Felipe Massa has announced his retirement from Formula One racing. The 35-year-old Williams driver will be making his final pit stop in the 2016 F1 season finale at Abu Dhabi later this year.
Massa cited the upcoming Italian Grand Prix at Monza as the site for his retirement announcement in deferment to his longtime teammate and F1 racing icon, Michael Schumacher, who is currently in an induced coma from a skiing accident.
“I chose this place to announce my decision because 10 years ago Michael announced his retirement and the only way for me to continue at Ferrari was for him to stop,” Massa told the BBC. “So he chose to stop to give me the opportunity and here is almost my second country, which I love so much.”
Massa has amassed 11 Grand Prix victories – all with Ferrari – in his 250 races as a driver and famously lost the 2008 world championship to Lewis Hamilton by a single point.
Photo credit: Formula 1