Highlights of Massa's career in videos

His first victory in Red: Istanbul 2006
Among the Brazilian's 11 successes in the pinnacle of motorsport, three were acquired at Istanbul Park (Turkey), including his very first winner's trophy, in 2006. At the time, Felipe Massa had just been promoted to " number two” within the Team Ferrari replacing his compatriot Rubens Barrichello. Michael Schumacher takes his teammate twelve years his senior under his wing and very quickly the results improve, until this Sunday in August. Near the Turkish capital, Felipe Massa completed his "typical weekend": taking pole position, then taking off as soon as the lights went out, never to be caught by his rivals. A strategy that bears fruit, Fernando Alonso (Renault) never managing to attack the Ferrari.

Champion for a few seconds: Sao Paulo 2008
Superlatives are sometimes overused, however, rarely have we seen an outcome as incredible as the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix. At home (he was born in Sao Paulo), Felipe Massa must win and bank on a 5th place for his opponent Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) to be titled. Violent downpours disrupt the grid setting. The pressure is intense in front of its public, nevertheless the Ferrari takes off without problem from pole. Felipe Massa leads the race, without worrying about his rival. As he passes under the checkered flag, he raises his hand to the crowd. A Brazilian world champion in front of his audience, the crowd and the Ferrari garage are overflowing with joy! Unfortunately, at the last corner of the last lap, Lewis Hamilton unexpectedly exceeds the Toyota by Timo Glock; the latter remained on tires for dry tracks, even though the rain had returned.

The dream slips through the gloves of the Paulist. In a whirlwind of emotions, Felipe Massa will greet the audience on the podium, his eyes clouded with tears. He will no longer win a race Formula 1.

A terrible accident: Hungaroring 2009
A few months after flying the colors of the Scuderia, Felipe Massa is struggling with a car restive. The 2009 season, which started on the wrong foot, took a dramatic turn at the end of July on the Hungaroring route (Hungary). During the second phase of qualifying, a spring came off Rubens Barrichello's Brawn. A few moments later, the Ferrari driver's helmet hit the object head-on. Stunned, Felipe Massa becomes a passenger in the F60, which crashes into the wall of tires, screaming brakes and accelerator.

Taken by helicopter to Budapest hospital, he was placed in a coma, with Hungarian doctors detecting a lesion on the left part of the skull and a concussion. Fortunately, the Brazilian was able to recover from his injury but would not return to competition until the following year.

Team instructions: Hockenheim 2010
With double world champion Fernando Alonso as his partner, Felipe Massa was unable to raise his level of play at the start of 2010. Almost a year after his accident, the Brazilian was subjected to the law of team orders . In Germany, engineer Rob Smedley opens his microphone to give a simple sentence to his pilot. “Fernando is faster than you” (“Fernando is faster than you”). By ceding the lead of the race to his teammate, Felipe Massa symbolically lost the ascendancy he had held for two years. “The Hockenheim race was the most difficult moment of my Ferrari period”, he declared at a press conference in 2013.

A hell of a pole: Austria 2014
No, the Mercedes didn't win everything in 2014, the year of the V6 Turbo hybrid engine revolution. The proof, with the pole position won at the last minute by Felipe Massa on the Red Bull Ring. Now at Williams, the experienced Brazilian takes advantage of a brake problem on Lewis Hamilton's car (Mercedes) and a trajectory error from his teammate Valtteri Bottas to remember the good memories of the paddock! “It’s a very special moment, quite moving”, recognized the pole sitter. The next day, he will finish at the foot of the podium, behind Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas.

Moving first farewells: Sao Paulo 2016
In autumn 2016, Felipe Massa announced that he to retire from F1 after Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. To celebrate his career, Williams replaces the name of his sponsor with that of the driver with the words “Origado” (" THANKS " in Portuguese) for the Sao Paulo event. The farewells end abruptly behind the safety rail after going off the track. His partner and his son will come to meet him as he walks towards the stands.

A year later, Felipe Massa announced that hewould definitively end his career in F1 on the evening of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (November 26).