Felipe Massa
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Felipe Massa (born April 25, 1981 in Sao Paulo Brazil) is a formula one race car driver for the Scuderia Ferrari. Massa, who is under contract for Ferrari up until the end of the 2010 season, is the teammate of 2007 World Drivers' Champion Kimi Räikkönen.
Massa was just 19 when he made his debut in Australia and like most Brazilian racers began his career in karting. He was only about eight when he got into karting in his homeland where he placed fourth in the Sao Paulo Micro-Kart cat in 1990, sixth the following year, then third in 1993, eventually catching the eye of racing gurus and enthusiast.
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Personal Life
Felipe was born in Botucatu, a city of São Paulo State. He was married to Anna Raffella Bassi on November 30, 2007, in Sao Paulo, Brazil. His manager Nicolas Todt is the son of Jean Todt, the executive director of Scuderia Ferrari. Felipe is the son of Luis Antonio and Ana Elena Massa. His older sister Fernanda is a graduate of Fisitherapy and Advertising. His brother Eduardo, who studies marketing at Sao Paulo and is his number one fan, has also tried his hand in racing at the Granja Viana 500 Mile. At 17, Felipe worked on his first job at Interlagos as a pizza delivery boy, eventually giving him an opportunity to meet famous people from the world of Formula One. When he is not racing, which is a rareity, he likes to listen to different types music, watch movies or his favorite TV series "24", or go shopping for clothes and watches.
Career
Early Career
At the early age of eight, Massa has already competed in karting. In 1990, he placed fourth in the Micro Kart A - Sao Paulo Championship then sixth the following year. In 1992, he competed in Minor Junior Kart Sao Paulo Championship and finished 3rd before placing 4th and 2nd in the same tourney in 1993. In 1994, he placed sixth in the Minor Junior Kart, fourth in the Schincariol Super Junior Cup, 1st in the Parilla Junior Cup, and 7th in the Junior Kart - Brazilian Championship. He competed in the 1995 Formula Kart - Sao Paulo Championship where he finished 3rd, then at the 1997 Graded Kart - Brazilian Championship and in the Granja Viana 500 miles where he finished 3rd and 1st, respectively. He spent about nine years racing go-karts and said that although he never really had a good engine and chassis to race with, he considers those years as a great experience.
In 1998, Massa moved to racing single-seaters at the Formula Chevrolet series in Brazil. He placed fifth in the Brazilian Formula Chevrolet Championship that year before winning the title the following year, his first ever championship after winning 3 of ten races. In 2000, Massa moved to Europe where he competed in the Italian Formula Renault series and in the European Formula Renault championship, winning both championships in the same year after topping 8 out of the total 10 races. Although he had the chance to compete in Formula 3, Massa chose to race in the Formula 3000 Euro-Series, ending up with 6 wins out of the 8 total races with six pole positions and five fastest laps. His success eventually caught the eyes of the Sauber big bosses as he tested with the Sauber Petronas F1 at Mugello, eventually landing a contract to join the team for the 2002 season while also competing in the European Touring Car Championship as a guest driver for Alfa Romeo.
Sauber -- entry into Formula One (2002)
In his Formula One debut, Massa was paired up with 1999 F3000 champion Nick Heidfeld with the Sauber team, and although he has shown how competitive he was, his driving was put into question as the team lost points because of his mistakes. He even got suspended for one race, the United States Grand Prix, where he was replaced by the team's former driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen. His best finish that season was the fifth place he garnered at the Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Catalunya. He finished the driver's championship with four points which was good for 13th place.
Ferrari -- test driver (2003)
After a disappointing rookie season, Sauber decided not to renew Massa's contract and instead sticking it out with Frentzen in his place. After failing to get a deal to drive for the Jordan team, Massa eventually landed a contract with the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro F1 as the team's official test driver for the Maranello team. His job for the team was mainly tyre testing, ensuring that their racers would get the best tyres for the competition. Massa himself confirmed that he brokered a deal with Ferrari to spend his early F1 career trying to gain experience with Sauber, then would eventually move on to Ferrari in the future. Massa has also shown that he has gained experience and cut on his mistakes, prompting Ferrari to deal with Sauber in re-signing Massa to the team for the upcoming season.
Sauber (2004)
Massa tried to prove that he has polished his driving with his time with Ferrari, and although he has succeeded in some occassions, he could not keep in pace with teammate Giancarlo Fisichella. He managed to score only 12 points (scoring on five occassions) which was only good for 12th place in the drivers' championship, compared to Fisichella's 22. The highlight of that season for Massa was his fourth place finish at the Belgian Grand Prix as well as his one lap lead at the final race of the season at his home Grand Prix at Interlagos.
Sauber (2005)
Despite a not so impressive comeback season, Massa continued to race with Sauber for 2005 with a new teammate in 1997 world championship winner Jacques Villeneuve. Undaunted by his high-caliber teammate who struggled to adapt with the Swiss team and was outpaced for most of the season by the younger Brazilian, Massa paced Sauber that year, unfortunately, he only registered 11 points which was only good for 13th place. His best finish was ending the Montreal race in fourth position.
Ferrari (2006)
2006 saw Massa's return to Ferrari, only this time instead of testing tyres, he was on the main roster alongside multi-titled driver Michael Schumacher. Massa started on the right foot at Ferrari after qualifying second in the season-opener at Bahrain before ending his first race with his new team at the 9th position. He also made a good account of himself the next race at Malaysia after starting at number 21 to finish at number five, ahead of teammate Schumacher who started the race at the 14th spot. A little downside about this suppossedly breakout season for Massa was the resumption of his "flashy" driving style which was in display during the Bahrain practices and in the Australian Grand Prix causing him to crash his car in the qualifying before colliding with Christian Klien and Nico Rosberg at the first corner of the race.
But these errs were not enough to take away what he has achieved that season, which include his first career podium at the Nürburgring with a third place finish behind Schumacher and Alonso then setting the fastest lap In Barcelona. He also had podium finishes in USA (2nd), France (3rd) and Germany (2nd) before recording his finest finish in Turkey. He had his first pole position at the Turkish Grand Prix at the Istanbul Park circuit then went on to end first on that race. Within that season, Massa in a way secured his spot with the team for the next year after teammate Schumacher announced his apparent retirement from the sport by the end of 2006. He added another podium with a 2nd place finish in Japan then ended the season on a strong note with a first place finish in his home race at the Brazilian Grand Prix, marking the first time a Brazilian driver won at Interlagos since Ayrton Senna in 1993.
He ended the year placing third in the Drivers' Championship with 80 points, behind champion Fernando Alonso and Schumacher, with three pole positions and two race wins to further solidify his reputation as one of the up and coming stars in Formula One.
Ferrari (2007)
The exit of Schumacher apparently would bring about a challenge for Massa individually with the entry of former Sauber protégé Kimi Räikkönen as his new teammate. Nonetheless, he managed to record impressive stats in the preseason testing, topping the times in five occassions as well as setting the fastest laps in four circuits. He wasn't however spared with car problems as he encountered a gearbox problem in the qualifying for the inaugural race at the Australian GP, forcing him to start the race from the pit lane while incurring a 10-grid-slot penalty for the engine change. His one-stop strategy managed to cut the handicap somewhat as he ended the race placing sixth. He finished fifth on the following race at Malaysia when he lost a couple of places after running off the track while attempting to overtake Lewis Hamilton. He was able to recover in Bahrain and Spain, winning his first races of the season both from pole positions before placing 3rd in the Monaco Grand Prix.
Massa incurred a disqualification from the race stewards in Canada after leaving the pit lane while the red light was showing. The penalty may have slimmed his chances in the drivers' championship although he continued to be in the running for the title until the latter stages of the season. He ended the year with six more podium finishes, placing 3rd in the USA and China, and second in France, Europe, Belgium, and his home grand prix in Brazil. His last first place finish of the season was at the 2007 Turkish Grand Prix but would've been in Brazil had he not yielded the lead to teammate Räikkönen who was gunning for the drivers' championship. Massa capped the year with a fourth place finish worth 94 points in the 2007 season.
After playing a vital role in Ferrari's 2007 championship team, Massa was resigned on October to race with the team up until 2010.
Results and Records
Career Summary
| Season | Series | Team Name | Races | Poles | Wins | Points | Final Placing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Formula Chevrolet Brazil | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 5th |
| 1999 | Formula Chevrolet Brazil | ? | 10 | ? | 3 | ? | 1st |
| 2000 | Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup | Cram Competition | 9 | ? | 3 | 140 | 1st |
| Formula Renault 2000 Italy | Cram Competition | 8 | 4 | 4 | 147 | 1st | |
| 2001 | Euro Formula 3000 | Draco Junior Team | 8 | 6 | 6 | 60 | 1st |
| European Supertouring Championship | Team Nordauto | 4 | 0 | 0 | 71 | 23rd | |
| 2002 | Formula One | Sauber | 16 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 13th |
| 2003 | Formula One | Ferrari | Test Driver | ||||
| 2004 | Formula One | Sauber | 18 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 12th |
| 2005 | Formula One | Sauber | 19 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 13th |
| 2006 | Formula One | Ferrari | 18 | 3 | 2 | 80 | 3rd |
| 2007 | Formula One | Ferrari | 17 | 6 | 3 | 94 | 4th |
| 2008 | Formula One | Ferrari | - | - | - | - | TBD |
Complete Formula One Results
References
- Felipe Massa F1-Live.com Profile
- Felipe Massa Formula 1 Database Profile
- Felipe Massa TheScuderia.net Profile
- Felipe Massa Wikipedia
- Felipe Massa Formula1.com Profile
