Felipe Massa - Definition and Overview

Felipe Massa (born April 25, 1981) is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver currently in the employ of the Sauber team.

Early career

Born in São Paulo, Brazil, Massa began karting when he was 9 years old, finishing fourth in his first season. He continued in national and international championships for 7 years, and in 1998 he moved into Formula Chevrolet, finishing the Brazilian championship in fifth. In the next season, he won 3 of the 10 races and won the championship. In 2000, he moved to Europe to compete in the Italian Formula Renault series, winning both it and the European Formula Renault championship in the same year. Whilst having the opportunity to move into Formula 3, he opted instead for the Formula 3000 Euro-Series, and was dominant, winning 6 of the 8 races to take the championship. He was offered an F1 test with the Sauber team.

Formula One career

Having impressed during his testing, Massa was offered a race seat with Sauber for the 2002 season, alongside Nick Heidfeld. Whilst showing that he definitely had pace, Massa made several mistakes and spun off the track on many occasions. He managed to score 4 championship points, including a 5th place finish at the Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Catalunya. He was replaced at the end of the season for Heinz-Harald Frentzen, and moved to the Ferrari team as a test driver. Having impressed the team, and showing signs that his mistake rate had declined, Massa was re-signed by the Sauber team for 2004, alongside Giancarlo Fisichella. He had a good season, scoring 12 of the team's 34 points - highlighted by a career-best 4th place at the Belgian Grand Prix. Massa is still contracted with the team for 2005, and is to be partnered by 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve. Due to Sauber's apparently close connections with the Ferrari team, Massa is rumoured to be replacing Michael Schumacher or Rubens Barrichello on their retirement.

Complete Formula One results

(Note: grands prix in bold denote points scoring races.)

External Links

Official Website (http://www.felipemassa.com)