Massa set for “emotional” homecoming in final Brazilian GP

By Nov 8, 2016, 11:00 AM EST
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Williams Martini Racing’s Felipe Massa will make his final Brazilian Grand Prix start this weekend, and unlike fellow countrymen Rubens Barrichello and the late Ayrton Senna before him, he’ll actually know it in advance.

Massa announced his retirement from Formula 1 at this year’s Italian Grand Prix, which paved the way for Williams to bring in FIA F3 European Champion Lance Stroll as his replacement – although that was only announced last week.

Meanwhile Barrichello’s 2011 season saw him ride out the year without knowing whether he would or would not be back in the Williams team the following year. The most experienced Grand Prix driver in history was not retained into 2012; Barrichello’s countryman Bruno Senna wound up in the second Williams seat alongside Pastor Maldonado. Barrichello headed into IndyCar in 2012.

Ayrton Senna, of course, tragically lost his life two race weekends after his final Brazilian Grand Prix start in 1994 at the San Marino Grand Prix in Imola.

Massa lost the 2008 World Championship in such dramatic fashion to Lewis Hamilton, despite winning the race and briefly holding the title. It’s the defining moment of his career in more than 240 Grands Prix.

In his home race, Massa has the 2006 and 2008 wins, additional podiums in 2007 (second), 2012 (third) and 2014 (third). He was disqualified from last year’s race for a breach of temperature limits in his right rear tire.

Heading into this weekend, the 35-year-old is set for what should be an “emotional” homecoming.

“Interlagos is home. It’s the place that I grew up,” Massa said in the team’s pre-race advance. “It will be emotional racing there for the final time on such an amazing track.

“I’m looking forward to enjoying every single lap and hopefully I can manage to finish the race with a good result.

“I have won twice at Interlagos and have finished on the podium many times over the years and I hope we can get another one. It won’t be easy, but I will do everything I can for my people and for Brazil in my last race at home.”

Teammate Valtteri Bottas is also looking forward to being alongside Massa for this final trip to Sao Paulo.

“First of all, I think this is going to be such a cool race for Felipe as he is retiring and it’s going to be his last home race. I hope we can do well there and that he enjoys the weekend,” he said.

“Last year we did a good race and picked up some decent points (finished fifth). Brazilian fans are also always really passionate about Formula One. There is a nice combination of different types of corners on the track and it’s quite technical. The new tarmac that was laid there a couple of years ago has made it very grippy since, so I really enjoy racing at this track.”

Ford Mustang GT3 test has Austin Cindric dreaming of Daytona: ‘I want to drive that car’

By Mar 22, 2023, 2:30 PM EDT
Cindric Ford GT3 test
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Austin Cindric wasn’t the “mystery” test driver behind the wheel of the new Ford Mustang GT3 at Sebring International Raceway, but the Team Penske driver desperately wanted to be.

Ford CEO Jim Farley, an amateur sports car driver himself, made the big reveal via a Tuesday tweet that provided the first video evidence of the GT3 Mustang on track.

“I’ve watched the video in question about a million times,” Cindric said Wednesday during a Ford Performance Zoom news conference to promote NASCAR’s first road course weekend of the season at Circuit of the Americas. “Definitely exciting times for sure. I want to drive that car. It suits my experience level and also the relationships that I have.”

Ford will enter the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship next season with its GT3 Mustang, entering a two-car factory effort (that will be managed by Multimatic) in GTD Pro and making customer cars available in the GT Daytona category.

That increases the likelihood of seeing more NASCAR drivers crossing over to IMSA. Cindric has been the only full-time Cup driver in the Rolex 24 at Daytona the past two years, but Ford Performance global director Mark Rushbrook has said the GT3 Mustang will provide more opportunities.

Ford has used its GT4 Mustang as a NASCAR driver development tool in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge with Harrison Burton and Zane Smith combining to win the season opener at Daytona International Speedway in January.

“We’re excited about the Next Gen car and the new architecture there and the similarities between that car and GT3 and even GT4 cars,” Rushbrook said at the announcement of the Ford GT3 program in January 2022 at Daytona. “We think it’s a great opportunity and to do be able to do that in a 24-hour race and get NASCAR drivers even more time is something we need to consider taking advantage of that opportunity.”

Given his sports car background, Cindric probably still would be in the Rolex 24 regardless. He has eight IMSA starts since the 2017 season opener at Daytona, racing a Lexus RCF GT3 and Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the GT category. The 2022 Daytona 500 winner made his second LMP2 start this year with Rick Ware Racing.

But Cindric’s preference naturally would be in a Ford, particularly with sports car racing enjoying convergence and crossovers in both GT and prototype racing.

“It’s an exciting time in GT racing, just as it is now for prototype racing with a lot of new regulations and manufacturers building new GT3 cars,” he said. “And also the opportunity with WEC (the World Endurance Championship) and Le Mans and how that all lines up for that category of car. It’s definitely an exciting time. I want to be as much of a part of that as possible.”

Though those odds seemingly will increase with multiple Ford entries in the Rolex 24 field next year, Cindric said NASCAR drivers still have to put in the networking to land rides as he has in recent years.

“Now how (the GT3 Mustang) relates to specifically NASCAR drivers and how often they want to be in the Rolex, could it be an influence? Absolutely, as far as the tie-in with the manufacturer,” Cindric said. “But the challenge and the drive and the logistics of getting an opportunity for a race like the Rolex 24 will be just as challenging as it always is to find your one-off ride for the race. At least from my experience, that’s what I still anticipate.”

It turned out the “mystery” test driver wasn’t from NASCAR (Farley revealed the driver to be 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Joey Hand after a fan asked whether it was Joey Logano).

But Cindric believes there could be more Cup drivers — and perhaps himself — behind the wheel of Mustang GT3s in the future.

“There’s definitely more of a pathway than I think there would be before as far as Ford drivers are concerned,” he said. “Hopefully, I’ll get the opportunity to drive that thing. It’s obviously a great looking car. That’s the first box you’ve got to check. And it’s cool (to have) a guy like Jim Farley, no doubt he’s a racer just as much as he is steering the ship for Ford. It’s cool to see he’s just as excited as the rest of us about it.”