Felipe Massa

Lore & Background

Massa's 2012 campaign began with uncertainty. During pre-season, he reported that the team needed to do substantial work to understand the car, which struggled with balance. At the Australian Grand Prix, Massa qualified 16th and retired from fifth place after a collision with Williams driver Bruno Senna following handling struggles. The situation escalated before Malaysia when Ferrari prepared a brand-new chassis for Massa, unable to explain performance gaps between him and Alonso in Australia. In China, he qualified 12th and finished 13th. Bahrain proved difficult as the car did not suit the track; Massa started 14th and finished ninth after Alonso skipped Q3 to save tyres.

In Their Own Story

He qualified 16th after being held up during his Q2 lap, contrasting with Alonso's promotion to second on the grid. On race day, Massa ran in the top ten early but incurred a drive-through penalty for speeding under yellow flags caused by Schumacher crashing with Senna. Despite these setbacks, he crossed the line in 15th as the car showed steady improvement. In Monaco, both Ferraris made Q3; Massa qualified seventh, just 0.2 seconds behind Alonso, and finished sixth behind winner Mark Webber, less than 6.2 seconds back.

Reader's Guide

By Canada, Ferrari introduced a new exhaust configuration using the Coanda effect to improve tyre wear and downforce. Massa qualified sixth, the team's best result of the year up to that point. He pushed hard immediately but made a mistake and spun, ruining his race and finishing tenth. In Valencia, Massa followed Alonso through the early stages until an untimely pit stop and a collision with Kamui Kobayashi ended his title hopes for the weekend; he finished 16th while Kobayashi was penalized later. The season concluded in Interlagos where Massa's team finished second in the standings, though individual results were often hindered by the car's limitations compared to rivals like Red Bull.

Did You Know?

• Ferrari prepared a brand-new chassis for Felipe Massa before the Malaysian Grand Prix because they could not explain performance differences between him and Alonso in Australia.
• Massa qualified 16th in Spain after being held up by traffic during his Q2 lap, while teammate Alonso was promoted to second on the grid.
• In Monaco, Massa finished sixth, less than 6.2 seconds behind race winner Mark Webber, marking one of the car's better consistent performances that year.
• Massa retired from the Australian Grand Prix after a collision with Williams driver Bruno Senna while struggling with the F2012's handling.
• The F2012 featured a pull-rod front suspension not seen in Formula One since the 2001 Minardi PS01 and Arrows A22 cars, which Massa drove throughout the season.