Felipe Massa ended his F1 career in 2017 after 15 seasons, 269 races, 11 wins, 41 podiums, 16 pole positions and 1167 career points. An experienced driver like Felipe is undoubtedly missed because he is charismatic, especially about circuit and car safety. But Felipe’s motorsport career has not ended after he retired from Formula 1. Let’s find out when and where he performed throughout these years and in which projects he was involved.
FORMULA E
Felipe debuted in Formula E in 2018, signing a three–year deal with Venturi. The Brazilian driver expressed clearly his opinion about the new motorsport category.
“I think what makes things interesting in Formula E, and I hope it happens with me, is that many drivers can win the race. Many drivers can win the championship. It is a championship I can race not only for one year, and that’s it. I can race for a few years and still enjoy my career until I decide to stop. I want to keep having fun like I have done all my life.”
Team Massa was alongside Swiss Driver Edoardo Mortara in Venturi, and the team principal was Susie Wolff. In his first season, after a difficult beginning, he scored 36 points, getting, as best result, third place in Monaco. In his second season in this category, he scored only three points before parting ways with the team in August 2020.
This was his statement after leaving the team:”Leaving a team is never an easy decision,” said Massa. “We’ve made some good memories together, and it’s allowed me to learn something completely different from what I’m used to, so first of all, I want to thank [Venturi president] Gildo [Pastor] and [team principal] Susie [Wolff] for their faith in me”.
“It’s been an honour to be part of the only motorsport team from the Principality, and representing them on the podium at the Monaco E-Prix was a definite highlight for me. The past two seasons have been a big learning curve for us all, and unfortunately, for various reasons, we haven’t quite achieved what we hoped.
“Despite that, it’s been a lot of fun, and I wish the team nothing but the best of luck for the future. I look forward to announcing my plans in due course.”
PORSCHE GT CUP BRAZIL
After leaving Formula E, he took part in the Porsche GT3 Cup Brazil, sharing a car with Lico Kaesemodel. They got fifth place in the overall ranking of the 2020 Season.
STOCK PRO CAR SERIES
Felipe has been involved in this category since the 2021 season. In this formula, he races among other Brazilian drivers, such as Rubens Barrichello, Ricardo Zonta and Nelson Piquet Jr, who took part in past Formula 1 seasons. He has yet to achieve good results, but his spirit of competition is always alive.
OUTSIDE THE TRACK
From 2018 to 2022, he was president of the FIA Karting Championship. He worked to improve the safety of kart tracks and the growth of new drivers who can represent the future not only of Formula 1 but also of other motorsport categories. In February 2022, the former F1 driver was appointed the new FIA Drivers’ Commission president as part of the restructuring process initiated by the FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
Here’s his official statement after his appointment to a new role: “I’m so happy about that. It is a lot to do to improve motorsport on the driver’s side, driver’s license points, and safety. And it’s also important to keep improving so many points like the driver’s age, you know, to start with the first categories, a lot to do. But also, I will not away [sic] from the karting. I will keep doing some advisories on the karting side, which I really like. Looking forward to [the new role]. A lot to do.”
Outside the tracks, he spends much time with his wife Raffaella and his son Felipinho in Monaco, where they live. Recently, however, Felipe Massa has returned to the limelight regarding the 2008 CrashGate scandal and the recent statements by Bernie Ecclestone, who knew of all the strange things that had happened in the Singapore race. Felipe wants to look to legal actions regarding of 2008 F1 title’s controversies. We will see how this matter will develop in the next future.
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