Felipe Massa

Felipe Massa was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on 25 April 1981. This extremely talented Formula 1 driver began karting at the age of 8, competing in this form of racing for some 9 years. Massa then debuted as a single-seater racing driver, taking part in the Brazil Formula Chevrolet series in 1998. He became the Formula Chevrolet Champion in Brazil the very next year.

From there, the sky was the limit for Felipe Massa. He went on to take first place in the Italian and European Formula Renault series. In 1999 he went on to make 6 wins from 8 races in the Formula 3000 Euro-Series. The Sauber team decided to sign Massa on for the 2002 F1 season. He made a few mistakes during the season, earning 4 points and finishing 13th in the drivers’ championship. He spent 2003 test driving for Ferrari. Sauber signed Massa back onto their team for 2004 and 2005. During the 2005 season he managed to out-perform his teammate Jacques Villeneuve.

As of 2006, Felipe Massa began driving for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, beside the world-renowned Michael Schumacher. Things really began looking up for Massa, who completed the season in 3rd place with 80 points. Continuing with Ferrari, Felipe Massa made 4th in 2007 with 94 points, 2nd in 2008 with 97 points (missing the lead by just 2 points) and 11th in 2009 with 22 points. Following a life-threatening injury in 2009, Felipe Massa took to the track again, coming in second in the first race of the 2010 season in Bahrain. The future continues to look bright for this talented driver.

Massa Wins Race, Hamilton Wins F1 Championship

It’s been an exciting F1 season right up until the last moment. Lewis Hamilton has been an incredibly strong contender for the Championship title, but during Sunday’s race it truly seemed as if his goal might slip through his fingers yet again.

In the end it was Ferrari driver Felipe Massa who won the race. The F1 race took place in front of his home crowd so you can imagine the cheers as Massa crossed the finish line in first place. Despite great driving and a first-place finish, Massa didn’t win the Formula One Championship and so it was young Hamilton that received all the praise and glory after the race.

In the beginning it didn’t seem as if Hamilton would be able to claim the championship victory. Despite going into the race with a seven point lead, he ended up struggling to place in the top three behind Toyota driver Timo Glock. In fact, he was stuck as far back as sixth place. Glock was driving on dry tires and it seems that that made life really hard for him when the rain hit. Glock commented: “It was just impossible on the last lap. I was fighting as hard as I could but it was so difficult to just keep the car on the track and I lost positions right at the end of the lap.” It was his difficulties which ultimately worked out in Hamilton’s favor. With driving rain making Glock’s race harder and harder, Hamilton was able to make his move and overtake on the final lap to finish fifth in the Brazilian Grand Prix. It was all he needed to make sure that the hard-earned points he’d accumulated earlier in the year would help him to win the Formula One Championship Title.

Last year he lost the championship by just one point. This year, he won it by one point. After the race, an ecstatic Hamilton commented: “I am speechless. It’s been a long journey in which I had the support of many people. My team did a fantastic job during the entire year and we sacrificed ourselves a lot. I am happy for having achieved this for all of us.” The victory has made Lewis Hamilton the first British driver to win the championship since Damon Hill in 1996. Hamilton has also set a new record for being the youngest champion, the 23-year old McLaren driver beating Fernando Alonso’s record of 24 years of age with Renault in 2005.

Massa Makes Light Work of Valencia Circuit

With the European Grand Prix starting at a new venue on Sunday, it was hard to predict who’d race the circuit the best and come out on top. The new circuit took the cars around the harbor streets of Valencia, Spain, providing a scenic backdrop to an exciting race. In the end it was Felipe Massa who took the checkered flag.

Massa didn’t just win the race – he dominated it. Starting from pole position, the Brazilian claimed the fastest lap time and also the victory before the day was done. The win has also pushed Massa up in his bid for the FIA F1 World Driving Championship, since he has now overtaken teammate Kimi Raikkonen and shifted from third to second in the rankings. Despite the fact that Massa was in the lead for the vast majority of the race, his position was not uncontested. Lewis Hamilton wasn’t going to give up without a fight and he chased Massa throughout the race, finishing hot on his tail almost six seconds behind. As if that wasn’t enough to threaten his position at the head of the pack, race stewards considered a Ferrari pit-lane infraction once the race was over; Massa’s pit team released him almost straight into Sutil on the second stop. There was a period of time where fans and crew members sat with bated breath, wondering if Massa would be stripped of his victory. In the end a fine of 10 000 euro was imposed on Massa which he took with a grin, remarking that the fine would ultimately give him an advantage over Sutil since it meant that he had to always let Massa pass him. After all that, Massa was finally able to claim the winner’s trophy.

Driving for BMW Sauber, Robert Kubica managed to finish third, having to first recover from a collision into Hamilton on the first corner. He was followed over the finish line by Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren) and Jarno Trulli (Toyta). Kimi Raikkonen must have been very disappointed with his run as he was unable to complete the race when his Ferrari F2008 blew its engine just eleven laps from the finish line. He was kept in good company by Fernando Alonso, whose Renault suffered major damage after being smashed into by Kazuki Nakajima near the beginning of the race, and Adrian Sutil who overshot a corner and ended up in the tires.

French Grand Prix made for an Exciting Weekend

Formula One racing fans no doubt already know the results of this weekend’s racing at Magny-Cours: Felipe Massa took the checkered flag followed closely by Kimi Raikkonen, with Jarno Trulli coming it at third place. Let us recap on this weekend’s magnificent racing.

The French Grand Prix started with Lewis Hamilton at 13th on the grid. After his recent atrocious accident in the pit lane in Canada, many would argue that it’s only fair that he starts further back than he is used to. The position is, in fact, the lowest grid placing he has ever had in his career. During the race he managed to wrack up another penalty by charging through the field a bit too early – he made up three places by the end of the first lap! Unfortunately for Hamilton, race stewards felt that his pass on Sebastian Vettel was not within the rules and so they penalized him and this crushed any hope of him finishing in the top eight. The Briton seemed to be so eager to make up ground that he even bumped tires with Fernando Alonso at one point. In the end he managed to finish tenth and he now trails winner Felipe Massa by just ten points.

As usual, the red Ferraris led the pack for most of the race. Felipe Massa and team-mate Kimi Raikkonen spent much of the race vying for first place and it was clear that they were in a league of their own. For much of the race it seemed that Raikkonen had the upper hand. He was able to pull away from his team mate after the first round of pit stops and it appeared as if Massa would not be able to catch him. However, with each passing lap Massa slowly closed the gap – mainly due to the fact that Raikkonen had managed to damage his rear tailpipe. Just past the halfway point, Massa was able to make his move and overtake Raikkonen, putting himself in first place. He stayed in first place for the rest of the race with Raikkonen only just managed to drift over the finish line in second after his tailpipe worked loose ten laps from the end of the race.

Massa’s victory at the Circuit de Nevers was no small feat. For the first time in his six-season career he is now leading the Formula One world championship; he is the first Brazilian to top the driver’s standings in 15 years. Massa’s hero Ayrton Senna was the last person from his country to do this. This was also the first time in ten years that a Toyota has been able to join the Ferraris on the podium. Jarno Trulli had to work really hard to keep McLaren driver Heikki Kovalainen behind him in the closing laps, but he managed to do so despite some light rain. All in all it was a great and unpredictable race.

Turkish Grand Prix Review

The 2008 Turkish Grand Prix turned out to be just the face-paced, action-packed event that fans and spectators were hoping for. Punctured tires, scary accidents and some brilliant driving kept pulses racing as Felipe Massa struggled to defend his position at the front of the pack. In the end Massa managed to take the winner’s trophy for the Turkish Grand Prix for the third time in a row.

As the cars lined up on the starting grid that day, massive clouds gathered above threatening rain. There was no telling what would happen. The drivers spent ages waiting for the lights to be switched on and there was an air of tension all around. When the lights finally signaled the start of the race, the scene erupted into chaos. But in seconds the main contenders for the trophy erupted from the mess: Brazilian Felipe Massa made a clean break from the rest of the pack while Hamilton managed to slot into second place. In his efforts to gain ground, Raikkonen’s front wing nudged Kovalainen’s rear tire, puncturing it and causing a major setback for him.

At the back it was a confusion as Fisichella drove into the back of Kazuki Nakajima’s Williams, causing both to end their race before it really started. Vettel and Sutil suffered sufficient damage from the collision to have to be sent to the pits for repair work, giving them little hope of ever reclaiming the ground lost. Meanwhile Raikkonen lost his position at third place to Fernando Alonso and Robert Kubica due to heavy braking, but he was determined to reclaim his spot and immediately put into practice the perfect strategy. By closely tailing Alonso, Raikkonen was able to slipstream his opponent, allowing him to pull out and overtake. The two struggled neck in neck for a nail-biting second before the Ferrari suddenly disappeared into the distance.

Things continued to prove interesting after driver Hamilton shot out of the pit stops into first place ahead of Massa. Massa seemed to yield to the position and didn’t fight it. The majority of drivers seemed to settle where they were and the race proceeded without much excitement for a while.

By the end of the race it seemed clear that Massa was back in the lead and no one would be challenging his position. However the battle for second and third was a tight one fought by Hamilton and Raikkonen. In the final round of stops Hamilton managed to change his tires and get back out on the track extremely fast, leaving him in second place with Raikkonen pushing to reclaim his position. Raikkonen continued to hassle Hamilton for the remaining 16 laps until at last he decided to settle for third instead of risking an accident. So in the end it was Massa who took first place, followed by Hamilton in second and Raikkonen in third. The three drivers were clearly driving much better than the rest of the field and deserved their prizes.