--- title: "Felipe Massa: The early years" canonical: "https://readmotorsport.com/2016/11/23/felipe-massa-early-years/" type: "post" language: "en-GB" author: "Bethonie Waring" section: "F1 News" published: "2016-11-23T17:47:47Z" modified: "2016-11-23T17:47:47Z" --- # Felipe Massa: The early years Back in 1998, eight Brazilian teenagers took part in the Formula Chevrolet championship, a ten race championship that would support the Stock Car Brazil series. In his first year out of karting, 17-year-old Felipe Massa was not immediately attention grabbing. On a relatively tight budget, Massa only competed in eight of the scheduled races, and he eventually took a fifth place in the championship. After a learning year, Massa returned to the championship in 1999, this time with a lot more competition, but determined to make his mark on the series. Throughout the ten race season, Massa took three race wins and, around midway through the season, funding improved. The three wins were enough to secure Massa the title, his first car championship. Success in the Chevrolets earned Massa a position on the world stage, and the Brazilian headed for Europe for the next stage of his career. Racing for Cram Competition, Massa competed in seventeen races over the course of the year, splitting his time between the Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup and Italian championships. With more than thirty drivers in both championships, it was going to be hard for Massa to stand out but, in only the third competitive race of the Eurocup, Massa took his first win. The 19-year-old won half of all the races he entered in the Italian championship, which would be crucial at the end of the season. After an incredibly close finish, with the top four drivers in the championship separated by only sixteen points, Massa was tied on points with Raffaele Giammaria. Luckily for Massa, Giammaria had only taken two race wins over the year, meaning the Brazilian would take the title on race wins. The Eurocup competition was a little simpler. After ten races, Massa was sixteen points clear of second-place finisher Charles Zwolsman Jnr, having taken three wins through the season. In the space of two years, Massa now had three titles and Formula One was almost in his sights, but the best of his junior years was yet to come. 2001 saw Massa debut in the Euro Formula 3000, which he proceeded to completely dominate. The eight-race season started in Italy in April and, right from the start, it was clear Massa was going to be a key player. Starting from pole, Massa took his first race win after 44 laps of the ACI Vallelunga Circuit, setting the fastest lap in the process. After securing race wins in the following two races, reports started to emerge that Massa was on a few F1 teams’ radars, including Ferrari and Sauber. The rumours grew but there were still five races left in the season, and nothing would be confirmed for a while. Once the Euro Formula left Italy – all of the first three races were in the country – things started to wobble a little for Massa. At Donington Park, he didn’t take pole. He didn’t even start on the front row of the grid, lining up in fifth at the beginning of the race. He’d already proven he could move forwards through the pack, but it wasn’t to be at Donington. Massa instead went backwards, finishing eighth and outside the points. Things seemed to return to normal in Germany, when Massa started on pole, but he would retire from the race. Round six saw the grid return to Italy in August, this time for 29 laps at Imola, and Massa’s form returned as he took pole, the race win, and fastest lap in each of the final three races. Despite two pointless finishes in the middle of the season, Massa finished the year with nearly twice as many points as his nearest rival. The rumours of Massa’s F1 future were confirmed, Sauber taking on the Brazilian who they thought was a sure-fire star of the future.