After Felipe Massa announced his impending retirement from F1 at the end of this season, in Monza today his rival F1 drivers lined up to pay tribute to the Brazilian.
His Williams team mate Valtteri Bottas led the tributes. "For sure he is very nice guy to work with," said the Finn. "He is still fast, a very underestimated driver.
"I respect him as a person, as a driver. Definitely with all his experience and different situations he's been in in his career you can learn different things."
Fernando Alonso, who was Massa's Ferrari team mate for four years, said that "probably I raced with him every single year of his career as I started before…he's a great man and we will miss him probably next year.
"He felt it is the right moment so wishing him the best."
Nico Rosberg said of Massa's impending retirement that "it's a loss for our sport as he's a great character who's done some exciting things on the track and he's done so well. But every career comes to an end at some point."
Jenson Button also paid tribute: "It’s always a strange feeling when someone retires from the sport that’s achieved so much, so many victories, and being so close as well to a world championship," said the Englishman. "But we all have our own reasons. I think it’s a brave decision but he’s chosen to retire so it’s definitely the right one."
Sebastian Vettel added: "He's a really nice guy, really funny. It's a shame to see that he quits because he will be missed."
Esteban Gutierrez and Carlos Sainz confirmed too that Massa had assisted them personally before they even got to F1.
Gutierrez said "I have great memories for when he accepted my call and invited me for dinner back in 2008, when I was racing Formula BMW. At that time, that meant a lot for me."
While Sainz said "I remember meeting him for the first time in 2005. I think I was 10-11 years old. He was really kind to me and was my hero Formula One driver. He was very funny, very kind to me and since then I’ve had lots of respect for him. Five minutes before coming here I went to give him a hug, wish him all the best and I’m sure he’ll have a good life from now on."
