After spending three years in the F1 doldrums with Sauber, Brazil's Felipe Massa instantly became a front-runner on his promotion to a Ferrari race seat, finishing inside the top four of the final championship standings in three of his four years with the Italian marque. Having come to within a corner of clinching the 2008 drivers' title, Massa is now regarded as one of the best drivers on today's grid, a far cry from his erratic days at Sauber.

Having won the European F3000 championship in 2001, Massa was signed by Sauber to partner Nick Heidfeld the following year, but was unable to match his more experienced team-mate over the course of the year. Many of his retirements were as a result of collisions or spins, but to his credit finished inside the top ten at every opportunity. With the points system of the day only offering points down to sixth, he scored on just three occasions, with a season-best fifth in Spain. Having been handed a ten-place grid penalty for the United States Grand Prix, he was replaced for the race, before returning for the season finale in Japan when he spun off on lap 4.

Having failed to impress team bosses sufficiently to keep his seat for 2003, future employers Ferrari rescued Massa and made him their official test driver for the season. Having shown promise with the championship-winning side, he returned to a race seat at Sauber in 2004 at the behest of the Scuderia, who were the team's engine supplier at the time. With a poor car, Massa scored points in five races, getting comprehensively outperformed by team-mate Fisichella, on the way to 12th in the championship standings.

With Fisichella moving to Renault for 2005, Massa hung onto his seat, this time partnered by former world champion Jacques Villeneuve. However, with Sauber again unable to design a competitive car, Massa spent the majority of the season finishing outside the points, regularly skirting tenth place on the grid. Four point-scoring races put him 13th in the championship, having consistently outperformed Villeneuve over the course of the year.

The vacant seat left at Ferrari by the departing Rubens Barrichello was unsurprisingly filled by Massa for 2006, in what many believed to be a stop-gap solution before hiring McLaren's Kimi Räikkönen. But impressive performances that saw him regularly challenge veteran Michael Schumacher cast the Paulista in a different light, ultimately earning him a longer stay with the team. On his Ferrari debut, he qualified second to his team-mate, before spinning wildly early in the race, demonstrating his aggressive driving had yet to be tamed.

In only his second Grand Prix with the team, Massa outraced Schumacher to fifth place, recording the first of 13 point-scoring races that year. His maiden F1 podium came at the European Grand Prix, when he finished just four seconds behind race-winner Schumacher, before taking a fully-deserved debut win in Turkey at the tail-end of the season. He outperformed Schumacher again in Japan, but had to surrender his position to the German in view of the championship, before taking another dominant win at the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix, much to the delight of his home fans.

Massa was joined by Räikkönen in 2007, as Schumacher took to retirement, giving Massa his first opportunity to fight for the title. Taking two victories in the first four races soon put him in the hunt, and by the time Ferrari had overturned McLaren's on-track dominance by the French Grand Prix, Massa was the lead Ferrari driver in third place. But a succession of outstanding performances by Räikkönen left Massa reeling, beating him only once in the remaining 10 races. After taking his second successive win in Turkey, Massa had to relinquish the lead of his home race in Brazil to help Räikkönen to championship glory.

Few expected Massa to take the fight to Räikkönen in 2008 after such a crushing late-season spurt by the Finn, but Felipe had other things on his mind. Although his season was punctuated by crashes and spins, on merit he should have won the championship but for a number of reliability and team errors late in the season. In Hungary, he was heading for a certain win before his engine exploded just three laps from the finish, while in Singapore he was released too soon from his pitbox when the fuel hose was still attached, dropping him from the lead and a probable podium finish to 13th at the end.

In almost every other race that year, Massa performed out of his skin, taking six wins over the course of the year, the most of any driver. He then came to within a corner of winning the drivers' title in an action-packed Brazilian Grand Prix, when Hamilton made a championship-winning pass on Timo Glock at the final turn of the season. Having shown such superiority and dominance throughout the season, it was a huge shame that matters outside of his control ultimately decided his destiny.

His destiny was out of his control again in 2009, but this time thanks to a poorly performing Ferrari, resulting in Massa finishing outside the points in the first four races. But with developments coming thick and fast, the Scuderia was able to return to consistent points-finishes, and Massa scored his first podium of the year in Germany. Unfortunately his return to the top was cut short when he suffered a horrific near-fatal accident in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix, forcing him to sit out the remaining eight races to recover.

With a return to full health beckoning, Massa will partner Fernando Alonso at the Scuderia next season in what is sure to be an explosive, championship-winning line-up. After getting the better of Räikkönen in 2008, Massa will be up against it again in 2010, as he takes on the most successful driver on the current grid, and arguably the most talented.

Decade highs:
Maiden win in Turkey 2006, soon followed by emotional home victory in Brazil
Six wins in 2008, including another emotional triumph in Sao Paulo

Decade lows:
Reliability issues and team errors costing him the 2008 championship
Losing the 2008 championship in the final seconds of the season to Hamilton
Life-threatening accident in qualifying for the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix

2010s?
Massa has proven himself against the likes of Schumacher and Räikkönen, and almost secured the 2008 world title, so there is little to suggest he won't be up to the task against Alonso. If Ferrari can provide him with a car to win, there's no doubt he'll be in the hunt for a championship in the coming years.