Massa quashes urban myth

One of F1’s most charming urban myths is that Felipe Massa’s first brush with the sport was as a pizza delivery boy for all the teams, at Interlagos in 1999. Sadly, it’s not true.

Ahead of the 2008 Brazilian GP, Massa has revealed that his supposed food delivery job was simply in exchange for getting a paddock pass.

“My ex-manager had some restaurants in Sao Paulo and he knew the people from Benetton,” explained Massa. “I asked him to find me a pass for inside the track, and he said, ‘You have a pass until Saturday but I need to give the team all the food, like pasta and banana.’

“So I went to the track, brought the food to the team, and then I had the pass. I was 17 I think.”