Massa: "Incredible support from Ferrari"

Madonna di Campiglio, 15 January 2010 – The ‘veteran’ driver concluded the media section of the 20th edition of Wrooom. Felipe Massa is in his fifth season as an official Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro driver, while his relationship with Maranello and the world of Ferrari is even older. "It’s great to be back here year after year. This is the best possible way to start the season, absolutely unique, working and having fun.”

Felipe said he’s fit and ready for a new chapter in his career in red, confident in a better year than last season and in a more competitive car. “After the accident I never thought I had to stop racing. I was convinced that I could be back on the track already in Valencia," the Brazilian driver said. “The accident hasn’t changed anything in my work approach and in my way of thinking. Because I had to cope with so many difficulties in my life, I always learned a lot. I always had lots of support from Ferrari, since when I started racing for this team, but the strength and the availability they showed after my accident was really incredible: I knew that I could count on them, but what they gave me was really exceptional. Perspectives for the Championship? Although it’s still early to say, because I don’t know the new car’s performance and we don’t know where we stand compared to the other teams, I think that it was the right decision to start developing the car mid-season last year."

Asked if his life has changed, now that he is a dad, Felipe said: “The arrival of my son made my life very special, but I haven’t changed the way I’m living the races. When I sit behind the wheel I don’t think about my family, only when I come back to the garage I remember that I’m a dad now. They say that you loose one second per lap for every child? A champion like Schumacher has won a lot and he has two children….”

For the Brazilian driver Michael’s decision to come back to racing with Mercedes will not influence their relationship: "Michael is a friend and he was an important teammate for me to grow and improve. We’re still friends in life, but on the track he’ll be a competitor I have to beat, just like all the others. It’s difficult to say if he made the right choice, because I don’t know what you feel when you stop racing after a whole life on the track. I think that his comeback will help this sport; he’s a great talent and I think that he can be competitive immediately. It will be weird seeing him racing with another team after all the years with Ferrari, although there weren’t the possibilities for his return.”

Regarding the new rules Massa said: “The races without refuelling are an important change. We are working very hard with Shell to improve the consumption as much as possible, without penalising the performance. The race strategy will depend a lot on the position on the starting grid. In certain situations it will be important to be aggressive over the first five laps to gain positions, in others we might need to apply a calmer strategy: obviously it will depend on the circumstances.”

As far as his new teammate is concerned, Felipe is convinced that it was the right choice made by Ferrari: "During my career I’ve always had extraordinary teammates. This is what enabled me to learn and to improve, because you can learn a lot from a different driving style, from the way he sets up the car, how he goes into corners and how he brakes. I’m sure that we’ll work together very well, because this will help us both and also the team regarding the car’s development. Naturally we’ll both fight to stay ahead, because that’s our sport. Fernando is an extremely talented driver and I’ll try to help him with my experience in Ferrari. We had a discussion in 2007, after the Nürburgring race, because he accused me of unsporting behaviour: we cleared that, he apologised and that was it. Over the last days we spoke about our ideas regarding the car’s development. Differences to his predecessor? Although I’ve always worked very well with Kimi I’ve spoken more to Fernando over the last three days than with him in three years.”

Massa wins in Granja Viana

Maranello, 6 December 2009 - Felipe Massa, teamed up with Lucas di Grassi, third driver of the Renault Formula 1 team and Stock Car Lights driver Julio Campos, won the 500 Miles of Granja Viana yesterday in Cotia, near Sao Paulo. In Granja Viana Felipe was back on the top spot after his success here when he was 16 years old, when the race was held for the first time in 1997.

Massa crossed the line first after 644 laps and 10h 58:17.64. Second place went to Leonardo Nienkotter, Ricardo Zonta, André Nicastro, Francesco Ventre, Eduardo Dieter and Guilherme Silva, while the team, lead by Rubens Barrichello, joined by Tony Kanaan, Felipe Giaffone, Renato Russo and Osvaldo Negri, only came in third.

Massa dedicated the win to his son Felipinho at the end of a difficult season for him after the accident during the Hungarian GP’s qualifying. “Together with the victory gained in Florianopolis last week this was a very important goal for me after I had dreamt about getting back onto the track for a long time. I want to dedicate this victory to my son, it’s my way to say how much I love him.”

Massa and Schumacher: win for two in kart

Florianopolis, 29 November 2009 - A special weekend for Felipe Massa, back at racing after his long absence after his incredible accident in Budapest on 25 July. The Ferrari driver was the highlight at the "International Champion Challenge", the competition, which has been organised by Massa himself in Florianopolis, Brazil, for several years.

Felipe, third in the first race after a beautiful performance from the eleventh position on the grid, won the second race, held today afternoon, after he had gained the sixth starting position. After loosing two positions at the start the Ferrarista closed the gap and passed the leader, his fellow countryman Vitor Meira, on the last laps. Michael Schumacher crossed the line second in the first race, gaining the trophy with 42 points, thanks to the overall result from both races. Michael was ahead of Felipe (36 points) and Meira (26) in the overall standings.

"This was a fantastic event, maybe the most important kart event in the world," Felipe said after the race. "I demonstrated to be competitive like before the accident and that makes me happy. I think that if there were still any doubts, today I gave the answer. In the end I had a fierce fight with Michael, who was slightly faster, but I made it."

Schumacher dominated the event also in 2007 and could repeat his win today: "it was like in the old days, with Felipe and me on the highest places on the podium: I'm very happy and proud of him. It was a wonderful race and a beautiful day for all of us who took part."

Massa: I won't play second fiddle to Alonso

Felipe Massa insists he won't be playing second fiddle to Fernando Alonso when the two team up at Ferrari next season.


After years of rumours, Ferrari finally confirmed Alonso's signing back in September with the double World Champion replacing the ousted Kimi Raikkonen.


And with his two World titles behind him, many are expecting Alonso to automatically take the role of number one driver, leaving Massa to play second fiddle.


The Brazilian's chances of asserting dominance over the Spaniard also haven't been helped by his recently lay-off as he's been out of action since July's Hungarian GP after a life- and career-threating injury.


Massa, though, is confident he can match Alonso, who he rates as a "great driver...one of the best in Formula 1", as he says Ferrari work as a team and that the situation in the past where Michael Schumacher was the clear number one was because the seven-time World Champ had earned that honour.


"Whoever comes to Ferrari is always going to be a very strong driver, because they always have the best ones," crash.net claims he told Brazilian radio station Jovem Pan FM.


"I will do as I always have done - try to win.


"The work within a team is always collective. Schumacher carried a great influence at Ferrari because he earned it; he arrived, worked and created a competitive team.


"To have that position you have to work hard and achieve results."