Today the announcement came that Felipe Massa would retire after his 250th Grand Prox. A mainstay of Formula One in recent years, Massa has rose through the sport from Sauber, to Ferrari where he had his greatest successes, and finally on to the Williams team becoming one of the most popular drivers on the grid along the way.
Whilst the news may not come as a shock to many, the little Brazilian will leave a large hole when he vacates his seat at the end of the season. As a fan of the Brazilian since I was a young boy, I can say he will be sorely missed, not just for his race craft but for the magnetic and innately lovable personality he brings to the paddock. Massa can be be a great example for any young driver on the grid today - Massa started his career in F1 with Sauber, where it was very obvious he had electric pace in a generally lacklustre car. However his occasional erratic style lead to him not being signed for Sauber in 2003, instesd he went on to test for Ferrari before eventfully being re-signed by Sauber where his performances gained him a drive with the Ferrari team as number 2 driver behind the great Michael Schumacher. Massa gained undoubtedly his biggest success with the Italian stalwarts finishing runner up in the 2008 Chanpionship being pipped at the final corner by eventual champion Lewis Hamilton. Given Massa was not even favourite in his own team for a title challenge that year, Massa showed us all his copious amount of talent.
However his career would soon be effected by a life threatening injury after his helmet was struck at the Hungarian Grand Prix. This near tragic accident would not stop Massa however, it would only fuel him more to get back into the car once again, which he did after a far shorter recovery period than expected. Many expected Massa to be less competitive, however he showed the world why he was so determined to overcome this immense challenge, providing many good drives for both Ferrari and Williams after this time.
Proving himself more than capable of matching some of the greats of the sport, Massa will go down as a great of a sport loved the world over, which is fitting; because Massa himself is loved the world over.
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