Felipe Massa is a Brazilian driver who formerly competed in Formula One. Having driven for Ferrari from 2006 to 2013, Massa joined Williams from 2014 to 2017. Massa had drove for Sauber in 2002 before joining Ferrari as a test driver in 2003. Having finished 3rd in the 2006 Drivers' World Championship, he finished a single point behind champion Lewis Hamilton in 2008. Massa had been in a championship-winning position as the Brazilian crossed the line at the final race of the season, but was overtaken in the championship when Hamilton overtook Timo Glock at the Jungçao corner on the final lap.
In the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix, Massa was injured from a torsion spring which became detached from Rubens Barrichello's car during practice, and hit Massa's helmet. As a result of his injuries, Massa missed the remainder of the season.
After his injury from 2009, he never won another race. He was on the way to win the 2010 German Grand Prix, but team orders from Ferrari prevented him from winning.
After his retirement from Formula 1, he moved over to compete in Formula E. He retired from Formula E at the end of the w:c:formulae:2019/20 season.
In 2022, Massa was appointed by FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem to act as President of the FIA Drivers' Commission. This commission was created to give Formula 1 drivers a voice in the decision making process of the FIA.
Formula One Career[]
2002-2005: Sauber[]
2002[]
Massa made his Formula One début for the Sauber team at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. He made an impression by qualifying 9th and ahead of his team-mate Nick Heidfeld, but a multi-crash put both him and Nick out of the race. He would score his first point in the next race at Malaysia.
Massa had a big crash in Monaco on lap 63, crashing head-on into the Turn 1 corner Sainte Devote. Massa had a brake failure with his car, which the shunt was a bad one, leaving his car badly damaged. He walked unhurt from the crash.
He had an one-race ban from participating in the United States Grand Prix, being replaced by former Sauber driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen. Eventually, he would not be selected as a full-time driver for the 2003 season.
2003: Ferrari test driver[]
Massa spent a year with Sauber's engine suppliers, Scuderia Ferrari, gaining experience by testing for the championship-winning team.
2004[]
After Nick Heidfeld left for Jordan and Frentzen announced his retirement from Formula One racing, Massa got the Sauber seat back, partnering with Giancarlo Fisichella. His best result of the season was a 4th place at Belgium, finishing ahead of his team-mate.
2005[]
Massa finished the 2005 season with a best result of 4th in Canada.
At the end of the season, after Sauber was taken over by BMW, he was replaced by his former team-mate Heidfeld. As Rubens Barrichello left Ferrari, he joined the team for the 2006 season.
2006-2013: Ferrari[]
2006[]
Massa won for the first time as a Ferrari driver in Turkey, starting from pole position and leading the most of the race.
2007[]
Massa began to be very competitive in the 2007 season, scoring consistent results plus three pole-to-wins of the season. However, he would finish 4th with 94 points in the drivers' standings, behind both McLaren drivers.
2008[]
Massa retired from the first 2 races of the season. In Australia, he retired from an engine failure, and in Malaysia, he spun out into Turn 8. He was a title contender, but lost out at a possible title to McLaren's Lewis Hamilton.
2009[]
In 2009, Ferrari, as the defending Constructors' Champion, were not successful as last year, as Brawn and Red Bull started to dominate the sport. Massa secured his first podium position at the Nürburgring, but an injury happened at Hungary, ruling him out for the rest of the season.
In Brazil, he was given a honour of waving the chequered flag at the end of the race.
2010[]
Massa's 2010 season started off with a 2nd place and a 3rd place at the first two races of the season. He was on the way to win at Germany, but team orders prevented him, losing out to teammate Fernando Alonso. He secured only five podium positions compared to Alonso's 10.
2011[]
In 2011, Massa failed to finish on the podium for the first time since 2005. His season was notable for the 5 incidents against McLaren's Lewis Hamilton at Monaco, Britain, Singapore, Japan and India.
In Monaco, Hamilton tried to pass Massa coming into the hairpin on lap 32, but the two made contact, leaving Massa hitting the rear end of Red Bull's Mark Webber, taking Massa out of the race and bringing out the safety car due to the debris from the incident.
In the British Grand Prix, Hamilton tried to pass Massa on the final lap of the race down into the Club corner, but Hamilton hit Massa on the left sidepod. Hamilton eventually beat Massa for 4th place.
In Singapore, Hamilton made contact with Massa, hitting his right rear tyre at turn 7. He dropped down to 19th, but would finish 9th and in the points. After the race, he publicly slammed Hamilton after the race, and also went up to Hamilton in the post-race TV interview area as he was about to start an interview with RTL Television, patted his shoulder, and sarcastically said "Good job, bro." Hamilton responded "Don't touch me again."
In Japan, Massa tried to pass Hamilton on the outside coming into the chicane, but both made contact for the fourth time.
In India, Hamilton tried to overtake Massa into Turn 5, but he hit Massa's left rear tyre, sending him out of the race due to a suspension problem on lap 32.
2012[]
Massa's 2012 season was another unsuccessful season, finishing only two times on the podium and being out-classed by his team-mate.
2013[]
Massa's last podium finish for Ferrari would come in Spain; the race was actually won by his teammate Fernando Alonso.
In Monaco, Massa crashed hard twice. In Free Practice, with a suspension failure coming into Sainte Devote, hitting the left barrier and head-on into the tyre barrier, putting him out of qualifying. In the race, he crashed again, similarly to his Free Practice crash, but this time it was a suspension failure and he went T-bone into the barriers. He eventually walked unhurt in both crashes.
2014-2017: Williams[]
2014[]
In September 2013, Massa signed a contract with the Williams team for the 2014 season.
In Canada, Massa hit the left rear of Sergio Pérez's Force India car, coming into the first turn of the final lap of the race. Both were unhurt in the crash.
Massa's first pole position happened at Austria for the first time since 2008, and his first podium came at Italy. He went on to score two more podium finishes at his home race and the final race of the season.
2015[]
At his home race in Interlagos, he originally finished eighth, but his rear right tyre exceeded the temperature limits, and he was disqualified from the race results.
In November 2015, Massa mulled over a retirement after the 2016 season if he could not secure a seat at a competitive team.
2016[]
Massa regularly finished in the points from Australia to Azerbaijan. However, in the following four races, his pace started to fall off, failing to finish in the points. On 1 September, it was announced that he would retire from Formula One at the end of the season.[1][2][3] Williams confirmed on 3 November that Lance Stroll would take his place in 2017.[4]
2017[]
Following Valtteri Bottas' move to Mercedes, Massa went back into the motorsport to rejoin Williams.[5] While he competed in the practice sessions of the Hungarian Grand Prix, he was forced to drop out of qualifying and the race after becoming ill, whilst reserve driver Paul di Resta took his place.[6][7]
Driving Style[]
Peter Windsor[]
In 2015, Windsor conducted a driving analysis of the different Formula One drivers' during February pre-season testing.[8] Windsor watched the drivers' as they entered and exited the highly technical corners of turns two and three of the Circuit de Catalunya.[8]
Massa was described to have a very similar driving style to Nico Hülkenberg.[8] Windsor noting they were "very similar in their input". It was noted that Hülkenberg was only "just getting the car as straight as possible" through the corners to which the car would ever so slightly, "squiggle" with instability.[8]
Formula One Statistical Overview[]
Formula One Record[]
| Year | Entrant | Team | WDC Pts. | WDC Pos. | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 |  Red Bull Sauber Petronas
|
Sauber-Petronas | Test Driver | ||
| 2002 | Sauber Petronas
|
Sauber-Petronas | 8 | 11th | Report |
| 2003 |  Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
|
Ferrari | Test driver | ||
| Sauber Petronas
|
Sauber-Petronas | ||||
| 2004 | Sauber Petronas
|
Sauber-Petronas | 12 | 10th | Report |
| 2005 | Sauber Petronas
|
Sauber-Petronas | 11 | 10th | Report |
| 2006 | Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
|
Ferrari | 80 | 3rd | Report |
| 2007 | Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
|
Ferrari | 122 | 1st | Report |
| 2008 | Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
|
Ferrari | 97 | 2nd | Report |
| 2009 | Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
|
Ferrari | 67 | 5th | Report |
| 2010 | Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
|
Ferrari | 121 | 6th | Report |
| 2011 | Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Scuderia Ferrari
|
Ferrari | 155 | 5th | Report |
| 2012 | Scuderia Ferrari
|
Ferrari | 131 | 6th | Report |
| 2013 | Scuderia Ferrari
|
Ferrari | 109 | 8th | Report |
| 2014 |  Williams Martini Racing
|
Williams-Mercedes | 126 | 8th | Report |
| 2015 | Williams Martini Racing
|
Williams-Mercedes | 121 | 6th | Report |
| 2016 | Williams Martini Racing
|
Williams-Mercedes | 72 | 10th | Report |
| 2017 | Williams Martini Racing
|
Williams-Mercedes | 49 | 12th | Report |
Career Statistics[]
Massa holds the record of having scored the most championship points without winning a title.
| Entries | 272 |
| Starts | 269 |
| Pole Positions | 16 |
| Front Row Starts | 27 |
| Race Wins | 11 |
| Podiums | 41 |
| Fastest Laps | 15 |
| Points | 1167 |
| Laps Raced | 14852 |
| Distance Raced | 74,339 km (46,192 mi) |
| Races Led | 42 |
| Laps Led | 936 |
| Distance Led | 4,536 km (2,819 mi) |
| Doubles | 8 |
| Hat-Tricks | 4 |
Race Wins[]
Career Results[]
| Complete Formula One Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | Pts | Pos | ||
| 2002 | 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
4 | 13th | ||||||
| Ret | 6th | Ret | 8th | 5th | Ret | Ret | 9th | 6th | 9th | Ret | 7th | 7th | Ret | Ret | BAN | Ret | |||||||||
| 2003: Ferrari Test driver | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
12 | 12th | |||||
| Ret | 8th | 12th | 10th | 9th | 5th | 9th | Ret | Ret | 13th | 9th | 13th | Ret | 4th | 12th | 8th | 9th | 8th | ||||||||
| 2005 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
11 | 13th | ||||
| 10th | 10th | 7th | 10th | 11th | 9th | 14th | 4th | DNS | Ret | 10th | 8th | 14th | Ret | 9th | 10th | 11th | 10th | 6th | |||||||
| 2006 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
80 | 3rd | |||||
| 9th | 5th | Ret | 4th | 3rd | 4th | 9th | 5th | 5th | 2nd | 3rd | 2nd | 7th | 1st | 9th | Ret | 2nd | 1st | ||||||||
| 2007 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
94 | 4th | ||||||
| 6th | 5th | 1st | 1st | 3rd | DSQ | 3rd | 2nd | 5th | 2nd | 13th | 1st | Ret | 2nd | 6th | 3rd | 2nd | |||||||||
| 2008 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
97 | 2nd | |||||
| Ret | Ret | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 3rd | 5th | 1st | 13th | 3rd | 17th | 1st | 1st | 6th | 13th | 7th | 2nd | 1st | ||||||||
| 2009 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
22 | 11th | ||||||
| Ret | 9th [9] |
Ret | 14th | 6th | 4th | 6th | 4th | 3rd | DNS | INJ | INJ | INJ | INJ | INJ | INJ | INJ | |||||||||
| 2010 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
144 | 6th | ||||
| 2nd | 3rd | 7th | 9th | 6th | 4th | 7th | 15th | 11th | 15th | 2nd | 4th | 4th | 3rd | 8th | Ret | 3rd | 15th | 10th | |||||||
| 2011 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
118 | 6th | |||
| C | 7th | 5th | 6th | 11th | Ret | Ret | 6th | 5th | 5th | 5th | 6th | 8th | 6th | 9th | 7th | 6th | Ret | 5th | 5th | ||||||
| 2012 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
122 | 7th | |||
| Ret | 15th | 13th | 9th | 15th | 6th | 10th | 16th | 4th | 12th | 9th | 5th | 4th | 8th | 2nd | 4th | 6th | 7th | 4th | 3rd | ||||||
| 2013 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
112 | 8th | ||||
| 4th | 5th | 6th | 15th | 3rd | Ret | 8th | 6th | Ret | 8th | 7th | 4th | 6th | 9th | 10th | 4th | 8th | 12th | 7th | |||||||
| 2014 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
134 | 7th | ||||
| Ret | 7th | 7th | 15th | 13th | 7th | 12th | 4th | Ret | Ret | 5th | 13th | 3rd | 5th | 7th | 11th | 4th | 3rd | 2nd | |||||||
| 2015 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
121 | 6th | ||||
| 4th | 6th | 5th | 10th | 6th | 15th | 6th | 3rd | 4th | 12th | 6th | 3rd | Ret | 17th | 4th | Ret | 6th | DSQ | 8th | |||||||
| 2016 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
53 | 11th | ||
| 5th | 8th | 6th | 5th | 8th | 10th | Ret | 10th | 20th | 11th | 18th | Ret | 10th | 9th | 12th | 13th | 9th | 7th | 9th | Ret | 9th | |||||
| 2017 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
43 | 11th | |||
| 6th | 14th | 6th | 9th | 13th | 9th | Ret | Ret | 9th | 10th | WD | 8th | 8th | 11th | 8th | 10th | 9th | 11th | 8th | 10th | ||||||
| Key | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Symbol | Meaning | Symbol | Meaning | ||
| 1st | Winner | Ret | Retired | ||
| 2nd | Podium finish | DSQ | Disqualified | ||
| 3rd | DNQ | Did not qualify | |||
| 5th | Points finish | DNPQ | Did not pre-qualify | ||
| 14th | Non-points finish | TD | Test driver | ||
| Italics | Fastest Lap | DNS | Did not start | ||
| 18th† | Classified finish (retired with >90% race distance) | NC | Non-classified finish (<90% race distance) | ||
| 4thP | Qualified for pole position | [+] More Symbols | |||
Notes[]
- ↑ Benson, Andrew (1 September 2016). "Felipe Massa: Williams driver to retire from F1". http://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/37245221. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
- ↑ Barretto, Lawrence (1 September 2016). "Felipe Massa to retire from Formula 1 at end of 2016 season". http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/125958/massa-to-retire-from-f1-at-end-of-2016. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
- ↑ "Massa announces retirement from Formula One racing". formula1.com (Formula One Administration). 1 September 2016. http://www.formula1.com/en/latest/headlines/2016/9/massa-announces-retirement-from-formula-one-racing.html. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
- ↑ "Williams confirms driver line-up for the 2017 season". Williams Grand Prix Engineering. 3 November 2016. http://www.williamsf1.com/racing/news/williamsconfirmsdriverlineupfor2017season. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
- ↑ "Felipe Massa to replace Valtteri Bottas for 2017 season". Williams Grand Prix Engineering. 16 January 2017. http://www.williamsf1.com/racing/news/felipe-massa-to-replace-valtteri-bottas-for-2017-season. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
- ↑ Noble, Jonathan (29 July 2017). "Paul di Resta replaces ill Felipe Massa at Williams for Hungary F1". Autosport (Motorsport Network). http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/130995/di-resta-replaces-massa-for-hungarian-gp. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
- ↑ "Sky F1's Paul di Resta replaces unwell Felipe Massa at Hungarian GP". http://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/10961154/sky-f1s-paul-di-resta-replaces-unwell-felipe-massa-at-hungarian-gp. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 FORMULA 1. (2015, March 13). Analysis of Turns Two and Three in Barcelona. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvqVtbwx5JQ
- ↑ Race stopped after 31/56 Laps. Half points awarded
| V T E |  Felipe Massa
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Seasons 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010 • 2011 • 2012 • 2013 • 2014 • 2015 • 2016 • 2017 | ||
| Season Reports 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010 • 2011 • 2012 • 2013 • 2014 • 2015 • 2016 • 2017 | ||
| Teams Sauber (2002, 2004-2005) • Ferrari (2006-2013) • Williams (2014-2017) | ||
| Teammates Nick Heidfeld (2002) • Giancarlo Fisichella (2004) • Jacques Villeneuve (2005) • Michael Schumacher (2006) • Kimi Räikkönen (2007-2009) • Fernando Alonso (2010-2013) • Valtteri Bottas (2014-2016) • Lance Stroll (2017) | ||
| Rivalries Lewis Hamilton | ||
| Other pages Statistics • Teammate comparison • Category | ||
| V T E | List of World Drivers' Championship runners-up | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950: Juan Manuel Fangio 1951: Alberto Ascari 1952: Giuseppe Farina 1953: Juan Manuel Fangio 1954: José Froilán González 1955: Stirling Moss 1956: Stirling Moss 1957: Stirling Moss 1958: Stirling Moss 1959: Tony Brooks 1960: Bruce McLaren 1961: Wolfgang von Trips 1962: Jim Clark 1963: Graham Hill 1964: Graham Hill 1965: Graham Hill 1966: John Surtees 1967: Jack Brabham 1968: Jackie Stewart 1969: Jacky Ickx |
1970: Jacky Ickx 1971: Ronnie Peterson 1972: Jackie Stewart 1973: Emerson Fittipaldi 1974: Clay Regazzoni 1975: Emerson Fittipaldi 1976: Niki Lauda 1977: Jody Scheckter 1978: Ronnie Peterson 1979: Gilles Villeneuve 1980: Nelson Piquet 1981: Carlos Reutemann 1982: Didier Pironi 1983: Alain Prost 1984: Alain Prost 1985: Michele Alboreto 1986: Nigel Mansell 1987: Nigel Mansell 1988: Alain Prost 1989: Ayrton Senna |
1990: Alain Prost 1991: Nigel Mansell 1992: Riccardo Patrese 1993: Ayrton Senna 1994: Damon Hill 1995: Damon Hill 1996: Jacques Villeneuve 1997: Heinz-Harald Frentzen* 1998: Michael Schumacher 1999: Eddie Irvine 2000: Mika Häkkinen 2001: David Coulthard 2002: Rubens Barrichello 2003: Kimi Räikkönen 2004: Rubens Barrichello 2005: Kimi Räikkönen 2006: Michael Schumacher 2007: Lewis Hamilton 2008: Felipe Massa 2009: Sebastian Vettel |
2010: Fernando Alonso 2011: Jenson Button 2012: Fernando Alonso 2013: Fernando Alonso 2014: Nico Rosberg 2015: Nico Rosberg 2016: Lewis Hamilton 2017: Sebastian Vettel 2018: Sebastian Vettel 2019: Valtteri Bottas 2020: Valtteri Bottas 2021: Lewis Hamilton 2022: Charles Leclerc 2023: Sergio Pérez | ||
| * Michael Schumacher was disqualified from the 1997 championship. | |||||