Special day for Felipe
Cheste, 15 November 2009 -- If it was Fernando Alonso's first participation
in the Finali Mondiali Ferrari, it wasn't Felipe Massa's debut, but it
definitely was a special day for him. The Brazilian driver, was back behind
the wheel of "his" single-seater, the F60 he had to leave after his accident
in Budapest on 25 July. It wasn't the first time Felipe sat behind the wheel
of a Formula 1 car since his accident. He drove several laps in Fiorano on
12 October, but this was just an appetiser. Today he was driving in front of
the Ferrari fans, which had a special flair to it. "I am very happy to be
here, that I can work with the team," Felipe. "It's true that I've been with
them in Sao Paulo and in Abu Dhabi, but driving is really extraordinary!
Today I also want to thank all the fans, who were really close to me over
the last months. The messages I received were wonderful. Lets hope that we
can give our fans some satisfaction in 2010: Fernando and I rally want to be
the best couple in Formula 1."
Felipe drove around 20 laps, first with his teammates Gene, Fisichella and
Badoer and later on, after a couple of pit stops, alone, before finishing
with a parade together with the other Formula 1 single-seaters and the F430
GTs from the AF Corse and Risi Competizione team, the winners of the
Constructor's and Teams' titles in the FIA GT and at the 24 Hours of Le Mans
respectively
"It was fantastic and I am so happy. Although I could drive just a little, I
really enjoyed being here," the Brazilian driver said at the end of the
show. "I am very motivated: this today for me is like victory. It was just
like before the accident at the Hungaroring."
"Felipe has an incredible taste for victory," Rob Smedley, his track
engineer, who today was in charge at the symbolic Scuderia pitwall, added.
"This is another small step ahead in the preparations for his return to
racing. The lap times? I didn't pay attention to them."
Felipe immediately ran off to the airport, where he got on of a plane taking
him back to Sao Paulo, where his wife Raffaela is waiting for him, while
engaged in her very own Grand Prix, which will end very soon - this or next
week -- with the birth of a son, who will bear his father's name.
-credit: ferrari
