Felipe Massa

2002 was a wild debut year in Formula 1, for Felipe Massa during which the Brazilian often over-reached himself and failed to ally his prodigious speed with the disciplines of a Grand Prix car’s characteristics, fortunately he was allowed to step out for a season before returning to rebuild a Grand Prix career that has now blossomed as a successful Ferrari driver.

Like those countrymen who preceded him, Massa began his racing career in the competitive Brazilian karting scene. Making his debut at the age of nine, he finished fourth in the São Paulo junior series, before gaining similar results as he worked his way through the various age groups. In all, he remained in karts until the age of 17, when he made the switch to single-seaters in the equally competitive Formula Chevrolet category in 1998. A fifth place finish in the Brazilian equivalent of the successful Formula Opel championship was his initial reward, before a return the following season saw him clinch the title.

Having gone almost as high as possible in the South American single-seater ladder – only Formula Three remained above Formula Chevrolet – Massa opted to head for Europe for the 2000 season. Opting for a relatively low-key entrance, he contested the Italian and European Formula Renault series, before making the unusual jump into F3000 for 2001.

That moved proved to be a valuable one, however, as Massa dominated the secondary Euro F3000 category with the Draco Racing team, clinching the title with one round remaining. His performances attracted the attention of noted talent scout Peter Sauber and, despite misgivings from other parties Massa was invited to test the Swiss team's F1 machine. Impressing with his pace – and the car control that was needed to tame his excesses behind the wheel – Massa was duly signed for the 2002 season.

Still only 20 years of age, the Brazilian made his grand prix debut at the Australian Grand Prix – and bounced back from retirement in Melbourne to score his first F1 points second time out at engine supplier Petronas' home race in Malaysia. Points finishes continued to come throughout the season, but were more often than not interspersed with accidents as Massa's exciting driving style frequently got the better of him. He was also dropped for the United States GP as the result of having earned a ten-place grid penalty at Monza. As a result, Sauber decided not to renew his race contract for the following year, but accepted Ferrari's offer to take him on as a test driver, hoping that the driver would develop on the test track during 2003.

Against some expectations, Massa returned to the Sauber fold for 2004, signing a two-year deal to partner the experienced Giancarlo Fisichella. The Brazilian showed that he had lost little of his raw pace, but some of the rough edges had definitely been knocked off during his time at Maranello, and the Sauber team was able to challenge for points at just about every race. Massa recorded best finishes of fourth in Belgium and fifth in Monaco on his way to twelfth overall, while Sauber initially made a mockery of McLaren's better resources to run in the top half of the constructors' championship. The Swiss team eventually slipped back to sixth overall as the Woking team upped its game, but both Massa and Fisichella were looked on in a new light.

The Italian departed for an emotional reunion with Renault in 2005, while Felipe remained at Hinwil for a third season. Partnered by 1997 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve, the Brazilian soon asserted his authority as the Canadian struggled to find his form. Indeed Massa prove to be a very consistent performer out-qualifying his team mate 13-6 and generally making the most of the cars performance deficit in comparison to the bigger teams. With Nicolas Todt as his manager, eyebrows were raised as he was chosen to take the place of Rubens Barrichello alongside Michael Schumacher at Ferrari for 2006.

This would be the acid test, for Massa to finally see if he was a top-drawer performer, who could win races from the front. Overcoming a tardy start to the year where he trashed two chassis in Melbourne, Felipe rapidly grew in confidence and often matched the great Michael for pace. Indeed his pole position in Turkey, proved to be crucial in that enabled him to take a maiden win in Istanbul, after pitting ahead of his team mate under caution. His season ended on an unbelievable high as he took pole position and then scored a commanding win in front of his countrymen at Interlagos.

Scoring third place in the championship with two wins and three pole positions, and scoring 90 points was more than enough proof that his place in the team was justified.

In 2007 he was teamed with Kimi Räikkönen, with the number one slot at Ferrari seemingly up for grabs. Massa rose to the challenge of taking the Finn head on, indeed he managed to eclipse the Finn on a number of occasions early on in the season claiming wins in both Spain and Bahrain. A further win in Turkey put the Brazilian into a four-way championship battle, but retirement in the following race at Monza effectively blunted his title ambitions. From then on, he was prepared to back Räikkönen’s successful championship bid, emphasizing the value of having a potential race-winning driver who is also very much a team player…

2008 has begun with Massa very much on the back foot following disappointing performances in the first two races of the season. And rumours are that his place on the team might be taken by the likes of Fernando Alonso and Sébastien Vettel. On balance, Ferrari will probably be content to retain the Brazilian’s services given his aforementioned loyalty to the team’s cause.