Felipe Massa has capped off a good day by securing his first podium finish since joining Williams at the Italian Grand Prix.
The Brazilian driver was confirmed to be racing at the team for the 2015 season this morning alongside Valtteri Bottas, and he proved just why he is rated so highly by the team by finishing third at Monza behind the two Mercedes drivers.
After starting fourth, Massa made a good start to rise to third behind Nico Rosberg and McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen. Although he did manage to pass Magnussen, Hamilton soon overtook him before going on to win the race.
However, this third-place finish ends a run of bad luck for Massa, and marks his first appearance on the podium since the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix.
“I’m very happy for the first podium of the season,” said the Brazilian on the Monza podium. “I was not very lucky in some of the races, but I’m sure from now to the last race we’re going to be there fighting.
“I’m so happy to be on the podium here. There’s a lot more to come.”
Teammate Valtteri Bottas fought back from a poor start to finish the race in fourth place, securing a 27-point haul for Williams that takes it above Ferrari into third place in the constructors’ championship.
For Massa, the result is particularly poignant given that it comes at the home circuit of Ferrari, for whom he drove between 2006 and 2013.
However, he will now be looking to add to his podium haul before the end of the season before plotting a possible assault on the 2015 drivers’ championship with Williams.