08 – Felipe Massa

Stats

• Birthday: 25th April1981
• Nationality: Brazilian
• Lives:
• Website: felipemassa.com

Career

Felipe’s career by year. The bracketed number is his final position at the end of the series.

• 1998 – Formula Chevrolet Brazil (5th)
• 1999 – Formula Chevrolet Brazil (1st)
• 2000 – Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup (1st), Formula Renault 2000 (1st)
• 2001 – Euro Formula 3000 (1st), European Supertouring Championship (23rd)
• 2002 – Formula 1 (13th)
• 2003 – Formula 1 (Test Driver)
• 2004 – Formula 1 (12th)
• 2005 – Formula 1 (13th)
• 2006 – Formula 1 (3rd)
• 2007 – Formula 1 (4th)
• 2008 – Formula 1 (2nd)
• 2009 – Formula 1 (11th)
• 2010 – Formula 1

2010 Preview

From the F1 Digest 2010 Season Preview:

All eyes will be on Massa as he makes his return to F1 following the accident in Hungary in 2009. Massa says he doesn’t remember anything of what happened, and that being the case, he doesn’t harbour any fears about returning to the track in anger. I feel like this year will be confusing for Felipe though. Some may be treating him carefully, after his months of recuperation, and he has a brand new teammate to learn to get on with. So far, Massa and Alonso have seemed like firm friends, but that can all change once the competition begins. On top of all that, Schumacher has returned, and Massa is one of the few guys on the grid who has driven both with him and against him. Barrichello has already made it pretty clear how he feels – more on that in a moment – but Massa hasn’t had too much to say about the return of his one-time mentor.

In terms of expectations, Felipe is in one of those situations where it really depends on a lot of things. Like Hamilton, he came out of an epic championship battle in 2008 to find his car just wasn’t working in 2009. The inability of other drivers to step into his shoes may have given Massa a little bit of confidence, but he knows that Fisichella is still hanging around, ready to pounce if he’s just not feeling up to it. A lot of what happens depends on the car but also on how Massa manages his own comeback.