MONACO WORDS OF WISDOM
HelloMonaco: What makes you happy? Felipe Massa: I think there are so many things that make you happy. First of all, what you do you have to do something that you enjoy— working in something that makes you happy. Because if you are not working on something that you enjoy, you will never be happy. It’ s not the money, it’ s what you are doing day by day. I always dreamed to be a driver. So when you’ re doing something that you really love to do, time goes by really quickly. Apart from that, a good family makes you feel good and having people around that you enjoy. And I have a great family, I have a great wife, and an amazing son, and I live in an amazing place, here in Monaco. I try to be as simple as I can and try to have a normal life. And I think I do. That makes me happy.
HM: What makes you unhappy? FM: I think when things aren’ t really fair and people want to [ have power ] over you. I like to spend time with people that are really similar to me, because there is respect. I think if you don’ t feel respect, you’ re not happy. So I try to respect people and I want to have the same respect. I can say that I have a lot of respect here, in my life, and that is something that is really important.
HM: It must be difficult to be respectful in Formula One, especially during the race. FM: No, I think you can be respectful everywhere you go. If you respect the drivers, you have the same. And between the drivers, when you are in the race, you are in the race. Everybody wants to overtake you, or you are trying to overtake the others as well. Respect is a different thing. When you overtake somebody, you do it in the correct way, not in the wrong way. But there is the sport, and there is the race. So when you close the visor, you are not 100 % friends with everyone because you want to win. But when you open the visor, you are you.
HM: Are you a successful person? What are your parameters for being successful? FM: Yes, I am. [ Success ] means you achieved what you wanted to achieve. Definitely, I achieved a lot more than what I dreamed of. Formula One is twenty drivers racing, and when you always dreamed to get there and you manage to get there, and spend 16 years in Formula One with many victories and racing for the best teams in the world, like FerrarI— I raced eight years for Ferrari. And I can say I’ m really happy and I have an amazing family and I achieved a lot more than I wanted. And still I’ m 37 years old, so I have a lot ahead of me. you could. But you need to be simple and you need to be humble. That’ s really the most important thing that I learned from my family and I try to pass that onto my son.
HM: Do you believe in God? Have you ever asked for help? FM: Definitely. I am Catholic, but I don’ t go all the time to church because I believe in God. So maybe I believe in God more than I believe in the priest. I pray every day, when I go to sleep. I never really ask « God, help me to win this race », but I ask for protection. I ask for me, for my family, for my friends and the people around me as well. And I really appreciate what I have. I say thank you to God for everything that I have and especially for my health. I think the most important thing is the health of my family and the people around me.
HM: Do you think luck plays an important role in the race? FM: Yes. First of all you need to have the talent. You have to be good; otherwise you cannot do anything. If you don’ t have the talent, if you don’ t know what you’ re doing, you won’ t [ race ]. Because before Formula One you race in so many categories and to arrive in Formula One you need to win. So definitely you need to be good. But apart from being good, you need to clever, and you need to have luck because things happen. Because of a little thing you can miss a victory. It depends so much on the mechanical side, and you have a team of like 600 people working for you. If a little mistake is coming from the engine, or the car or from the mechanics, then maybe your race is finished. Or maybe your possibility is finished. So also a little luck always helps the drivers.
HM: Have you had moments where you thought « that was luck »? FM: Yes, I’ ve won races where I was in a good position, or maybe the car in front had a problem. But I also lost races when I was first and I had a problem in the car. And even the championship because of that. I’ ve had both sides of luck, but also wins without luck. And I also had an accident where a car lost a piece and it came into my head. And many people said « you are so unlucky » and I said, « yes, I was unlucky, but I was also lucky because I am still here.» There are so many ways of thinking, but I definitely had both sides during my long career.
I have a great family, a great wife, and an amazing son, and I live in an amazing place, here in Monaco. I try to be as simple as I can and try to have a normal life.
Felipe Massa and Michael Schumacher
HM: What role does money play in your life? FM: I think it’ s always great to have the possibility to do the things you want to do. When you have a good life, you live in a good house and have a good family, and to see what I can give to my son. He’ s very lucky to be able to have opportunities in life. Especially me, I am Brazilian, so I see so many difficult things in my country; people are really struggling with money. But money is not everything. I think it makes you happy because you have opportunity to do and get what you never believed
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Hello Monaco Summer – Autumn 2018 / 33