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