Felipe Massa decided to come out of retirement and continue to drive for Williams at least one more season after Nico Rosberg announced he would no longer race in Formula One and Valtteri Bottas moved to Mercedes, but the former Scuderia Ferrari driver also took on a role as a Driver columnist for Motorsport. Felipe shares his first impressions after the 2017 Australian Grand Prix, recounts his first race since postponing his retirement and also talks about the state of play among the sport’s frontrunners, as he states that his former team has a good chance of challenging Mercedes for the title:
“I was very surprised by Ferrari. After the problems of 2016, many experts were convinced that the difficulties would have an impact on its hopes for this season. From the outside, Ferrari continued to develop its 2016 car until the end of the season, and it was suggested that this commitment would hold back its 2017 challenger. Instead, Ferrari has done a great job.” – Felipe Massa recounts in his first column of the 2017 Formula 1 season.
“The car was immediately competitive and I believe Ferrari is able to win the championship. The Mercedes is probably quicker by one or two tenths, but Sebastian Vettel has confirmed that he is right there and is able to exploit any error his rival makes – no matter how small. It is also good for the sport to have different names on the top step of the podium. Fans have more to talk about too, because obviously there are fewer discussions when one team keeps on winning.” – the Brazilian driver added.
Felipe Massa joined Scuderia Ferrari as a test driver for 2003 and during 2006–2013 raced for the Maranello team in the Formula 1 championship, being very close to winning the title in 2008. Felipe scored 11 victories for Ferrari in F1, before moving to Williams Martini Racing back in 2014.
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