Felipe Massa knew since before the summer break that he was not going to continue in Formula 1 beyond 2016 and revealed that he chose Monza to announce the decision as gesture of respect to his mentor Michael Schumacher.
Massa told media, of his decision to quit, on the eve of the Italian Grand Prix weekend, “I have known for a few months. And I did not speak to any other teams, even Williams, about 2017.”
“Sometimes maybe when I said: I want to stay. I was not lying, but it was not exactly what was happening. I wanted the opportunity to this moment that everyone remembers.”
“I am choosing this place, this race, because ten years ago Michael announced his retirement. The only way for me to stay in Ferrari was because he stopped, because Kimi had signed his contract before me at Ferrari.”
“He chose to stop to give me this opportunity. And here is like almost my second country, a country I really love.”
Massa spent eight years as a Ferrari driver – teammate to Michael Schumacher, Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso – before joining Williams in 2014.
“I was thinking to do it myself three years ago. When I was sure when this was going to be the time [this year], I needed to decide and needed to be strong enough to decide things.”
“Sometimes it can be quite difficult but it’s a relief,” explained the Brazilian who has made 242 grand prix starts, won 11 F1 races, finished 41 times on the podium and finished runner-up in the world championship in 2008.
Massa began his F1 career with Sauber in 2002, thanks to backing from Ferrari. He spent 2003 as test and reserve driver for the Maranello before returning to the grid with Sauber for two years, in 2004 and 2005.
In 2006 he was promoted to the Ferrari team, alongside seven times world champion Schumacher who took the Brazilian under his wing and mentored him that season.
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