The Drivers
More driver related content
Ferrari Drivers
Felipe Massa
Fernando Alonso
Felipe Massa
Born 25/4/81, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Felipe burst onto the Formula 1 scene in 2002, driving for the Sauber-Petronas team, and quickly established himself as one of the brightest raw talents in the sport. In 2003 he became Scuderia Ferrari's test driver, refining his skills and helping to develop the cars that brought Ferrari the drivers and constructors championship titles in 2003 and 2004. In 2006 he stepped up to become a race driver for the team, partnering seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher and winning his first F1 races for the team.
Felipe added to his tally of wins over the following seasons and demonstrated the maturity of his talent by becoming a regular challenger for honours. In 2008 he broke the world's hearts as he missed out on the world championship by a single point at the last corner of the last race at his home circuit of Interlagos in Brazil. He also expanded his interests outside F1 by becoming an ambassador for UNICEF.
He missed the second half of the 2009 season after being hit by a stray piece debris during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix, fracturing his skull. But he returned to the cockpit again in 2010 alongside new team-mate Fernando Alonso. Though his points haul that year was not as large as he'd expected, he has recovered his old pace and flair at the start of 2011.
Fernando Alonso
Born 29/7/81, Oviedo, Spain
When he made his grand prix debut for Minardi in 2001 at the age of 19, Fernando was one of the youngest drivers ever to start a Formula 1 race. His extraordinary speed in karting had caught the attention of fellow Spaniard and former F1 driver Adrian Campos, who supported Fernando's career in the junior formulae and helped to secure the F1 opportunity. Although Minardi was a small team which usually qualified towards the rear of the grid, Fernando immediately showed his class, outqualifying his team-mate by almost three seconds in his first grand prix.
Fernando became Renault's test driver in 2002 and raced for the team in 2003, taking his first pole position in Malaysia and his first win in Hungary. He went on to win the world championship in 2005 and 2006 before moving to McLaren-Mercedes, where he won four grands prix and was in contention for the championship once again until his car aquaplaned off during the rain-hit Japanese GP. Fernando returned to Renault for two seasons and even though the cars proved to be less competitive, he won two more grands prix.
Fernando assured his legendary status at Scuderia Ferrari with victory in his very first race in Bahrain after moving to the team in 2010. He followed that with a sustained challenge for his third world title, which he was denied only at the last race of the year.
