Ferrari and 15,000 fans bid farewell to Massa

Ferrari have bid farewell to long-standing driver Felipe Massa who, after eight seasons with the Italian outfit, will leave to be replaced by Kimi Raikkonen.

During the farewell event attended by 15,000 fans, Massa was given a 1.2 metre trophy enscribed with each of his eleven race wins.

Speaking at the event, he said he will truly miss the Ferrari family and the friends he’s made.

“I’ve been lucky, I have had a great career with Ferrari, longer than I had ever dreamed of at the start,” he said.

“When I began racing in go-karts as a kid, I had a red Ferrari suit and it’s always been the team I supported. Even when Senna was at McLaren and Piquet at Williams, I was cheering for Ferrari!

“We began our relationship in 2001 and I have raced for them for eight seasons, which is a very important part of my life. I have so many friends at Ferrari and I will miss them, as I will also miss the nice days I spent at the factory in Maranello. I am happy with the way my time with the Prancing Horse turned out.”

He takes away many good memories – and some bad ones – but says his the wins, particularly in Brazil when the title slipped through his fingers, will stay with him for the longest.

“These are memories that will stay with me always, just like so many other beautiful moments spent together, starting with the wins. For example, I think back to the wins at Interlagos, because for a Brazilian, to win your home race is something amazing. Sure, the dream just slipped out of my grasp, namely winning the world title in front of my home crowd, but that wasn’t the race where I lost the 2008 title: when you finish second by a point the key moment could have come at so many different places and I’m thinking of Singapore for example, or Budapest, or others still…”

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Ferrari have bid farewell to long-standing driver Felipe Massa who, after eight seasons with the Italian outfit, will leave to be replaced by Kimi Raikkonen.

During the farewell event attended by 15,000 fans, Massa was given a 1.2 metre trophy enscribed with each of his eleven race wins.

Speaking at the event, he said he will truly miss the Ferrari family and the friends he’s made.

“I’ve been lucky, I have had a great career with Ferrari, longer than I had ever dreamed of at the start,” he said.

“When I began racing in go-karts as a kid, I had a red Ferrari suit and it’s always been the team I supported. Even when Senna was at McLaren and Piquet at Williams, I was cheering for Ferrari!

“We began our relationship in 2001 and I have raced for them for eight seasons, which is a very important part of my life. I have so many friends at Ferrari and I will miss them, as I will also miss the nice days I spent at the factory in Maranello. I am happy with the way my time with the Prancing Horse turned out.”

He takes away many good memories – and some bad ones – but says his the wins, particularly in Brazil when the title slipped through his fingers, will stay with him for the longest.

“These are memories that will stay with me always, just like so many other beautiful moments spent together, starting with the wins. For example, I think back to the wins at Interlagos, because for a Brazilian, to win your home race is something amazing. Sure, the dream just slipped out of my grasp, namely winning the world title in front of my home crowd, but that wasn’t the race where I lost the 2008 title: when you finish second by a point the key moment could have come at so many different places and I’m thinking of Singapore for example, or Budapest, or others still…”