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Born in Sao Paulo in 1981, Massa spent his formative years racing karts in his native Brazil. He switched to single-seaters in 1998, making his debut in the Brazilian Formula Chevrolet Championship and winning the series the following year. Then came a move to Europe and victories in both the 2000 Italian and European Formula Renault championships. He followed that up by winning the Euro F3000 title in 2001, with six wins from eight races. He also found time for the occasional World Touring Car Championship appearance and earned himself his first Formula One tests with the Swiss-based Sauber team, which in turn landed him a race drive for 2002.

Massa made his Grand Prix debut in Melbourne, qualifying inside the top ten, before crashing out in a multi-car pileup on the first lap. Just one race later, though, he took his first championship point with sixth place in Malaysia. He would score another three that season, garnering a reputation for being quick, if rather erratic. At the end of the year he followed Peter Sauber’s advice and opted to spend the following season testing for the team’s engine suppliers, Ferrari. It would prove an astute long-term career move for the Brazilian.

Massa rejoined Sauber’s race line-up on a two-year contract for 2004, partnering Giancarlo Fisichella. Twelve points put him 12th in the drivers’ championship - one place behind his team mate - with a fourth place in Belgium his best result. For 2005 he was partnered by former champion Jacques Villeneuve, whom he upstaged on more than one occasion, scoring 11 points in total, including the team’s very last points with Peter Sauber as boss before the handover to BMW. As a reward, he was a given his race car from the final round in China.

With his Sauber contract up, Massa’s Ferrari connections came into play ahead of the 2006 season as he was announced as the replacement for fellow Brazilian, the Honda-bound Rubens Barrichello. It gave Massa the opportunity to partner the legendary Michael Schumacher for what would be the German’s final championship campaign. After a tentative start, his season gained ever-increasing momentum.

His first Ferrari points came with fifth place at round two in Malaysia. His maiden podium came at round five, with third at the European Grand Prix. He followed that up with second places in the US and Germany, before capturing his first Formula One victory in Turkey, where he also took his maiden pole position. He saw out the year in style with another pole in Japan and an emotional home win at the season finale in Brazil.

Not surprisingly, Massa was retained by Ferrari for 2007 to partner Schumacher’s replacement, the highly-rated Kimi Raikkonen. With Schumacher, Massa was clearly the number two, but with Raikkonen he had the chance to establish a new team order. However, it was the Finn who had the edge - and the Finn who secured the drivers' title - leaving Massa to wait at least another year for a chance of championship glory.