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SAO PAULO (AP) — Felipe Massa has backtracked from his comments that future Ferrari teammate Fernando Alonso knew Nelson Piquet Jr. was going to crash on purpose at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.

The Spanish driver has denied prior knowledge about the crash, which allowed him to win the race.

After telling Brazilian media on Wednesday that "without a doubt" Alonso knew of Renault's plan to have Piquet Jr. crash, Massa issued a statement on Ferrari's Web site saying that what he said was "the outcome of a hunch" and was not "based on any concrete evidence."

Massa said the FIA World Council announced there was no indication that Alonso may have been informed of what had happened and he respects that decision.