Felipe Massa has admitted that he “suffered a lot more” as Fernando Alonso’s Formula 1 team-mate at Ferrari than when he was partnered with Michael Schumacher.
Massa was promoted to a works Ferrari drive alongside Schumacher in 2006 and notched two wins that term as Schumacher lost out on the title to Renault’s Alonso.
The Brazilian held a supporting role the next season as Kimi Raikkonen claimed the crown, but Massa headed Ferrari’s charge in 2008 as he came up one point short.
However, the marque struggled with the regulation change in 2009, and Massa’s career came to a halt when a crash in Hungary left him in a life-threatening condition.
Massa made a miraculous recovery to return to the grid in 2010 with a more competitive Ferrari, but he was unable to hit his past level as the team welcomed Alonso.
Alonso boasted a seismic advantage and his status as Ferrari’s championship hopeful prompted Massa to be ordered to relinquish the lead at the German Grand Prix.
Despite acknowledging that he entered a Ferrari setup that revolved around Schumacher, Massa has disclosed that his experience with Alonso was more challenging.
“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,” he told 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.
“But I think that at the time, I suffered a lot more with Alonso than with him for example.
“With him [Schumacher], it was a very big situation where Ferrari was investing in a young man like me and also, he is at the end of his moment in Formula 1 and also at Ferrari.”
Massa remained as Alonso’s team-mate until the end of 2013 when Ferrari elected to drop him to bring back Raikkonen, who had come back to F1 with Lotus in 2012.
Meanwhile, Massa had chosen to move to Williams, which capitalised on Mercedes possessing the best powertrain to rise to third in the Constructors’ Championship.
Massa logged two podiums that season and replicated that in 2015 as Williams retained third, but the team regressed and he slipped to 11th in the standings in 2015.
The ex-Sauber racer would complete another two seasons in Williams colours and then retired once 2017 concluded to bring the curtain down on his extensive career.
