Felipe Massa, (born 25 April 1981) is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver who currently drives for Williams. Massa started his career in go-karting from the age of eight continuing in national and regional championships for seven years. He moved into Formula Chevrolet and claimed the championship. He moved in Italian Formula Renault in 2000 and won the title along with the European championship. Massa went into Euro Formula 3000 taking the championship. Massa started his Formula One career with Sauber before joining Scuderia Ferrari as a test driver for 2003. He returned to Sauber for 2004 and 2005 before rejoining Ferrari where he won two races in 2006 including his home Grand Prix becoming the first Brazilian since Ayrton Senna to win the Brazilian Grand Prix. Massa won three races in 2007, finishing 4th in the Drivers' Championship. He finished second in the 2008 Drivers' World Championship after a long title battle with Lewis Hamilton. At the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix, Massa was injured by a suspension spring off the Brawn GP car of Rubens Barrichello. Massa was forced to miss the rest of the season but returned in 2010. Massa suffered a dip in form in 2011 scoring no podiums but consistently scoring points. Massa contributed to Ferrari's Constructors Championships in 2007 and 2008 and was under contract to race for the team until the end of the 2013 season. On 10 September 2013, he confirmed he would be leaving Ferrari at the end of the 2013 season. On 11 November, it was announced that Massa would replace Pastor Maldonado alongside Valtteri Bottas at Williams from 2014. On 11 November 2013, Williams F1 announced that Massa would partner Valtteri Bottas for the 2014 Formula One season replacing Pastor Maldonado. He suffered an unlucky start to his campaign in Australia, when he retired after being hit hard by Kamui Kobayashi's Caterham. The string of bad luck continued in Malaysia after a team orders debacle, being caught out by the safety car in Bahrain, a botched pitstop in China and a collision with Sergio Pérez in Canada. However, at the Austrian Grand Prix, he took his first pole position since the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix and finished fourth. But the next two races, in Britain and Germany, resulted in first lap race-ending collisions with former Ferrari teammate Räikkönen and Kevin Magnussen respectively. On 7 September 2014 it was confirmed that Massa, along with Bottas, would stay at Williams for 2015. On the same day, he scored his first podium for Williams, finishing third in the Italian Grand Prix. On 9 November 2014 Massa took his second podium for Williams at the Brazilian Grand Prix as he finished third behind second placed Lewis Hamilton and winner Nico Rosberg. Massa ended Williams' competitive season on a high with what he described as his "best race of the year" at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. Although qualifying in fourth one place behind teammate Bottas he showed good pace in the whole weekend and finished a strong second after Rosberg's subsequent power-unit problems, even making a late but convincing challenge on race leader Hamilton in the final third of the race. Massa's helmet was blue with a fluorescent yellow X on the sides and a yellow triangle that covers the upper helmet with the top section coloured with a green gradient (prior to F1, this section was blue), in Ferrari early years until 2010,Massa's helmet featured also a white ring surrounding the top. In 2008 the tips of the fluo yellow X were more ramified. in 2011 on the yellow triangle covered the entire upper front with 2 blue lines in the sides. For his 100th race with Ferrari at the 2011 Brazilian Grand Prix, Massa sported a chrome and gold prancing horse on the top with a further 100 horses representing the races Massa contested with Ferrari. The design also featured gold, blue and green spreading out over the helmet.

• published: 22 May 2015
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