1. Turkey 2006: The real begin of Massa's Formula One career. At the Istanbul Park Circuit Massa achieved his first pole position and on Sunday he took his first victory. The Brazilian won the race in Turkey three years in a row.
2. Brazil 2006: Felipe Massa wins his home Grand Prix at the Interlagos circuit. Massa always named the race as his best moment in Formula 1. He grew up not far from the circuit and had been watching Ayrton Senna racing and winning at Interlagos, and now he was there, on the podium in front of his home crowd, the first Brazilian since Senna who won the race at Interlagos. A moment Felipe will never forget, that's for sure.
3. Singapore 2008: It was the first edition of the night race and it all went perfect for Massa. He took pole and after 14 laps he had a five second gap to Hamilton. But when after a crash of Piquet Jr the safety car came out and Massa came in for fuel and tyres, it all went wrong. After refuelling, Massa left with the fuel rig attached and had to stop at the end of the pitlane. The Ferrari mechanics ran the whole length of the pitlane and removed the rig, but Massa was now last. He was then given a drive-through penalty for an unsafe release, and was 15 seconds behind the rest of the field. He finished the race in 13th place.
4. Brazil 2008: Without doubt one of the hardest moments in Massa's career, for him, for the whole Ferrari team and for the fans. Never has Ferrari been that close to a championship and lost it in such a dramatic way. Felipe started on pole for the race that decided who won the worldchampionship, Hamilton folllowed in fourth position. Massa led the largest part of the race and won the race, while Hamilton was in sixth place, which meant Massa would be worldchampion. The Massa family already started the celebrations, Felipe was the new worldchampion! For 30 seconds... Hamilton got passed Timo Glock in the second-to-last corner of the last lap, finished fifth and won the worldchampionship by one point. Felipe was in tears in front of his home crowd and put his hand on his heart, thanking all his fans for their support. Formula One is pure emotion and Brazil 2008 is a perfect example of that.
5. Hungary 2009: Too bad, this Grand Prix will be the one people will remember of his Ferrari career. I remember the day as it was yesterday. I was switching between one of the final stages of the Tour de France and qualifying of the Hungarian Grand Prix. In the second part of qualifying, Felipe suddenly crashed at high speed. And it wasn't really clear what has happend. Nothing to serious I though. Well, I was wrong...
The replay showed that a piece of Rubens Barrichello's car hit Felipe right above his left eye. That piece was a 700 g spring that hit him at a speed of over 300 km/h. Felipe didn't get out his car and it became clear that it was a lot worse than it seemed at first. For the first time since I started watching Formula 1, I feared for the life of one of the drivers. I have never been that relieved to see a driver's thumb up! Massa was transported to the ÁEK hospital, but the following week he already travelled back home to Brazil. Felipe was doing well but getting back in a Formula One car? No way most people thought.. But Felipe was determined, he would drive again.
6. Bahrein 2010: FELIPE MASSA IS BACK! Eight months after the accident that almost costed him his life, Felipe returned to Formula One. And with a second place in qualifying and in the race it was a wonderful comback. It seemed as if Felipe was back and better than before. The rest of the season was a rollercoaster of ups and downs, one race Felipe was fighting for the podium, other races he was driving in the middle of the pack.
7. Germany 2010: Ah, Hockenheim 2010... That race has become unforgettable, for the wrong reason. I was a bit shocked when Felipe said some days ago that for him this race was the hardest race in his Ferrari career, harder that the crash that almost killed him. What more can I say, "Fernando is faster than you", five words that will probably haunt Felipe for the rest of his life. It's clear that it's one of the hardest things you can ask from your driver, to let his teammate pass. Felipe was mad and dissapointed in his team, but he was a true teamplayer. It hurted him more than anything in the world. But he still decided to stay with Ferrari for the next three years. Would he have won the race if he didn't have to let Fernando Alonso overtake him? We'll never know...
I know Felipe isn't leaving the Formula One and he'll still be on the grid next year but it still is the end of an era. He will be missed for sure, he's a much better driver than most people think he is. And it's a shame he doesn't get the respect he deserves. But I hope one day he will and people won't just remember him from his crash and the Ferrari teamorder. Felipe, all the best to you and keep your head up because to many Ferrari fans you will always be the 2008 worldchampion!
Catya Leroux
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