Ferrari Gives Felipe Massa Farewell Parade at Mugello

Felipe Massa may be leaving FerrariFerrariItaly, 1947 > present233 models
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for WilliamsRoyce RoyceUnited Kingdom, 1904 > 19041 Version
next season, but there are no hard feelings. Scuderia Ferrari staged a farewell parade for him at Mugello and over 15,000 fans turned up to say goodbye. Massa made his first F1 test at Mugello for SauberSauberSwitzerland, 1970 > present21 models
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in 2001. Afterward, there was a dinner in Florence in tribute to Massa attended by Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo and FiatFiatItaly, 1899 > present159 models
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CEO Sergio Marchionne.

At the parade, Massa and veteran Ferrari test driver Marc Gene gave demonstrations in the F10Ferrari F10Italy, 2010 > 20106 photos
. At the end of the event, Massa received a 120cm-tall (3.937ft) cup engraved with the 11 races he won with Ferrari.

“I’ve been lucky, I have had a great career with Ferrari, longer than I had ever dreamed of at the start. When I began racing in go-karts as a kid, I had a red Ferrari suit and it’s always been the team I supported. Even when Senna was at McLaren and Piquet at Williams, I was cheering for Ferrari! We began our relationship in 2001 and I have raced for them for eight seasons, which is a very important part of my life,” said Massa.

Massa says that his wins at Interlagos in front of the Brazilian crowd mean the most for him, but he wishes that he could have been world champion in 2008.

“We spent some great times together, while some others were more difficult, such as the accident in Budapest. These have been very busy years and today, I wanted to thank him publicly, having already done so privately, just the two of us,” said Luca di Montezemolo.

Massa still has two races to go racing for Ferrari this season.