“Maybe I was a little bit quicker than my grandmother!” laughed Massa, making a hasty retraction from his radio statement to engineer Rob Smedley about having to drive ultra-conservatively on (well past their use-by date) Pirelli’s.
It was a relaxed Felipe when I spoke to him after he’d only recently made the move from the highly political environment at Ferrari, to the recently refreshed and resurgent Williams and despite a few missed opportunities, he remained so, where another driver – or another Felipe – may have tightened up.
“I’m relaxed because I have the team on my side. I’m working for a team that trust’s me 100% to do the job. That makes you relaxed knowing that you have people believing in you.”
Going back to the 2000 Formula Renault finals in Valencia, Felipe was fighting Charles Zwolsman for the championship when Zwolsman’s younger brother (possibly deliberately) took Massa out in the heat race. My close friend (who was working for Fly You Racing as an engineer) chatted briefly to Felipe after the accident when all looked lost and his own team had lost faith. Massa went on to win the championship.
Just as Rob Smedley coached a hesitant Massa to brake later into St Devote at Monaco in 2008, I would cite Valencia 2000 as a seminal moment in Felipe’s career, where encouragement opened the windows and provided much-needed oxygen. Likewise, Hockenheim’s “Fernando is faster than you” castration had an inverse psychological effect.”
“Sure. I think you need to believe in yourself” explained Massa. “Sometimes things happen for different reasons, but you cannot forget that you can do it. Things change very quickly in Formula One. Maybe one day you are stupid and then the next day you are the king and everybody believed that. But what were you before?”
Perception is a funny thing. It reminded me of Felipe battling against Mark Webber in Montreal 2005. The Sauber wasn’t expected to be up there with the Williams that year, yet Massa beat him to claim fourth. That was a fantastic drive.
“People forget quickly” continued Felipe. “It’s not just in Formula One. In football you see it as well. What you read isn’t the important thing. The important thing is the people around you believe in you and you believe in yourself. This counts for more.”
Pat Symonds – Chief Technical Officer at Williams – compared Massa’s feedback to the best he’s worked with which seemed to have coincided with introducing a very open shop plan at Williams where everyone communicates very freely. It’s similar to what he did at Marussia.
“He understands who’s good and who isn’t” explained Massa. “He’s put people in who are able to change. If you don’t understand what he’s doing then it’s difficult. But Williams have given him the green card.”
A very different environment to the (still) very political environment at Ferrari.
Massa’s retirement announcement at Monza will bring the curtain on 15 seasons in Formula One, most notable for his drive in Brazil 2008, where he enjoyed a brief few seconds as World Champion before Lewis Hamilton overtook Timo Glock for fifth place at the final corner. Others have waxed lyrical over Massa’s dignity in the face of such public defeat on home soil, but it’s worth repeating as it encapsulates the best Formula One has to offer.
Massa has struggled this year, scoring just 39 points, but perhaps, with his announcement, will come a release that will again open up the Massa we all know is there.
“I’d like to be able to give an important contribution to the team, given that we still have some important goals in front of us” Felipe said at Monza yesterday. “Williams is fighting for fourth place in the constructors’ championship, and I will give my best to achieve the goal with the team.”
A team player to the end. The paddock will be a sadder place without him.
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