Monza: Felipe Massa has announced he will retire from Formula One at the end of this season.
The Brazilian made the announcement at a news conference on Thursday alongside deputy team principal Claire Williams at the Italian Grand Prix.
Massa said: “I’m more nervous now than all my race starts. ... It will be my last eight races in F1 that I will enjoy as much as I can.”
Massa’s contract expires at the end of this season.
The 35-year-old Massa has 11 wins in F1. His career was slowed by an eye injury during qualifying for the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix.
Meanwhile, after months of doubt, the future of the Italian Grand Prix is expected to be resolved this weekend with Formula One’s commercial ring-master Bernie Ecclestone signing a deal to keep the event at its long-time home of Monza.
The head of the Italian motorsport federation (ACI), Angelo Sticchi Damiani, told reporters at Monza that a 68 million euros (Dh278.4 million) agreement has been provisionally agreed keeping the race at Monza for three more years from 2017 to 2019.
He said that he hoped final details will be agreed during this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix with a formal announcement confirming the deal.
Sticchi Damiani said that the local Lombardy Region had agreed to contribute around 15 million euros ($16.7m) to ensure the deal went through.
“There are those who expected a longer period, but if the system will work then a further renewal will not be a problem,” he said.
“But there is another aspect - we know that Europe has so many organisers in crisis, while some destinations such as Turkey, Korea and India were short-lived.
“We have seen that it is a question of money, but also of culture. Here in Europe there is the ‘DNA’ of racing. So let’s wait and see what happens.”
He added that Imola, which had been put forward as an alternative venue, would have been a sensible alternative.
“Imola would have been a good fallback solution if we had not arrived at a deal.”
