Massa feared for Glock safety in Brazil
According to Germany's Sport Bild, Massa feared that his Brazilian supporters at Interlagos might turn their frustration on members of the Japanese team.
Toyota driver Timo Glock's dramatically slow final lap of the Brazilian grand prix, which gave fifth place to Lewis Hamilton, cost Massa the world championship.
Sport Bild reports that Massa sent his younger brother to the Toyota garage to advise team members to change out of their uniforms before leaving the circuit, located just outside sprawling Sao Paulo.
Apparently, Toyota figures did heed the warning, returning to their hotels or to the airport wearing Brazilian national team jerseys, or spare uniforms of the Renault or Ferrari teams.
German driver Glock, meanwhile, was forced to deny wild conspiracy theories that – albeit with an unexplained motive – he deliberately slowed to allow Hamilton to be champion.
"Maybe the Brazilian fans are not on my side any more but I tried my best and drove my race," he told BBC radio.
Hamilton was not afraid to enter the city to celebrate his triumph on Sunday evening. He was spotted dining at a local steakhouse before partying with his entourage at an invitation-only nightclub party just after midnight.
And, just for the record, even the Briton's arch-enemy Fernando Alonso returned to the McLaren garage after the race on Sunday to personally congratulate Hamilton, the German newspaper Bild reported.