#ObrigadoMassa
For many, Massa represents the passion for Formula One that fans want the sport to return to. Though he may not have gone through his fourteen years in F1 without any spats, the Brazilian has captured the hearts of fans across the globe. He, along with Jenson Button, is F1’s “nice guy”. Losing the Brazilian from the paddock next year, as well as Button, could make for a very different atmosphere.
Obrigado Massa for bringing the passion that makes fans love F1.
Since his first season in 2002, Massa has driven for three teams. Like many rookies, he started his career in a midfield team: Sauber-Pertronas. Though he might not have been regularly beating his more experienced teammate, Nick Heidfeld, in his rookie year, Massa wasn’t usually far behind the German. It wasn’t enough to impress Sauber enough to keep him in F1 in 2003, when he went to Ferrari as a test driver, but he did return to complete two more seasons for the team in 2004 and 2005.
Ferrari will be where most fans will remember him from, and it’s the Italian team that probably have the most to thank Massa for. The Brazilian drove for the team for eight years, and spent five of those years as the infamous second driver. Paired up with Michael Schumacher, Massa made an amazing support driver for the German’s final year at Ferrari, and took his first Formula One win in Turkey that year. In 2007 and 2008, Massa had a chance to come into his own, not exactly a second driver to his new teammate, Kimi Raikkonen, but bad luck followed the Brazilian and, despite six wins in eighteen races in 2008, he could only manage second in the championship, finishing one point behind eventual champion Lewis Hamilton, in one of the most emotional podiums in recent times.
When Fernando Alonso joined Ferrari in 2010, Massa fell back into the second driver role, resulting in the now iconic but heart breaking radio message – Fernando is faster than you – and multiple team orders that, some argue, stopped Massa from the success he deserved. Eventually, in 2014, the Brazilian switched to Williams, where he’ll end his career. Williams in 2014 was revitalised after a long, difficult period, and Massa mirrored that, apparently more respected and free in the British team. 2014 gave new hope that Williams and Massa might be able to take second in the championship in 2015 after a strong season. Sadly, it would never come, as the team lagged behind the progress of those around them over the next two years.
Obrigado Massa for helping fans of three teams taste relative success.
2009 will be a season that stands out for Massa fans, though not for happy reasons. Qualifying at the Hungaroring took a turn for the worst in the second session. Debris from a car ahead hit the Brazilian only an inch above his left eye whilst he was traveling and over 160 mile per hour, knocking him unconscious.
For a while after the accident, Massa’s fate was unknown. He was known to be in a life-threatening condition in hospital and for a small while fans, though hopeful, feared the worst. Thankfully, Massa’s condition would rapidly improve, and he was released from hospital the following week, but he wouldn’t return to F1 until 2010. The Brazilian has no memory of the accident, but his family – including his then pregnant wife – and his friends certainly do. The accident helped bring the focus back to safety in F1, and to strengthen the parts of the helmet weaker than the main shell.
Obrigado Massa for returning to F1 after the accident, and for – though not entirely voluntarily – helping to push forward the drive for safety.
Any article on Massa’s career wouldn’t be complete without mention of a Brit from Middlesbrough. Rob Smedley joined F1 back in 2001, but he gained fame in 2006 when he joined the main Ferrari team as Massa’s race engineer. The two were – and still are – obviously close, and Smedley has been part of some of the most famous moments of Massa’s career and made F1 seem more “human” for many fans: the celebrations following Massa’s first win in 2006, the endearing nicknames, Smedley’s insistence that he doesn’t know Massa “in the biblical sense”. But Smedley has seen the lows as well as the highs. The team orders at Ferrari were delivered by Smedley. The loss of the championship in 2008 left the Brit in tears. And Smedley is the one most asked about the 2009 accident.
Obrigado Massa for being part of the most heart warming friendship in F1 in recent times.
And, to finish, a personal obrigado to Felipe Massa. My life is motorsport dominated, both as a journalist and a fan, and I was introduced to the sport in 2008. The first race I ever watched was late in November of that year. Brazil. I don’t remember much of the race itself, but I remember the podium. It’s the image so many will remember of Massa: an emotional, short man, dressed head to toe in red atop the podium in front of his home crowd. An image of humility… passion… raw emotion. That is the reason I fell in love with Formula One.
This weekend will mark the end of an era in Formula One, and in my own life. So obrigado Massa.
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Article Written By: Bethonie Waring
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