Formula Future Fiat was an open wheel racing series founded in 2010 by Felipe Massa and his family. It was based in Brazil . The champion received support to compete in Formula Abarth .
146-506: The category was founded in 2010 by Felipe Massa and his family. The series was organized in collaboration with the Confederação Brasileira de Automobilismo (CBA), RM Racing Events and Carlinhos Romagnolli Promoções e Eventos. The great attraction of this category was the low cost, thus enabling the continuation of drivers coming out of karting to develop their skills driving formula racing cars for when they arrive overseas in
292-667: A 10-place grid drop for an incident during the Italian Grand Prix , he was dropped for the United States Grand Prix in an attempt to circumnavigate the penalty, being replaced by Heinz-Harald Frentzen . Massa returned to the driver's seat for the Japanese Grand Prix , but Sauber confirmed that Frentzen would partner Heidfeld in 2003 , leaving Massa without a race seat. Instead, he spent a year with Sauber's engine suppliers, Ferrari , gaining experience by testing for
438-423: A 15-second lead over Räikkönen in the rain, before that advantage was wiped out by the safety car. Soon Räikkönen was out of contention with a drive-through penalty. After the safety car came in, Massa again started pulling away from Robert Kubica, but he ran up an escape road and lost the lead. Massa did jump Kubica in the pitstops, but Lewis Hamilton 's one-stopping McLaren was by now ahead of both of them. During
584-626: A 3rd place at the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring . After making a great start to 4th place, he used his fuel strategy while defending from other drivers and looking after his tyres to take the final podium place. On 25 July 2009, in the second round of qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix , Massa's head, though protected by his driver's helmet, was struck by a suspension spring that had fallen from Rubens Barrichello 's Brawn , on
730-525: A battle with Jenson Button , he finished the race for the first time in his career, ending in third place. Another pole came in Hungary , but he collided with Vitantonio Liuzzi after 25 laps, causing his fourth retirement of the season. A first turn incident with Scott Speed at the Turkish Grand Prix led to an exploded tyre and suspension damage. After a tyre change, Räikkönen's race ended halfway into
876-630: A best result of fifth, a stage win and 10th in the championship in both seasons. Concurrently, Räikkönen also competed in NASCAR , making one-off appearances in the Camping World Truck Series and the Nationwide Series in 2011. Since retiring from Formula One, he has made appearances in the Cup Series in 2022 and 2023. Forbes magazine listed Räikkönen 36th in their 2008 "Celebrity 100" as
1022-457: A charging Hamilton came at him in the last 10 laps, Massa could not hold him off and subsequently finished third. After the race, Massa was four points behind Hamilton but three ahead of Räikkönen. At the Hungarian Grand Prix , the McLarens locked out the front row, and the best Massa could get was third. However, at the start itself, Massa passed both Heikki Kovalainen and pole sitter Hamilton on
1168-494: A collision with Massa whilst exiting the pitlane. At the Chinese Grand Prix the following week Massa and teammate Räikkönen struggled for pace the entire weekend, a situation which Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali could not explain. Massa qualified third behind Räikkönen's Ferrari and title rival Hamilton. Following the pattern of the weekend Massa struggled to keep up with Hamilton, who raced away and maintained
1314-532: A comfortable margin. Whilst he eventually found some speed after the graining period on the medium compound tyres, he was unable to catch Hamilton. As Räikkönen yielded second place to keep Massa's title hopes alive, Hamilton pulled his lead out to seven points in the Drivers' Championship. Massa remained optimistic stating "For sure we are in a difficult position but we know many things can happen in one race" and "Always when you play at home you usually play better"; in
1460-545: A delay with his fuel rig, which put him down to 17th. He then staged a fightback, charging back up to fifth place by the end of the race. Two of Massa's title contenders failed to finish after Hamilton collided with a stationary Räikkönen in the pitlane, allowing Massa to equal Hamilton and overtake Räikkönen in the driver standings. In the French Grand Prix , Massa qualified 2nd on the grid behind his teammate Räikkönen. Massa stayed some 3 to 4 seconds behind his teammate for
1606-542: A disappointing seventh, although he at least managed to out-qualify teammate Alonso and beat him in the race. Massa described the race as "boring"; he spent it battling with the Renaults of Kubica and Vitaly Petrov for the minor points positions. In Canada he qualified 7th and after an excellent start he spun Liuzzi 3 times and from there on had a poor race finishing 15th and a lap down. In Valencia , he qualified 5th, but after Mark Webber and Heikki Kovalainen collided and
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#17328518396491752-414: A drive-through penalty. This followed an incident in qualifying where Hamilton lunged down Massa's inside, attempting to pass on an out-lap, which led Massa to publicly criticise Hamilton. Massa also went up to Hamilton in the post-race TV interview area as he was about to start an interview with RTL Television , patted his shoulder, and sarcastically said: "Good job, bro." It was later reported that during
1898-511: A further ten points to his rival Alonso. This incident, in part, resulted in a rules clarification allowing teams to change a flat-spotted tyre without punishment. Alonso's first major mistake of the 2005 season handed the Canadian Grand Prix to Räikkönen. The following weekend saw all the Michelin teams, including McLaren, withdraw from the United States Grand Prix for safety reasons. At
2044-565: A gravel trap in the pit lane. Räikkönen took his fifth win of the season, that revived his title hopes before the last race of the season. This was also the 200th race win and 600th podium in a World Championship event for Ferrari as a manufacturer ( as a team , their 200th win was achieved at the next race in Brazil , and their 600th podium was achieved in 2008 Bahrain Grand Prix ). Räikkönen moved to seven and three points behind Hamilton and Alonso in
2190-581: A guest driver. In his rookie year in Formula 1, Massa was paired with 1999 International Formula 3000 champion Nick Heidfeld . He proved he was a competitive driver, but made several mistakes, including spinning off the track several times. Nevertheless, Massa scored 4 championship points in his first season, his best result a 5th place at the Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Catalunya . After picking up
2336-452: A high-speed part of the track. He subsequently crashed head-on into a tyre barrier. Massa was airlifted to the ÁEK hospital in Budapest , where he underwent surgery in the area surrounding his left eye. His condition was initially described as "life-threatening but stable", but improved rapidly. Massa was discharged from hospital the following week and returned to Brazil. After further tests it
2482-404: A luggage grade experience in next-generation cars. The category has a great concern of the organization in its development, making the most of the driver season, where every driver has his box prepared by the organization, transportation of cars, mechanics, engineers, fuel, tires, maintenance, everything included in package accession to the rank of the drivers. The car was designed to comply with
2628-557: A mechanical problem, he won his first race of the 2008 season at the Malaysian Grand Prix , finishing ahead of Robert Kubica and Heikki Kovalainen . His victory in Kuala Lumpur came on the fifth anniversary of his maiden victory at the same track. In Bahrain , Räikkönen qualified in fourth on the grid. He moved up to second place by the third lap and finished in that position, behind his team-mate Felipe Massa . He also secured
2774-575: A point. He looked set for a podium in Malaysia until a faulty tyre valve failed and dropped him out of the points. Bahrain saw him achieve his first podium of the season with a third place behind Renault's Alonso and the Toyota of Jarno Trulli . Räikkönen then achieved three consecutive poles in San Marino , Spain , and a win after a safety car strategy call by Neil Martin at Monaco . An almost certain win
2920-420: A position he held until the end of the race. In Canada , Räikkönen achieved another podium. In the United States Grand Prix , his teammate punted him out in an expensive seven car accident. The French Grand Prix saw Räikkönen qualify his car in sixth. His teammate was now former test driver Pedro de la Rosa in place of Montoya. Räikkönen ended the race in fifth. In Germany , Räikkönen qualified on pole. After
3066-559: A regular driver for Sauber - Petronas in 2001 , having previously competed in just 23 car races. He joined McLaren - Mercedes in 2002 , and quickly established himself as a title contender by finishing runner-up in the championship to Michael Schumacher in 2003, and Fernando Alonso in 2005. Räikkönen's time at McLaren was marred by a succession of unreliable cars, prompting a move to Ferrari in 2007. This change saw him crowned Formula One World Drivers' Champion in his first season, pipping both McLaren drivers— Lewis Hamilton and Alonso—to
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#17328518396493212-467: A resurgent team. He was also referred to by Ross Brawn and Jean Todt as a driver whom Ferrari might consider in the future. In early November 2004, Räikkönen announced his intention to create a racing team with his manager Steve Robertson , to be entitled Räikkönen Robertson Racing (otherwise known as "Double R"), which would compete in Formula Three in 2005. Räikkönen's start to the 2005 season
3358-517: A second quicker than regular driver Pedro Diniz . Sauber had kept the news of his test quiet to distract potential competitors, internally referring to Räikkönen as "Eskimo". After further tests in Jerez and Barcelona , Sauber signed Räikkönen for the 2001 season. However, some critics (including FIA president Max Mosley ) voiced concerns over granting an F1 Super Licence to such an inexperienced driver; Räikkönen had only 23 car races to his credit. He
3504-687: A second to Juan Pablo Montoya . Starting from the pitlane in Canada after he went off track during qualifying with understeer, Räikkönen finished sixth, more than a minute adrift of race winner Michael Schumacher. At the European Grand Prix , Räikkönen took pole, and controlled the race from the start until his engine failed on lap 25. Title rival Michael Schumacher finished fifth taking 4 points advantage from Räikkönen. Räikkönen finished fourth in France behind Schumacher, but finished one point ahead of him with
3650-542: A second-place finish at his home Grand Prix at the Brazilian Grand Prix. Massa led much of the Brazilian Grand Prix , until yielding the lead to teammate Kimi Räikkönen , thus securing Räikkönen's world championship title. Massa finished the 2007 season ranked fourth in the drivers' standing with 94 points. In October 2007, Massa extended his contract with Ferrari to the end of 2010. Ferrari appeared off
3796-598: A second-place qualifying place, and a second-place finish in Bahrain behind teammate Fernando Alonso , despite having to save fuel in the last 22 laps. At the Australian Grand Prix , Massa was appointed a director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association . Massa qualified fifth for the race, which was marked by changeable weather conditions and ten non-finishers. He finished third, largely managing to steer clear of
3942-507: A series of neurological examinations, co-ordinated by the FIA's medical delegate, in Paris on 10 October 2009. The successful completion of these tests led to the announcement by Ferrari that Massa would, from 12 October 2009 be driving a 2007 Formula One car in order to continue re-acclimatising to racing. He waved the chequered flag at the 2009 Brazilian Grand Prix . Massa started the 2010 season with
4088-426: A single point. Massa took pole position for what was the first ever F1 night race and inaugural Singapore Grand Prix , beating Hamilton by six-tenths of a second. He maintained the lead at the start and after 14 laps, was over 5 seconds ahead of Hamilton. However, a crash for Nelson Piquet Jr. brought out the safety car, bunching up all the cars. It was then time for the first round of stops and during his stop Massa
4234-521: A team order had been made to Massa to let Alonso overtake, and race stewards agreed. Despite team boss Stefano Domenicali's denial, Ferrari were fined $ 100,000 for breaking Sporting Regulations and the matter was referred to the FIA World Motor Sport Council . Massa finished 4th in Hungary and Belgium and third in Italy . In Singapore , he qualified last due to a gearbox issue, but finished
4380-610: A third-place finish at the British Grand Prix . Räikkönen failed to finish the German Grand Prix after being involved in an accident at the first corner with Ralf Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello. Räikkönen finished second at the next race, the Hungarian Grand Prix . Before the Italian Grand Prix , the FIA were tipped-off by rivals Ferrari about an illegality in the Michelin tyre's tread width. Michelin were forced to bring in narrower tyres. Räikkönen eventually finished fourth in
4526-530: A tyre and losing a wing end-plate. Chasing down Alonso during the final stages of the race, he set the fastest lap of the race on the final lap, finishing only 1.8 seconds behind the Spaniard. At the San Marino Grand Prix , a bad choice of strategy and a mistake from Räikkönen in qualifying saw the McLarens get caught in traffic in the early part of the race allowing Michael Schumacher and Alonso to get away at
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4672-892: Is a Brazilian racing driver , currently competing in the Stock Car Pro Series for TMG Racing . Massa competed in Formula One from 2002 to 2017 , and was runner-up in the World Drivers' Championship in 2008 with Ferrari ; he won 11 Grands Prix across 15 seasons. Born in São Paulo and raised in Botucatu , Massa started his career in karting aged eight, winning national and regional championships before progressing to junior formulae in 1998. Massa won several championships in Formula Chevrolet and Formula Renault , before winning
4818-703: The F1 Racing "Driver of the Year" accolade, and the Autosport "International Racing Driver of the Year" award. In Bahrain , starting from 22nd place on the grid, he drove through the field, ending third behind Alonso and Michael Schumacher. In Malaysia , Räikkönen was hit from behind by Red Bull Racing 's Christian Klien on the first lap and retired. Having started the year clearly behind Renault, McLaren improved in Australia , where Räikkönen finished second after flat spotting
4964-538: The 2007 Formula One World Championship while driving for Ferrari; he finished second overall twice and third three times. Räikkönen is the most successful Finnish Formula One driver by several metrics, and has the seventh-most podium finishes (103), third-most fastest laps (46), and third-most race starts (349) in Formula One history. He is known for his reserved personality and reluctance to participate in public relations events. Räikkönen entered Formula One as
5110-459: The Euro Formula 3000 Championship in 2001 with Draco . Massa signed for Sauber in 2002 to partner Nick Heidfeld , making his Formula One debut at the Australian Grand Prix . Despite scoring several points finishes in his rookie season, Massa was replaced by Heinz-Harald Frentzen in 2003 and became a test driver for Ferrari . Massa returned to Sauber the following year , remaining with
5256-465: The European and Belgian Grands Prix. After two races in which Badoer failed to score a single point, on 3 September 2009 Ferrari announced that Massa's place for the rest of the season would instead be taken by Giancarlo Fisichella who had signed a deal to be a Ferrari test driver for 2010 and had driven for Force India throughout the 2009 season. As part of his return to Formula One Massa undertook
5402-582: The French Grand Prix , Räikkönen suffered a ten-place grid-penalty following the replacement of his new specification Mercedes Benz engine which failed in Friday practice. Räikkönen, putting in what Ron Dennis called his best ever qualifying lap, qualified third (demoted to 13th) with a significant fuel load. He finished second behind Alonso. A week later at the British Grand Prix , Räikkönen suffered another Mercedes engine failure due to an oil leak; his second-place qualifying place became 12th. He claimed third place in
5548-571: The Korean Grand Prix , he crashed in qualifying for the Indian Grand Prix after he broke his suspension on a kerb and then hit the barriers. In the race, he once again collided with Hamilton on the 24th lap of the Indian Grand Prix , for the fifth time this season, this time however with Massa being awarded a drive-through penalty . He retired later after hitting a kerb too hard, the same fate which ended his qualifying session. He rounded off
5694-455: The Malaysian Grand Prix , Räikkönen was passed by Lewis Hamilton at the start and remained behind him for the rest of the race, finishing third. In Bahrain , Räikkönen started from third but was passed by McLaren driver Fernando Alonso. He eventually regained third position from Alonso and finished the race third. At the Spanish Grand Prix , Räikkönen retired after only 10 laps with an electrical problem. This took him down to fourth position in
5840-557: The Porsche Carrera Cup Brasil in 2020 alongside Lico Kaesemodel . In kart racing , Massa hosted the charity Desafio Internacional das Estrelas race until 2014, and was the president of the Commission Internationale de Karting from 2017 to 2022. Massa was born in São Paulo and grew up in Botucatu , in São Paulo countryside. He is of Italian descent. His grandparents come from the town of Cerignola , in
5986-501: The Spanish Grand Prix , Räikkönen made a mistake in qualifying and had to start from the back of the grid. At the start of the race, he collided with Antônio Pizzonia , causing Räikkönen to retire from the race. While having engine problems, Räikkönen successfully defended second position from Rubens Barrichello in Austria . He came extremely close to winning in Monaco , but lost by less than
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6132-521: The penultimate race of the year , at the Suzuka Circuit in Japan, Räikkönen took his seventh victory of the season after starting 17th on the grid. The win was secured when he overtook Renault driver Fisichella (who had started third on the grid, and had led most of the race) on the final lap – which Formula One journalist Peter Windsor thought the most impressive move of the race. Räikkönen received
6278-510: The 2006 season, for they had already signed McLaren's Kimi Räikkönen to partner Schumacher for the 2007 season in 2005 . However his future at Ferrari was secured when Michael Schumacher announced in September 2006 that he would retire from Formula One at the end of the season. On 22 October, Massa won his home race at the Brazilian Grand Prix , the first time a Brazilian driver had won at Interlagos since Ayrton Senna in 1993. Massa finished
6424-455: The 2007–2009 seasons. Räikkönen said after the move that he was very happy with this change of events but wished McLaren the best of luck in the future. He became the teammate to Brazilian Felipe Massa , who had been driving for Ferrari since 2006. Räikkönen started the season in Australia by taking pole position, setting the fastest lap, and becoming the first driver since Nigel Mansell in 1989 to win his first Grand Prix with Ferrari. At
6570-469: The 26th highest paid celebrity and fifth highest paid sportsman. The same list in 2009 recorded him as the second highest-paid athlete. Räikkönen was born in Espoo , Finland. He had a long line of success in karting from the age of 10. His first race outside Finland was in Monaco when he was 15 years old. During the race, the steering wheel broke, but he continued, informing his mechanic by frantically waving
6716-505: The Adelaide hairpin with a handful of laps to go, because of oil from the blown engine of Allan McNish 's Toyota on the circuit. He finished the race second. He finished the season in sixth place, one place behind his teammate. Together they achieved a solid third place for McLaren in the Constructors' Championship. At the season-opening Australian Grand Prix , Räikkönen qualified 15th in
6862-469: The Championship advantage to Massa. Massa secured the win, while Hamilton was still sixth as he came up to the second-to-last corner. He then passed Glock who had just been overtaken by Vettel and who was struggling for grip on his dry tyres, and so moved back into fifth place. This was enough to secure him the Drivers title by a single point. If he had tied points with Massa, by virtue of 6 victories to 5 in
7008-467: The Championship, behind team-mate Felipe Massa. At the Monaco Grand Prix , Räikkönen struck a barrier in qualifying and broke his right front suspension. He started 16th and finished eighth. In Canada , Räikkönen qualified fourth and finished fifth, Räikkönen's team-mate Massa was disqualified. At the United States Grand Prix , Räikkönen qualified fourth, finished fourth and recorded fastest lap of
7154-417: The Drivers' Championship, respectively, going into the last race in Brazil, the first three-way title battle in the final race of the season since 1986 . Räikkönen took the 2007 Formula One Drivers' title with victory in the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos , in an incident-packed race. Massa had taken pole, followed by Hamilton, Räikkönen, and Alonso. At the start of the race Räikkönen passed Hamilton on
7300-457: The Drivers' Championship. In an August 2022 interview, Massa revealed that after Sauber was taken over by BMW , they offered him a 3-year contract with the team, however Ferrari exercised their option on him to replace the outgoing Rubens Barrichello , who had signed for Honda for the 2006 season. Massa was then released and replaced by his former teammate Heidfeld and joined Ferrari to partner Michael Schumacher . Massa qualified second at
7446-729: The Italian Formula Renault series, winning both the Italian and the European Formula Renault championships that year. He could have moved to Formula Three , but instead chose the Euro Formula 3000 , where he won 6 of the 8 races and the 2001 championship. He was then offered a Formula 1 test with the Sauber team, who signed him for 2002. He also drove for Alfa Romeo in the European Touring Car Championship as
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#17328518396497592-589: The Mercedes linked Nick Heidfeld, was heavily influenced by Häkkinen who repeatedly told Ron Dennis "If you wanna win, get the Finn." Räikkönen scored a third-place podium finish in his first race with McLaren at the 2002 Australian Grand Prix . Although McLaren suffered many engine failures in 2002, Räikkönen scored 24 points and four podiums, and held his own against teammate David Coulthard . Räikkönen came close to winning his first Grand Prix in France but went off track at
7738-500: The Signatech- Fiat . The FPT engine have 150 hp and a top speed of more than 200 km/h. The transmission has five forward speeds with sequential shift mechanism . Pirelli is the single tyre supplier for the championship. Drivers have four free practice sessions of 30-minutes and 20-minutes. On Saturday drivers have a qualifying session. The qualifying session decides the grid order for Saturday's race. On Sunday race,
7884-505: The World Constructors' Championship at the end of a winless year. Räikkönen's British Formula 3 Championship team Räikkönen Robertson Racing claimed their first major success, with British driver Mike Conway winning the 2006 British F3 International Series title and the prestigious Macau Grand Prix . After the 2006 Italian Grand Prix , Ferrari announced that Räikkönen had signed a three-year contract with Scuderia Ferrari for
8030-512: The cars of Nico Rosberg , Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld following post-race inspection. Their disqualification and a race reclassification would have seen Hamilton lifted from seventh to fourth in the race result. However the race stewards decided that no sanctions would be given, meaning the results would stand. McLaren appealed the decision, however the FIA Court of Appeal rejected their appeal on 16 November 2007 thus confirming Räikkönen as
8176-501: The champion. As of the end of the 2023 Formula One season , Räikkönen's 2007 title triumph remains the most recent World Drivers' Championship win for a Scuderia Ferrari driver. In January 2008, Räikkönen was beaten by Tero Pitkämäki in the race for the annually chosen Finnish Sports Personality of the Year award; finishing in second place in the competition. After a disappointing first race in Australia , where Räikkönen eventually finished eighth after qualifying only 15th due to
8322-424: The championship, just two points behind Schumacher. The team also narrowly lost second place in the Constructors' Championship, finishing third, two points behind runners-up Williams , and 12 points behind Ferrari. The 2004 season began with Räikkönen only claiming a single point in the first seven races. His McLaren, especially the Mercedes engine, suffered repeated breakdowns, allowing him to complete just two of
8468-471: The championship-winning team. Sauber then re-signed Massa for the 2004 season. In 2004, he scored 12 of Sauber's 34 points, his best result being a fourth place at the Belgian Grand Prix . Giancarlo Fisichella scored the team's other 22 points. Massa remained at Sauber in 2005 . Though he scored only 11 points, he outpaced his teammate Jacques Villeneuve through most of the season, and beat him in
8614-574: The championship. Massa took six wins in his 2008 campaign, but lost the World Drivers' Championship by one point to Hamilton on the last lap of the last race of the season . Details later emerged of race-fixing at the Singapore Grand Prix —commonly known as Crashgate —which Massa claims lost him the title, taking legal action against the FIA in 2023. At the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix , Massa
8760-510: The chaos. After the race, Massa commented cheerfully that it had been an unusually good start to the season for him. Third was his best ever finish at Melbourne. After a storming drive to 7th from 21st on the grid in Malaysia , he took the lead in the world championship. However, a disappointing ninth in China meant that he dropped back to sixth in the standings. Massa qualified 9th in Spain , and finished
8906-462: The chequered flag to finish in sixth place. Three fifth places followed in Valencia , Silverstone – after a late-race battle with Hamilton – and at the German Grand Prix where Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel had a faster pit stop when they both pitted together on the penultimate lap, losing Massa fourth place. Massa added a sixth-place finish in Hungary . Massa out-qualified Alonso for only
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#17328518396499052-486: The chequered flag with a convincing victory over Michael Schumacher, albeit after McLaren teammate Montoya retired. Räikkönen won the Hungarian Grand Prix from the most handicapped qualifying position, having had to do his qualifying run first on the notoriously dusty and dirty track because of his early retirement a week earlier at Hockenheim. No other driver had previously managed this feat. Räikkönen then became
9198-406: The closing stages to pass him. Räikkönen led to the end of the race. At the European Grand Prix , Räikkönen captured his second pole position of the season but retired from the race, run in heavy rain, with a problem with the hydraulics of the car. In Hungary , Räikkönen qualified his car in fourth place, but started from third after Alonso was penalised. In the race he overtook Nick Heidfeld at
9344-502: The conditions. Despite this, he finished over fifteen seconds ahead of Alonso, and was pleased with his improved race performance. He finished 11th in Turkey after a slow pit stop, and retired in Spain due to a gearbox fault. In Monaco , Massa made contact with Lewis Hamilton at the hairpin on lap 32, and crashed in the tunnel a few corners later. While at the Canadian Grand Prix , on the last lap, he overtook Kamui Kobayashi just before
9490-498: The crown by a single point from Hamilton and Alonso. Championship leader Hamilton eventually finished the race in seventh place, while defending champion Alonso managed third. While Räikkönen had only one point more than Alonso and Hamilton at the end of the season, he had the most victories (six compared to four by each McLaren driver). Räikkönen's Drivers' Championship was briefly put into doubt when race stewards began an investigation after identifying possible fuel irregularities in
9636-486: The end of 2016 . The abrupt retirement of Nico Rosberg , however, saw Bottas move to Mercedes and Massa postpone his retirement to the end of the 2017 season, having achieved 11 wins, 16 pole positions, 15 fastest laps and 41 podiums in Formula One. Outside of Formula One, Massa competed in Formula E from 2018 to 2020 for Venturi , and has competed in the Stock Car Pro Series in Brazil since 2018 . He also entered
9782-493: The end of the season. Later, Ferrari announced that he would be replaced in the 2007 season by Räikkönen. The Chinese Grand Prix saw another retirement for Räikkönen due to throttle problems. His last two Grands Prix, in Japan and Brazil , did lead to 2 finishes, but he missed the podium on both occasions. Räikkönen ended his time at McLaren-Mercedes with a fifth place in the World Drivers' Championship, with McLaren placing third in
9928-422: The fastest lap. The next weekend at Monza , Räikkönen again retired on lap 13, this time owing to electrical problems. At the next race in China , he finished third, only 1.4 seconds behind race winner Rubens Barrichello. At the Japanese Grand Prix , Räikkönen was shunted by Felipe Massa on the first lap of the race, which caused him handling problems. He finished sixth, 2.5 seconds behind Fernando Alonso . At
10074-500: The first 19 laps run behind the safety car , both Räikkönen and teammate Massa were badly affected by having to change to extreme wet tyres during the early stages, because the FIA's tyre-rule notification arrived late at Ferrari. Towards the end of the race, Räikkönen moved through the field to third place, but could not pass his fellow countryman Heikki Kovalainen for second. At the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai , Räikkönen dominated
10220-464: The first 6 laps (where the Ferraris moved to the front of the pack). Although Massa managed to stay in the top 3 for the first half of the race, the exceptionally quick graining of the super soft tyres forced him into a 3 stop strategy. Before he was able to complete the race a mechanical problem forced him to retire. In Malaysia , an error of judgement by Ferrari meant that Massa failed to make it through
10366-403: The first corner and took second place, which he kept to the end of the race. At Monza 's third practice session, Räikkönen crashed into the tyre wall before entering the Ascari chicane. He qualified in fifth place, and raced in the Ferrari reserve car while suffering from a neck problem. The Ferrari team employed an unusual one-stop strategy, which left him third after Hamilton passed him late in
10512-477: The first corner of the race. Nevertheless, he scored his first career podium at the Nürburgring , finishing third behind Michael Schumacher and Alonso. He also set the fastest lap at Barcelona in 2006. He had four more podium finishes in 2006, and took his first F1 pole position and his first F1 win at the Turkish Grand Prix at the Istanbul Park circuit. Originally, Ferrari had intended to use Massa only for
10658-523: The first ever winner of the Turkish Grand Prix . Two weeks later at the Italian Grand Prix , Räikkönen's pole position was taken from him as he received another 10-position grid penalty for an engine change. He eventually finished fourth. He went on to win for the second year in a row in Belgium at Spa-Francorchamps . The following race, the Brazilian Grand Prix , saw Alonso clinch the Drivers' Championship after finishing third behind Montoya and Räikkönen. In
10804-426: The first half of the race. However, Räikkönen had a developing problem in his exhaust system, which allowed Massa to overtake him and win the race. This win gave Massa the lead in the championship, two points ahead of Robert Kubica, five points ahead of Räikkönen and 10 points ahead of Hamilton. Massa was the first Brazilian to lead the championship since Ayrton Senna in 1993 . In the British Grand Prix , Massa set
10950-413: The first session of qualifying. In an interview to Rede Globo , Massa revealed that he and the team believed that his initial time was quick enough to proceed into Q2, and refrained from recording further times in order to conserve the car's engine. However, this was not the case, and Massa subsequently ended up in 16th for the race. In the race, Massa was classified as having finished in 9th, just outside
11096-596: The first seven events. After seven rounds Räikkönen had only one point to Michael Schumacher's 60. In Canada , Räikkönen made 5 pit-stops but was classified fifth since the Williams-BMWs and the two Toyotas were disqualified. At the United States Grand Prix , Räikkönen finished sixth. At the French Grand Prix , McLaren rolled out the new MP4-19B. Räikkönen finished seventh behind his team-mate, David Coulthard. At Silverstone , Räikkönen took pole and went on to finish second behind Michael Schumacher. The McLarens qualified on
11242-442: The flaws present in the prior races. With the new aerodynamic parts, Massa managed to qualify in fourth place. He managed to maintain third position for a majority of the race before a computer issue showed the car as having less fuel than it should have, forcing him to conserve fuel in the final 10 laps, allowing Vettel and Alonso to cruise past, only for him to realise that the car had enough fuel for him not to need to conserve, after
11388-410: The front. Räikkönen eventually finished fifth, with teammate Montoya ahead in third place. McLaren team boss Ron Dennis blamed what he deemed to be Räikkönen's poor performance for the team's failure to finish in the top two in the race. At the Spanish Grand Prix , Räikkönen qualified ninth. However, he managed to get up to fifth place on the first lap of the race. He retained this position for most of
11534-564: The grid is decided by the Saturday result with top 8 being reversed, so the driver who finished 8th on Saturday will start from pole position and the winner will start from 8th place. All drivers were Brazilian-registered. The circuits for the 2011 season were: Former circuits in the Formula Future Fiat championship include: Felipe Massa Felipe Massa ( Brazilian Portuguese: [fiˈlipi ˈmasɐ] ; born 25 April 1981)
11680-542: The last lap. Hamilton crossed the line first, but was penalised 25 seconds by the stewards after the race for cutting the chicane, and so the win went to Massa putting him only two points behind Hamilton. At Italy , Ferrari's home race, the weekend was wet throughout, and Massa qualified only sixth, but Hamilton was down in 15th. During the race, Massa got up to third, but dropped to sixth after he pitted once more than most others. He finished there, but as Hamilton only finished seventh, he narrowed Hamilton's championship lead to
11826-434: The last race of the season, the Brazilian Grand Prix , he battled Montoya for the lead and finished 1 second behind him in second. Räikkönen ended the year seventh, with 45 points, only one behind sixth placed Jarno Trulli , and four podiums. Despite the disappointment of the 2004 season, Räikkönen was still seen as one of the rising stars of the sport. Many pundits predicted 2005 to be filled with great on-track battles from
11972-492: The lead in the championship. In Spain , Räikkönen took the 15th pole of his career and his first of the 2008 season. He managed to take his second race win of the season and the fastest lap of the race. Räikkönen overtook Mika Häkkinen in the list of total number of fastest laps and also in terms of podium finishes, making him the highest-ranked Finnish driver in these statistics. At the Turkish Grand Prix , Räikkönen qualified in fourth place. Despite damaging his front wing in
12118-405: The next lap when he crashed into the barrier at turn 4 because of a loss of rear grip. Räikkönen qualified on pole for the Italian Grand Prix by 2 thousandths of a second from Michael Schumacher. He led the early part of the race until the first pitstops where he was passed by Schumacher. He stayed in second place for the rest of the race. After the race, Schumacher announced that he would retire at
12264-464: The next three seasons, Massa left Ferrari at the conclusion of his 2013 campaign, having contributed to two World Constructors' Championships . Massa partnered Valtteri Bottas at Williams in 2014 , taking his first pole position in six years at the Austrian Grand Prix amongst several podiums. He took multiple podiums the following season with Williams, before announcing his retirement at
12410-509: The opening race in Bahrain , and came from 21st position to 5th in Malaysia, beating teammate Michael Schumacher, who had started from 14th. In Bahrain, however, in both Saturday practice and the race, Massa spun, narrowly missing Fernando Alonso , the eventual winner of the race. At the Australian GP he crashed his Ferrari in qualifying, then collided with Christian Klien and Nico Rosberg at
12556-469: The outside and lined up behind Massa. Alonso shortly afterwards passed Hamilton, who fell progressively down the order. Räikkönen eventually overtook Massa, who was already eliminated from contention for the Drivers' Championship in the Japanese Grand Prix. Massa's strategy for the second round of pit stops ensured Räikkönen kept the lead. Räikkönen went on to take the chequered flag , which handed him
12702-415: The pace at the first race of 2008 in Australia . Massa qualified fourth, but spun off at the first corner of the first lap. On lap 26 he collided with David Coulthard and eventually retired due to engine failure. In Malaysia , he qualified on pole, half a second clear of Räikkönen in second. He led from pole for the first 16 laps but was jumped by Räikkönen in the pitstops. He was still in contention for
12848-473: The pit stops, Massa was fuelled to the end of the race and was struggling, holding Kubica up. The track dried out and Massa had to pit for slick tyres while Kubica took his second fuel stop at the same time and jumped him. Massa thus finished third behind Hamilton and Kubica. In the Canadian Grand Prix , Massa qualified in 6th place. In the race there was a safety car due to an incident involving Adrian Sutil . All drivers pitted, but Massa had to pit twice due to
12994-479: The points-paying positions, after the race was abandoned on the 33rd lap due to torrential rain, poor light, and timing delays. Massa also failed to score in the next two races, retiring from the Chinese Grand Prix with electrical problems, and finishing well outside of the point scoring positions in 14th in Bahrain , due to a KERS problem and damaging his car's front-wing on the first lap. In Spain , Ferrari arrived with an upgraded car which attempted to fix many of
13140-470: The previous two years he had taken a win and a second place at Interlagos. At the last race of the season, the Brazilian Grand Prix , Massa was seven points behind Lewis Hamilton, meaning that Massa had to either finish first or second to win, and Hamilton had to be outside the top 5 – the same position Räikkönen had been in a year earlier, when he won the championship. Massa qualified on pole, while Räikkönen qualified third, just ahead of Hamilton. There
13286-467: The province of Foggia , Italy . He began karting when he was 8 years old, finishing fourth in his first season. He continued in national and international championships for 7 years, and in 1998 moved into Formula Chevrolet, finishing the Brazilian championship in fifth place. During the following season, he won 3 of the 10 races and claimed the championship. In 2000, Massa moved to Europe to compete in
13432-463: The quickest time in first practice but immediately crashed. He had his season's worst qualifying, starting in 9th. In the wet race, while Hamilton dominated and Räikkönen finished fourth, Massa spun five times and finished last in 13th, over a lap down behind both his rivals. And so, at the end of the halfway stage of the season, Hamilton, Massa and Räikkönen were deadlocked on 48 points, with Robert Kubica only two points behind them. The tenth round of
13578-477: The race 6th despite contact with Karun Chandhok which damaged his front wing. In Monaco , Massa was very quick during practice and qualified fourth. He got off to a great start and got alongside Robert Kubica , but had to yield the racing line at the first corner and finished the race in fourth, which promoted him to fifth in the championship with 61 points. The next race, the Turkish Grand Prix – at which Massa has historically excelled – ended for him in
13724-400: The race Massa's engineer Rob Smedley sent a radio message to Massa stating "Hold Hamilton as much as we can. Destroy his race as much as we can. Come on, boy..." Hamilton and Massa collided at the next race in Japan , damaging Massa's front wing endplate, but he eventually finished in seventh place. After the race, Massa called for the FIA to take action on Hamilton. After finishing sixth at
13870-562: The race eighth. Massa collided with Vitantonio Liuzzi on the first lap of the Japanese Grand Prix but finished third in Korea . He finished a disappointing 15th in Brazil , and tenth in Abu Dhabi . Massa ended the season ranked sixth in the Drivers' Championship. In June, Massa agreed to a contract extension until the end of the 2012 season. Massa remained with Scuderia Ferrari in 2011 , and again
14016-477: The race from 22nd position due to these problems and a 10-grid-slot penalty for the engine change. He employed a one pitstop strategy for the race and finished in sixth place. Massa's problems continued in Malaysia, where despite qualifying on pole position, the McLarens of Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton overtook him at turn one. Massa ran off the track while attempting to overtake Hamilton, and lost two more places, dropping down to fifth place, where he finished
14162-587: The race on fresh tyres. At Spa-Francorchamps , Räikkönen's favourite circuit, he secured pole position again and took his fourth victory of the season. Massa finished second, Alonso third and Hamilton fourth. This was also Räikkönen's third consecutive Spa win, which placed him among six other drivers with three or more Spa wins. At the Fuji Speedway in Japan , the only new track on the 2007 calendar, Räikkönen qualified in third position, while Hamilton took pole and Alonso second. In an extremely wet race, which saw
14308-419: The race these positions were maintained until Massa received instructions from Ferrari engineer Rob Smedley , saying "Fernando is faster than you. Can you confirm you understood that message?". Shortly afterwards, on lap 49, Massa allowed Alonso to take the lead, and consequently to win the race. Smedley then added after the pass 'Ok mate good lad, stick with him now, sorry.' The incident strongly suggested that
14454-473: The race, finishing in fifth place. A few days after the Spanish Grand Prix, he admitted that he had no chance of winning the 2006 Championship. In Monaco , Räikkönen qualified third. During the race he got up to second and kept pace with Alonso, however he retired during a safety car period after a failed heat shield led to a wiring loom inside the car catching fire. After his retirement from this race, he
14600-437: The race, losing five championship points to race winner Michael Schumacher. Räikkönen took pole at the United States Grand Prix , but Michael Schumacher won the race with Räikkönen finishing second. After qualifying eighth in Japan , Räikkönen finished second while Michael Schumacher just slipped into the points to win his sixth World Championship. Montoya's retirement during the race also meant that Räikkönen finished second in
14746-498: The race. In Germany , Räikkönen was comfortably in the lead having dominated all weekend, but suffered a hydraulics failure, handing victory and a further 10 points to Alonso. It was his third retirement while leading a race during the season. At the opening of the Hungarian Grand Prix , though saying he was very comfortable at McLaren, Räikkönen raised the possibility that he might leave McLaren when his contract expired in 2006, if reliability issues were not solved. He went on to take
14892-475: The race. However, his season subsequently improved, as he won the Grands Prix of Bahrain and Spain , both from pole position, and finished third in Monaco . The race stewards at the Canadian Grand Prix disqualified Massa for leaving the pit lane while the red light was showing. After this disqualification, he won one more race at the Turkish Grand Prix , and finished on the podium at six more races, including
15038-401: The race. The much upgraded car showed its pace by setting the third fastest time of the race after the two Brawns and in front of both Red Bull cars. Monaco was another step in terms of improvement for the car as Massa finished fourth in the race, with fastest race lap. After qualifying a disappointing 8th, Massa produced a mistake free drive to net his first podium position of the season with
15184-399: The race. With ten races in the season left, Räikkönen was 26 points behind leader Lewis Hamilton in the Drivers' Championship. In France , Räikkönen qualified third, but overtook Hamilton at the first corner of the race. He subsequently ran second, behind teammate Massa, for much of the Grand Prix, but overtook the Brazilian during the pit stops and took his second victory of the season. This
15330-499: The rules the winner is decided by the race order as of two laps before the race stopped, i.e. lap 53. However a week later, evidence emerged that Giancarlo Fisichella was on lap 56 when the race stopped, therefore the winner was decided by the order at lap 54. This granted the win to Fisichella, with Räikkönen second. As other teams improved their cars, McLaren, who were still using the 2002 chassis, began to falter in terms of race speed. However, Räikkönen finished second at Imola . At
15476-475: The run down to the first corner. He had the race in control from that point, and built up a five-second lead over Hamilton. When Hamilton suffered a puncture, Massa was left 20 seconds in front, but with three laps remaining he suffered an engine failure and retired. The twelfth round of the season, the European Grand Prix was in Valencia, Spain. Massa took pole position comfortably at this new circuit, and led from
15622-495: The running out there on the track in front of his fans, proving he is worthy indeed of the world title, but also for his maturity and sportsmanship off the track. He's a great champion and a great man." Felipe Massa gave Ferrari's 2009 challenger – the F60 – its shakedown test at Mugello on 12 January 2009. Ferrari confirmed that it would equip the F60 with KERS several days before
15768-477: The safety car came out, he finished 11th and out of the points. In Silverstone , Massa qualified seventh, but on the first lap he developed a puncture after contact in the new section of the circuit. He ended up in a disappointing fifteenth, as the last car on the lead lap. At the 2010 German Grand Prix Ferrari were investigated for team orders as Massa took the race lead early, ahead of Fernando Alonso in second and Sebastian Vettel close behind in third. During
15914-488: The season opening Australian Grand Prix . Friday practice session did not begin so well for Massa as he recorded the 7th and 10th fastest times. Saturday qualifying fared little better as he lined up 7th (although was promoted to 6th as Glock's Toyota was disqualified). In the race the Ferrari's poor ability to handle its tyres lead to their aggressive race strategy of super soft/medium/medium compounds paying little dividends after
16060-412: The season third with 80 points, behind world champion Alonso and Ferrari teammate Schumacher. Massa topped the time sheets on five occasions and set the fastest lap for four circuits during the 2007 pre-season testing. However, his 2007 season began with problems. At the season opening Australian Grand Prix , he suffered a gearbox problem during qualifying and required an engine change. Massa started
16206-448: The season was in Germany . Massa qualified 2nd behind Hamilton. He stayed second and was set to finish there until a crash involving Timo Glock brought out the safety car. Due to a miscommunication, Hamilton stayed out while the others, led by Massa pitted. However, when all the stops were over, Massa was behind Nelson Piquet Jr. who had already pitted as he was on a one-stopper. Then, when
16352-427: The season, Massa would have won the title. Following the 2008 seasons F1.com called Massa "no more the nearly man", saying "No more the Ferrari number two, Massa is now a contender". His maturity was also praised by Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo , commenting "I can only imagine how painful that moment must have been for him. However, I would like to give him my very special compliments, not only for dominating
16498-400: The season. In Spain , Massa qualified third behind Räikkönen and Fernando Alonso . He passed Alonso at the start and got up to second behind Räikkönen. He stayed on his teammate's tail for the whole race, but was unable to pass or get ahead in the stops. Massa took pole position at the next round at Turkey . He led from the start, and maintained the lead during the round of pit stops, but
16644-404: The second row of the grid in Germany . Räikkönen lost his rear wing on lap 13 of the race while following race leader Michael Schumacher. He retired again from the Hungarian Grand Prix after starting from 10th place on the grid, again on lap 13. At the Belgian Grand Prix , Räikkönen qualified 10th, but took the lead on lap 11 and held onto it to take McLaren's only win of the season. He also took
16790-440: The second time in 2011 , in Belgium ; but he fell from fourth to eighth in the race. Massa took another sixth-place finish at the Italian Grand Prix , after he was spun round by Webber on lap five. Hamilton made contact with Massa for the third time in 2011, when attempting to overtake him for eighth in the Singapore Grand Prix . Hamilton punctured Massa's right-rear tyre with his front wing, an incident for which Hamilton received
16936-440: The soft Pirelli tyres. Massa again made a fine start to the race and ran ahead of Alonso until his first pit-stop. A problem with a tyre-change cost him time but he finished ahead of Alonso in fifth, after Alonso damaged his front wing against Lewis Hamilton 's right-rear tyre. In China , Massa improved again; at one point looking like challenging for the race win, before settling for sixth as Ferrari's two-stop strategy did not suit
17082-411: The spare car. In the race he took the lead before being caught speeding in the pitlane, caused by a software glitch in the car's electronic system. Räikkönen held off Michael Schumacher to finish third. In Malaysia , Räikkönen won his first race after starting from seventh on the grid. During the next round in Brazil , Räikkönen was declared the winner after the race was stopped on lap 55. According to
17228-443: The start and pressured Hamilton until the end, but had to settle for second, being 0.7s behind Hamilton. He set the fastest lap time on the last lap of the race, commenting after the race: "I was so bored behind Hamilton, I wanted to see how quick I could have been". In Turkey , Räikkönen missed pole position after making a mistake in the final sector of his fast lap, which left him third on the grid. On race day, he overtook Hamilton in
17374-515: The start and ran in fifth place for a while, much to the frustration of Jenson Button , who had a much quicker car but was unable to pass him. A lack of pace dropped Massa down the order to an eventual ninth-place finish, which became seventh after the Saubers of Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Pérez were disqualified. The Malaysian Grand Prix saw a better performance from Massa, who qualified seventh and showed greatly improved race pace, particularly on
17520-404: The start. However, during one of his pit stops he was released early and almost touched wheels with Adrian Sutil who was already coming down the pitlane. Massa won the race and also set the fastest lap. After the race, the stewards decided to fine Massa €10,000 for the incident with Sutil, but the victory stood and he was only 6 points behind Hamilton as well as being 7 ahead of Räikkönen. The race
17666-431: The steering wheel in the air on the home straight. Räikkönen's next Monaco race was also memorable; he was thrown on the wrong side of the safety fence in a first lap collision but continued driving until running out of road. Undeterred, he lifted his kart back onto the track and continued to race. His mechanic thought Räikkönen had retired, but he eventually caught up with the other competitors and finished third. In 1998 he
17812-414: The team for two seasons before signing with Ferrari in 2006 to partner Michael Schumacher . Massa took his maiden win from pole position at the Turkish Grand Prix , and became the first Brazilian driver since Ayrton Senna to win his home Grand Prix . He then took several wins in a four-way title battle with Lewis Hamilton , Fernando Alonso and new teammate Kimi Räikkönen , with the latter taking
17958-414: The team's only victories. In September 2013, Ferrari announced his re-signing on a two-year contract, beginning in the 2014 season. This contract was subsequently extended until the end of the 2018 season . During his second Ferrari stint, Räikkönen scored 26 podiums, two pole positions, and a victory at the 2018 United States Grand Prix , 113 Grands Prix after his last victory . Räikkönen finished among
18104-418: The title by one point. In 2008, he equalled the record for the greatest number of fastest laps in a season for the second time. Räikkönen left both Scuderia Ferrari and the sport after the 2009 season , his sole victory that year having come in that season's Belgian Grand Prix due to driving an uncompetitive Ferrari F60 . On his return to Formula One, Räikkönen drove for Lotus in 2012 and 2013 , scoring
18250-554: The top eight. Completing the year with 9 points, Räikkönen, along with teammate Nick Heidfeld , helped Sauber to what was then its best result of fourth place in the Constructors' Championship. Räikkönen, long linked to Sauber's engine supplier Ferrari , sufficiently impressed McLaren to earn a race seat in Ron Dennis 's team for 2002 , taking the seat left vacant by double- world champion , mentor and fellow Finn Mika Häkkinen . The decision to choose Räikkönen over his Sauber teammate,
18396-648: The top four overall in the championship on multiple occasions during his second Ferrari stint, finishing his total eight-year long Ferrari career with a third place in the 2018 championship. Räikkönen left Ferrari at the end of the 2018 season, and moved to Alfa Romeo Racing on a two-year contract, later extending it until the end of 2021 , after which he retired from Formula One. In the World Rally Championship , Räikkönen drove Citroën cars for their Junior Team in 2010 and for ICE 1 Racing in 2011 , managing to beat some more experienced rally drivers with
18542-502: The victory battle and was chasing Räikkönen until he spun off and retired on lap 31 while in second. Massa went into the Bahrain Grand Prix (where he had won in 2007 ) with no points. Robert Kubica beat him to pole in qualifying. but at the start, Massa passed Kubica before the first corner. Räikkönen soon got up to second but he could not do a repeat of Malaysia. Massa was quicker and won by 3 seconds to score his first points of
18688-445: The whole weekend with fastest laps in the free-practice sessions. In qualifying, Hamilton took pole position with a lighter fuel load, while Räikkönen qualified second and Massa third. There was light rainfall at the beginning of the race which prompted the cars to start on intermediate tyres. After the first round of pit stops Hamilton lost grip as his tyres suffered graining, and Räikkönen overtook him. Hamilton retired after sliding into
18834-405: The year with two fifth-place finishes in Abu Dhabi and Brazil . Kimi R%C3%A4ikk%C3%B6nen Kimi-Matias Räikkönen ( Finnish pronunciation: [ˈkimi ˈmɑtiɑs ˈræi̯kːønen] ; born 17 October 1979), nicknamed " The Iceman ", is a Finnish racing driver who competed in Formula One between 2001 and 2021 for Sauber , McLaren , Ferrari , Lotus , and Alfa Romeo . Räikkönen won
18980-590: The year. In 2000, he won seven out of ten events in the Formula Renault UK Championship . Combined, over these two series of Formula Renault, he won 13 out of 23 events – a 57% win rate. On the basis of these results, Peter Sauber gave the Finn a test with the Sauber Formula One team in September 2000 at the Mugello Circuit . On just the second day of the test, Räikkönen lapped half
19126-423: Was Massa's 100th Grand Prix entry. The next race was Belgium , Massa qualified second behind Hamilton. He lost a place at the start to Räikkönen and stayed in third until lap 42 of 44 when Hamilton passed Räikkönen for the lead, just after cutting a chicane. The two had more battles throughout that lap, which resulted in the Finn crashing out, promoting Massa to second, despite the Brazilian dropping nine seconds on
19272-404: Was a collision, with Hamilton spinning down to the back, and Massa dropping down to seventh. He was given a drive-through penalty for the incident, and found himself in 14th. He made a charge up the order, setting the fastest lap on his way to getting 8th and one point. This became seventh after a 25-second time penalty was issued to Sébastien Bourdais , who was judged by the stewards to have caused
19418-440: Was a rain shower just before the start of the race, and all drivers started on intermediates. Massa maintained the lead, and after 10 laps everyone had to change to slicks on a drying track. Although the order was shuffled, Massa still led. He dominated the rest of the race, set the fastest lap and won by 13 seconds even though everyone had to change to intermediates after a late rain shower. Hamilton, meanwhile, struggled for pace. He
19564-410: Was decided Massa needed a titanium plate inserted into his skull to strengthen it for racing. Ferrari consultant and seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher was asked to take over Massa's race seat during his recovery, but his comeback was prevented by neck injuries sustained during a motorcycle accident earlier in the year. Ferrari test driver Luca Badoer was confirmed as Massa's substitute for
19710-399: Was denied at Imola after a driveshaft failure, but he won the other two races, putting him within 22 points of leader Alonso. He registered strong, comfortable wins at Barcelona, beating Alonso, and at Monte Carlo, never dropping his lead in both races. At the European Grand Prix , Räikkönen flat-spotted his right front tyre, causing his suspension to fail while he led on the final lap, handing
19856-789: Was first in the Nordic Championship at Varna in Norway. In 1999, Räikkönen placed second in the European Formula Super A championship for the Dutch PDB Racing Team ;– run by 1980 world champion Peter de Bruijn – utilising a Gillard chassis. He also competed in the Formula Ford Euro Cup. By the age of twenty, he had won the British Formula Renault winter series of 1999, winning the first four races of
20002-441: Was given the green light to go, but the refueller was still refuelling the car. Massa left with the fuel rig attached and so had to stop at the end of the pitlane. The mechanics ran the length of the pitlane and finally removed the rig, but Massa was now last. He was then given a drive-through penalty for an unsafe release, and was 15 seconds behind the rest of the field. His race ruined, he finished 13th and Hamilton who finished third
20148-413: Was less than perfect. The car was reported to be too soft on its Michelin tyres, with the result that it was not generating enough heat to post competitive qualifying times. The best qualifying position that a McLaren driver could manage in the first 3 races was sixth. Räikkönen compounded this by stalling on the grid of the first race of the season, the Australian Grand Prix , and ending the race with just
20294-421: Was lying fourth for most of the race until the late shower, behind Massa, Alonso and Räikkönen. During the late shower, Timo Glock gambled on staying out on drys. He was fourth with Hamilton fifth. With three laps to go, Massa still led with Hamilton 5th, which would be enough for Hamilton to win the Championship. But Hamilton then made a mistake and was passed by Sebastian Vettel , demoting him to 6th and handing
20440-473: Was nevertheless granted his licence from the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) after a performance delivery promise by his team boss, Peter Sauber, and scored a championship point in his debut at the 2001 Australian Grand Prix . Reportedly, Räikkönen was asleep 30 minutes before the race. Räikkönen had a solid debut year, achieving four points-scoring finishes and eight finishes in
20586-467: Was now seven points ahead of him. At the Japanese Grand Prix Massa qualified 5th on the grid, while Hamilton took pole position. At the start there was an incident between Hamilton and Räikkönen, dropping the former to sixth. Massa stayed fifth, a place in front of his rival. On the second lap, as Massa was stuck behind the slower car of Jarno Trulli , Hamilton tried to pass him. The result
20732-552: Was partnered with Fernando Alonso . He drove his new car – the Ferrari 150º Italia – for the first time on 29 January 2011, undertaking a shakedown of the car at the Fiorano Circuit . At the Australian Grand Prix , Massa endured a poor start to the season at what has traditionally been his bogey race. Qualifying eighth, over 0.6 seconds behind teammate Alonso, Massa managed to get ahead of Alonso and several other drivers at
20878-410: Was passed by Lewis Hamilton 's three-stopping McLaren at the start of the second stint. Hamilton pulled away, but he did not have the pace to take the lead that was needed to make his third stop and still come out ahead of Massa. Massa was seven seconds up the road by then and took his second win of the season, and his third consecutive at the circuit. At Monaco Massa qualified on pole and built up
21024-473: Was seen on live TV walking along the Monaco sidewalks still wearing his helmet, before going straight to the harbour instead of the pits and climbing aboard a yacht. The British Grand Prix at Silverstone saw Räikkönen qualify second behind Alonso and in front of Michael Schumacher. The running order was Alonso, Räikkönen, Schumacher until the second set of pitstops where Räikkönen was demoted to third by Schumacher,
21170-482: Was seriously injured during qualifying when a suspension spring from the Brawn BGP 001 of Rubens Barrichello struck his helmet at 162 mph (261 km/h), and was replaced by Luca Badoer and Giancarlo Fisichella for the remainder of the 2009 season. Massa returned to Ferrari in 2010 to partner Fernando Alonso , briefly leading the championship after the Malaysian Grand Prix . After struggling for form over
21316-400: Was the 11th victory of his Formula One career and Ferrari's first 1–2 win of the 2007 season. At the British Grand Prix , Räikkönen qualified in second place, just missing the pole by running wide in the last corner. In the race, he again took the lead through pit stops, first overtaking Lewis Hamilton midway through the race and then putting in fast laps as Alonso pitted for the second time in
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