Felipe Massa Confirms Leaving Ferrari at the end of 2013 Season, Kimi Raikkonen Moving as Replacement
Ferrari has announced the signing of Kimi Raikkonen. He returns to the Italian team to share leadership with the Spaniard Fernando Alonso. On the other hand, Alonso renewed his contract with Ferrari in 2011 which is going to be up until the end of the 2016 season.
In 2010, Raikkonen was bought out of his last year with Ferrari to make way for Alonso. Now, the two world class racers will probably make history, racing side by side.
Ferrari has confirmed the signing on Wednesday. So for the next two years, the Finnish driver Kimi Raikkonen will be with the popular F1 team to replace Felipe Massa.
Massa, who is of Brazilian descent, has been with Ferrari for the last eight years. No doubt that Ferrari has remained loyal to the Brazilian F1 racer, who almost got himself killed in a car accident back in 2009 when he was hit with a metal spring on his helmet by fellow race car driver Rubens Barichello in Hungary. He has won 11 races. Not to mention, he has started the 2013 season very strong with the latest F138 at the Australian Grand Prix. He even ranked fourth, which is a place ahead of his teammate Alonso. However, a lot of people believe that he never got his old self back after the mishap.
Massa verified that he will be leaving Ferrari at the end of the season on Tuesday, Sept 10. He even posted the confirmation on his official accounts at Twitter and Instagram.
Thus, "Scuderia Ferrari," will have a change in direction to their usual strategy, based on having a clear leader and a faithful squire, as with Michael Schumacher, seconded by Eddie Irvine and Rubens Barichello. For the next two years, Ferrari will field two separate world champions, the Spaniard Fernando Alonso and Finland's pride Kimi Raikkonen.