Felipe Massa Joins Michael Schumacher At Ferrari


By Jamie Makin
October 30 2005

Felipe Massa joins Michael Schumacher at the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Team for 2006. Learn more about this talented young Brazilian here as he enters his fourth season as a Formula One racing driver.



Birthplace: Sao Paulo, Brazil
Date of Birth: 25 April 1981
Current Residence: Sao Paulo, Brazil
F1 2002 Sauber Petronas - 13th place, 4 points
F1 2003 Scuderia Ferrari - Test Driver
F1 2004 Sauber Petronas - 12th place, 12 points
F1 2005 Sauber Petronas - 13th place, 11 points
Number of F1 Races: 53
Career F1 Points: 27
Number of F1 Wins: 0
Number of F1 Poles: 0
Number of F1 Podiums 0
Number of Retirements 15

Peter Sauber has a knack for spotting young talent, having given Kimi Raikkonen his start in 2001. To replace Raikkonen, who had moved to McLaren in 2002, Sauber found a talented 20 year old Brazilian named Felipe Massa.

Massa's road to Formula One was similar to many of today's other successful drivers by starting in local karting events at the age of nine. He spent the next seven years karting until moving up to the Brazilian Formula Chevrolet Championship in 1998. He only claimed fifth place in his first year, but succeeding in winning the championship in 1999. Then he made the big move to Europe. In his debut in 2000 he won both the Italian and European Formula Renault Championships. 2001 saw him move up to dominate the European Formula 3000 Championship, winning six out of the eight races.

His entry into Formula One in 2002 was not as successful as his past three years. He had several testing shunts before the season even started, leading many to doubt his skills from the start. In his first grand prix in Australia, he was taken out in the big first turn accident. He redeemed himself in Malaysia though, taking sixth place and his first championship point. The rest of the season was a mix of highs and lows for Massa. He had eight DNF's total, half of which involved crashes and spins. But when he finished, he finished strong. Of his eight finishes, he was never lower than ninth place. He claimed three additional points with a fifth place finish in Spain and sixth at the Nurburgring. What he lacked in consistency he made up for in raw speed.

Towards the end of the season, things were looking grim for the Brazilian rookie. Massa became very outspoken against the team after the German grand prix when they ordered him to pull over to let Heidfeld pass for the final points paying position. Sauber also was quick to sign veteran Heinz-Harald Frentzen to replace Massa for 2003. At the Italian grand prix, the stewards declared it was Massa who caused an avoidable accident with Pedro De La Rosa's Jaguar and Massa became the first driver to be penalized by losing ten grid positions at the next race, the US grand prix. Sauber sidestepped the penalty by allowing Frentzen to race instead, while Massa could only watch it on television from his home in Brazil. Massa ended his difficult year in Japan by crashing out on his own early in the race.

At the end of the season, Peter Sauber offered Massa the role of test driver with the team which Massa quickly refused. When talks with other teams about a race seat yielded no results, Massa moved to Ferrari to become their second test driver. A year with the Italian team has proven very valuable to Massa. He has honed his skills by learning with some of the best drivers of the day, Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello. He set a new lap record at Ferrari's private test track, Fiorano, which held until the F2004 made its debut. Sauber monitored his progress throughout the 2003 season, and decided that his driving and his attitude had matured well enough to earn him back his race seat.

Massa justified Sauber's trust in him in 2004. Despite a difficult first race in Australia where he suffered a spin and a blown engine, his driving throughout the season showed greater maturity and consistency. He suffered only four DNF's all season. Not a single one was due to an "at fault" accident, allowing him to overcome his reputation as a "crasher". He finished strong as well scoring points in five races. His best results included a fourth place in Belgium and a fifth place at Monaco. The highlight of his year though was his home grand prix in Brazil. He qualified a strong fourth and led the race for two laps while the track was still damp. Although he later finished eighth it was still a race he could be proud of.

The start of the 2005 season presented Massa with the completely new challenge of partnering 1997 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve. Massa rose to the occasion, particularly in the early part of the season, by outperforming the Canadian racer in nearly every session. By year's end, Massa outscored him by two points and averaged better finishes and grid positions. Due to budget problems, the Sauber C24 was looking more like a backmarker than a midfield contender but Massa still wrung some impressive results out of it. Fourth place in Canada and sixth place in China were some highlights of the year for the young Brazilian. His only two DNF's for the year were due to engine and mechanical failure proving that he now has the maturity and car control to consistently reach the finish line.

Massa will return to Scuderia Ferrari for 2006, this time as a race driver with an even greater challenge of partnering seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher. Massa's contract is just for one year and his future will hinge not only on his race results, but also on whether Schumacher chooses to continue racing and whether Kimi Raikkonen chooses to accept Ferrari's offer for 2007.



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