The long period he spent alongside Scuderia Ferrari introduced us to different sides of Felipe Massa’s career. Between the very young sidekick of Michael Schumacher, ready to learn all the secrets of the German champion, and the submissive and regular driver seen alongside Fernando Alonso, there was also a two-year period of great victories and special moments, as well as a world championship lost by a whisker in 2008. Not to mention the serious accident suffered at the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix, which is still considered a “watershed” in the Brazilian driver’s journey in Maranello.
Felipe Massa is still a Ferrari fan and is happy that there is a new duo in red this season: “I really like Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, I am convinced that their future in Maranello will be very long. Charles is at a very high level, as he also demonstrated at Imola. Carlos struggles a bit in qualifying but then keeps the same pace in the race as his teammate. They are two winning drivers and this seems positive for Ferrari, which is fighting for the “other” championship with McLaren. I foresee a very tight battle in which someone else like Aston Martin could also enter.” – the Brazilian told Italian daily newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Scuderia Ferrari is still a big family for Felipe Massa, who exchanges a few messages with Mattia Binotto from time to time. Even stronger is the relationship with Stefano Domenicali, now CEO of F1: “A brother to me”. The memories of the period in Maranello are many, and the Brazilian “does not feel any frustration for the 2008 season”, on the contrary: he considers himself lucky to have “had the opportunity to do a job he loved and to travel the world, also building a wonderful family”.
His old teammates Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen are still on the grid, but Felipe has no intention of retracing his steps: “I have no envy for Fernando and Kimi, on the contrary, I have a lot of respect for what they do. Although obviously their time to continue having fun on the track is not much, because it passes for everyone.” – Felipe concluded.
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