MASSA CLASS

FELIPE MASSA TALKS ABOUT HIS FIRST SEASON COMPETING IN FORMULA E

After taking a year’s sabbatical from competing in motor sport, the former Sauber, Ferrari and Williams Formula 1 driver Felipe Massa has thrown his helmet back into the ring by signing up for a three-year stint in Formula E with the Monacobased Venturi Grand Prix team. The Brazilian spoke to Prestige after this season’s second race, in Marrakech.

This is the second time you’ve come out of retirement in two years. Clearly, you still have a passion for speed.

I’m really motivated to race, that’s what I love to do, maybe no longer in Formula 1, with 21 or 22 races a year, but in Formula E, it’s half of that, so I can also have a little bit more time with my family.

What’s the appeal of Formula E for you?

You can see how much Formula E is growing year by year; it’s a championship that’s growing compared to all of the others — it’s just amazing and I think the idea [behind it] is fantastic. Electric cars will be our future and there’s a great image — natural, green. Plus, the competition is amazing. A lot of overtaking and many cars able to win throughout the season, so in the end, that’s really great.

Are you considering racing in other categories, or is Formula E your focus this year?

I’ve considered WEC [the World Endurance Championship] and DTM [Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters], but Formula E was the category that I think has a bright future and the strongest potential for a longer time compared to the others.

Formula E circuits are very different from most of the tracks you’ve been used to. Is this a challenge for you?

The tracks are completely different from how they are in Formula 1, so that’s a challenge. In Formula 1, you have the Singapore and Monaco [street circuits] and then you have normal race tracks. In Formula E, it’s all city tracks, very narrow, very tricky, very easy to make mistakes, but as they’re in the middle of beautiful towns, such as Hong Kong, it’s quite interesting too.

How does it compare with Formula 1?

The Formula E car is completely different. Formula 1 has a lot of downforce, wide tyres, a very, very strong engine, whereas in Formula E, the car is without downforce, it has kind of road tyres and an electric motor, so at the end, the mentality is completely different. You cannot compare one with the other.

What are your views about the Gen2 car?

The Gen2 is definitely a better car [than the Gen1]. It can do the whole race, so you don’t need to change cars. It has more power. It looks nicer compared to the Gen1 car. And the tyres are a little bit better and the brakes are much better.

How close do you expect the racing to be?

We’ve had two difficult races, the first and the second, with technical issues to solve, but I believe the team has some good ideas and great potential, so we hope we can be competitive as soon as possible, and maybe even be able to fight for podiums — and even a victory, which would be fantastic. The racing is very competitive and everything happens at the same time, so you need to understand all the limits of the car and [those of] other drivers. Also, I don’t know the Hong Kong track because I’ve never raced there, but very soon, I’ll drive it in the simulator to prepare myself.

Finally, do you think Formula E is bringing a new group of followers to motor sport?

I think people are becoming more interested to follow and support Formula E. I also think we can have some new followers, maybe young people who are completely into computers, and maybe these people can become interested in Formula E rather than Formula 1.