Italian GP: Felipe Massa Emotional After Podium Place at Monza
Felipe Massa raced his Williams to finish third - behind the two McLarens - for his first podium place with the team.
It was a clearly emotional Felipe Massa who stepped onto the podium at Monza to loud cheers from the Ferrari faithful after the Williams driver finished third at the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday.
Massa spent eight years at Ferrari before departing for Williams at the end of last season and is still fondly remembered by the team's passionate fans.
"There's no better place to be on the podium than here at Monza," the 33-year-old said. "It's very emotional. I'm not here in red but I'm with you all always. So thank you very much and you are the best." (Williams confirm Massa, Bottas for 2015 season)
Massa competed in 139 races with the Italian team, second most only to seven-time champion Michael Schumacher. The Brazilian won 11 races with Ferrari and finished on the podium 36 times. He missed out on the 2008 championship by a single point.
It was the first podium for Massa with Williams, and the second in Monza after he finished fourth at the iconic track in his final two seasons with Ferrari.
"It's a great day for us," Massa said. "It was a great race, a great start. The pace was very good. Not enough to fight with Mercedes but really had a good pace, had a very good car. The team did the perfect job."