Felipe Massa may be the driver who came closest to conquering the Formula 1 world champion title but never won it (although it is fair to remember that, in this regard, the Brazilian driver has a worthy competitor, Stirling Moss).
At the wheel of a Cavallino single-seater, Felipe Massa achieved 11 victories, but normally, when his name is mentioned, that is not the first thing that is remembered, but the phrase ” Fernando is faster than you ” and the drama that he experienced in Sao Paulo , after a loss against Lewis Hamilton in the last moments of a race in which both were playing for the title in 2008.
Recently, the Brazilian spoke about how his relationship with the Maranello team began, a story that is surprising due to a curious secret clause that his first contract contained.
In an overview, Massa became Michael Schumacher’s teammate in the 2006 season, replacing his compatriot Rubens Barrichello. But really the story of his relationship with Ferrari began much earlier.
“[In the year 2000] I became the Italian and European Formula Renault 2.0 champion,” Massa told Motorsport Heroes. “After that, many teams wanted to sign a contract with me.”
“Ferrari quickly organized a meeting in Maranello . I didn’t even know it, but at that point they had already been following me for a long time: they had a lot of data from tests and races, all in telemetry. They told me: ‘We want to take you to the young driver program de Ferrari.’ But at the time, they didn’t even have such an academy.”
“The only thing I had to do was not tell anyone about this, it was the only clause. The story had to be kept absolutely secret.”
“So I signed an eight-year contract. But I could only share this joy with my relatives. This was an incredibly difficult condition to follow.”
“Soon I got a seat at Sauber , a team that used the Ferrari engines, before they called me back from Maranello, and from 2006 I drove for them. So my dream came true.”
Felipe Massa was in the ranks of Ferrari until the end of 2013, before moving to Williams, the team with which he said goodbye to the highest category of motorsports at the end of 2017.
Currently, the 41-year-old Brazilian driver continues his career and competes in the national touring car championship. He is also gradually moving up the professional ladder at the FIA, where he now heads the drivers’ commission.
