Massa retiring from Formula One, again

Felipe Massa is retiring — again.

The Brazilian said the same thing last season, but this time he says he really means it, which makes Sunday his last Formula One race in Brazil.

Unlike famous Brazilian drivers Ayrton Senna, Emerson Fittipaldi and Nelson Piquet, Massa never won the world championship. He got painfully close in 2008, when he won the Brazilian Grand Prix and thought that would give him enough points for the title.

As Massa was preparing to celebrate, Lewis Hamilton rallied on the nal lap and scored just enough points to nish one point ahead of Massa in the standings.

“Maybe I am the driver who got the most close to the championship in history,” Massa said

ursday with his nal F1 race coming in two weeks when the season ends in Abu Dhabi.

Massa is almost certain to leave with 11 victories, which all came with Ferrari from 2006 to 2008. He hasn’t won since, and his retirement from Williams means that next season Brazil will be without a Formula One driver for the rst time since 1969.

The Brazilian Grand Prix is also under threat with reports that it could be dropped when the contract ends after the 2020 season, as Brazil struggles though its worst economic downturn in generations.

“It’s true that we are su ering,” Massa said. “It’s not an easy moment in Brazil, nancially. But I really hope Brazil stays for a long time in Formula One.”

Massa was asked to rate his career on a 1 to 10 scale. He’s in tough company.

He followed in Senna’s wake in Brazil, shared time at Ferrari with Michael Schumacher, and was beaten by Hamilton. ose three are ranked by many as the best of their generations. Hamilton won his fourth world title two weeks ago in Mexico.

“Ten is when you win a championship, or even more than that,” Massa said. “I managed to win many races. I managed to

ght for the championship, until maybe the last metres.”