Massa: I have known for a few months

missemmedi:

Felipe Massa knew since before the summer break that he was not going
to continue in Formula 1 beyond 2016 and revealed that he chose Monza
to announce the decision as gesture of respect to his mentor Michael
Schumacher.

Massa told media, of his decision to quit, on the eve of the Italian
Grand Prix weekend, “I have known for a few months. And I did not speak
to any other teams, even Williams, about 2017.”

“Sometimes maybe when I said: I want to stay. I was not lying, but it
was not exactly what was happening. I wanted the opportunity to this
moment that everyone remembers.”

“I am choosing this place, this race, because ten years ago Michael
announced his retirement. The only way for me to stay in Ferrari was
because he stopped, because Kimi had signed his contract before me at
Ferrari.”

“He chose to stop to give me this opportunity. And here is like almost my second country, a country I really love.”

Massa spent eight years as a Ferrari driver – teammate to Michael
Schumacher, Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso – before joining Williams
in 2014.

“I was thinking to do it myself three years ago. When I was sure when
this was going to be the time [this year], I needed to decide and
needed to be strong enough to decide things.”

“Sometimes it can be quite difficult but it’s a relief,” explained
the Brazilian who has made 242 grand prix starts, won 11 F1 races,
finished 41 times on the podium and finished runner-up in the world
championship in 2008.

Massa began his F1 career with Sauber in 2002, thanks to backing from
Ferrari. He spent 2003 as test and reserve driver for the Maranello
before returning to the grid with Sauber for two years, in 2004 and
2005.

In 2006 he was promoted to the Ferrari team, alongside seven times
world champion Schumacher who took the Brazilian under his wing and
mentored him that season.

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