After 14 seasons of racing in Formula One, Felipe Massa has announced that he will be retiring from the sport at the end of the season. The Brazilian has won 11 races during his career, including 2 race wins at his home Grand Prix.
After winning the Formula 3000 series championship title, Massa made his Formula One debut with Sauber in 2002, alongside Nick Heidfeld. His debut season was far from perfect, as the Brazilian made many mistakes and was given a race suspension later in the year. He was not offered a contract with Sauber the following season, so he joined Ferrari as a test driver. The following season, Sauber once again offered Massa a contract.
When Sauber changed ownership in 2006, Massa was released from his contract. However, he was not without a seat, as Ferrari offered him a contract to race alongside Michael Schumacher for the season. It was this season where he would get his first race victor in Turkey. He would remain with Ferrari until 2013. He notably lost the 2008 World Drivers’ Championship title to Lewis Hamilton by a single point in 2008. He was unable to complete the 2009 season, having been struck in the helmet by a rear suspension damper from Rubens Barrichello’s car. He made his return in 2010, eventually served the memorable team radio message “Fernando is faster than you”.
Massa made the transition from Ferrari to Williams in 2014 to replace Pastor Maldonado. He has been unable to achieve a race victory in the Williams car, although he has gathered five podiums, one of which was a second place finish.
Ahead of this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix and with only eight races remaining in the season, Felipe Massa announced that he would not be continuing his Formula One career. He did not go into detail about his reason for retiring, but says that he made his announcement at Monza because it was the location where his former teammate and idol, Michael Schumacher, announced his first retirement in 2006. His final race will be in Abu Dhabi, where he will wrap up his career at the age of 35.
