy rain fell at Suzuka.

The race was eventually red-flagged after Jules Bianchi crashed on lap 43, one lap after Adrian Sutil had gone off the track at the same point. Bianchi hit the recovery vehicle that was working to retrieve Sutil's stricken Sauber and after being rushed to hospital underwent surgery on a severe head injury.

Massa, who after the race went to the hospital where Bianchi was taken, said his thoughts were with the Marussia driver but that he thought the race should have been stopped earlier.

"First of all we need to understand what happened with Jules," Massa said. "I'm very worried to hear just now that he hit the truck. In my opinion they started the race too early because it was not driveable at the beginning and it finished too late.

"I was already screaming on the radio five laps before that there was too much water on the track but then they just took a little bit too long and it was dangerous.

"You saw that there was the crash at the end and ... I just need to understand what happened to Jules."

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