Return To Form

March 9th, 2010

Massa Healed, Ready For New Season, New Teammate At Ferrari

The best thing about Felipe Massa’s accident during qualifying for last year’s Hungarian Grand Prix is that he doesn’t remember anything about it. He was traveling at 160 miles per hour in his Ferrari when a steel spring, weighing about 28 ounces and somehow having fallen off of Rubens Barrichello’s Brawn, struck him in the face. Although briefly knocked unconscious, Massa was awake and distraught for much of the ordeal. But his first recollection is waking up in a Budapest hospital.

That was July 25. Massa believed he would be fit to race in the European Grand Prix at Valencia four weeks later.

“I was sure after the accident when I was in hospital in Hungary that I was in a position not to miss any races,” he recalls. “I once almost fought with my wife because she said I wouldn’t race in Valencia.”

The doctors, however, as always in the case of head injuries, were cautious and insisted that the Brazilian sit out the rest of the season. But he’s now back testing and ready to race when the season opens Sunday in Bahrain.

“Physically, I now feel better than I did before the accident,” he says. “The accident hasn’t changed my life, hasn’t changed the way I think or work.”

What has changed is that Massa has a new teammate at Ferrari as two-time world champion Fernando Alonso replaces 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen.

During his first season with Ferrari in 2006 Massa was content to play the support role to Michael Schumacher, and the latter really took Massa under his wing. Raikkonen was the dominant driver when he joined in 2007, but that flipped in 2008 as Massa was the better shoe.

That, team principal Stefano Domenicali points out, led to a mutual respect between the duo.

It will be interesting to see how it plays out between Massa and Alonso if one or the other is consistently faster.

“When there’s a new driver at Ferrari there are great expectations and the goal is to work well as a team, to be complete,” Massa says. “I’ll have a very strong teammate. I’ve always done good work, learned a lot and shown many times that I’m able to win and fight, whoever my teammate was.”

Alonso agrees.

“Felipe and I both race for Ferrari,” he says. “It is important that a red car wins. We’ll both give it our all to improve our performance; we’ll both give 100 percent. I’ve always had strong teammates and I never had any problems with them. My best friends in F-1 are these people. I have a beautiful relationship with my teammates and it will be the same with Felipe.”

Domenicali and Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo have both sat down with Massa and Alonso and told them that Ferrari comes first.

“Let’s not forget that our characteristic has always been putting the interest of the team at the core of everything; both Felipe and Fernando know what our context is, how they have to move and the rules of our team,” Domenicali elaborates. “When you have strong drivers you have to manage them, this is true, but what is most important is to give them a car which may be a winning car or a competitive car from the start, and they will be able, as professional as they are, to take it to the end of races in the best possible position.”

The new teammates are communicating well as Alonso is far more loquacious than the introverted Raikkonen.

“I’ve already spoken more with Fernando than I did in three years with Kimi,” quips Massa.

Schumacher played an integral role in the rebuilding of Ferrari.
Raikkonen mostly rode the wave. Massa has matured immensely, but is he a leader in the Schumacher and Alonso mold? Perhaps not. On the other hand, Massa and Ferrari have been together for years, and they suffered and bonded through his traumatic accident last year. Massa is not going to meekly stand aside and let Alonso set the team up around him.

The new Ferrari F10 has looked very strong in pre-season testing. And Massa is feeling strong as well. During one day of testing at Spain’s Jerez circuit he completed 160 laps, which was almost two-and-a-half race distances.

“I thought I might be more tired than I am,” Massa said. “I don’t think I’ve ever done that many laps in one day; it’s a personal record! Physically, I feel fine, I’m in good shape.”

The accident in Hungary is not a distant memory. It is not in Massa’s memory bank at all. All he remembers is the long wait to test and race again. And now he’s back in action.

“For sure I’m happy to be back after such a long time watching the races on television, sometimes on track,” he says. “I’m ready to work with the team, I’m ready to race, and I’m also very happy I’m back to where I was before my accident.”