91st, Iconic Farewell: Schumacher's Final Charge and Massa's Win in the 2006 Brazilian GP
Felipe Massa, his Ferrari future secure, became the first Brazilian since Ayrton Senna in 1993 to win his home GP. He controlled the race from pole position, eking out a sufficient gap to retain the lead throughout his second planned pitstop.
It was, however, team-mate Michael Schumacher – iconic symbol of the team’s recent past – who stole the headlines.
Did Schumacher really want to retire? His announcement at Monza in September had been emotional but not entirely convincing. Ferrari, planning ahead, had placed him between a rock and a hard place: Kimi Räikkönen confirmed for 2007 at the expense of friendly Felipe – if Michael wanted to stay, that is. This was no way for Ferrari to treat the most successful driver in its history, and there was a distasteful hint of Enzo-like disdain in boss Luca di Montezemolo’s handling of the situation.