Felipe Massa, who partnered with both Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso during his tenure at Ferrari, recently opened up about the difficulties he faced while racing alongside Alonso. Massa, who joined Ferrari in 2006, admitted that his time as Alonso’s teammate between 2010 and 2013 was more challenging than his earlier stint with Schumacher.
Massa’s journey with Ferrari began in 2006 when he was promoted to a works drive alongside Schumacher, the legendary seven-time world champion. During his debut season with Ferrari, Massa secured two race wins, contributing to a competitive campaign where Schumacher narrowly missed out on the title to Renault’s Fernando Alonso. Although Massa played a supporting role in 2007, he was at the forefront of Ferrari’s title charge in 2008, where he famously came just one point short of winning the championship.
However, the landscape at Ferrari changed dramatically in 2009, a year marked by the team’s struggles with new regulations and a horrific accident at the Hungarian Grand Prix that left Massa with life-threatening injuries. After a remarkable recovery, Massa returned to the grid in 2010, only to find himself paired with Alonso, who had joined Ferrari with the status of the team’s primary championship contender.
Massa has since revealed that this period was particularly difficult for him, more so than when he was Schumacher’s teammate. “It’s not easy because you know you’re alongside the number one [Schumacher] and everything—the power a driver like that has is very big within the team,” Massa explained in an interview with UOL Esporte. “If he decides to do something, the team will do it. Then at work, it’s not easy, and sometimes you have to swallow some things which are not easy.”
However, Massa noted that his experience with Alonso was even more challenging, despite having entered a Ferrari setup that was still very much oriented around Schumacher during his earlier years. “But I think that at the time, I suffered a lot more with Alonso than with him [Schumacher], for example,” Massa admitted. He elaborated that while Schumacher was nearing the end of his career at Ferrari, the team’s focus on investing in Massa as a young talent was clear. In contrast, Alonso’s arrival at Ferrari placed Massa in a much tougher situation, as the team was built around Alonso’s championship aspirations.
One of the most significant moments during their partnership came at the 2010 German Grand Prix, where Massa was famously ordered to relinquish the lead to Alonso, a decision that underscored Alonso’s position as Ferrari’s main contender and Massa’s secondary role within the team.
Massa continued as Alonso’s teammate until 2013 when Ferrari decided to bring back Kimi Raikkonen, leaving Massa to move on to Williams. During his time with Williams, Massa enjoyed some success, particularly in 2014 and 2015 when the team capitalized on Mercedes’ superior powertrain to secure third place in the Constructors’ Championship. Massa recorded four podium finishes across those two seasons but found himself slipping down the order as Williams began to regress in performance.
Massa retired from Formula 1 at the end of the 2017 season, concluding a long and storied career. However, he has remained in the headlines due to his legal action to void the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, a race marred by the ‘Crashgate’ scandal, which he argues unfairly impacted his championship bid that year.
Massa’s reflections on his time with Ferrari highlight the intense challenges faced by drivers who must navigate the internal dynamics of top teams, particularly when paired with championship-caliber teammates like Alonso and Schumacher. His experiences offer a glimpse into the complexities of Formula 1, where talent alone is often not enough to secure success, and where team politics and dynamics can play a crucial role in a driver’s career trajectory.
Photo from Felipe Massa Instagram
