Venturi announces Massa departure for season seven

Rokit Venturi Racing has announced its driver Felipe Massa will depart the team, with yesterday's season finale in Berlin being his final race for the team.

The announcement was made after the race had finished, with Massa departing with one year still left in his three-year contract.

Former Ferrari and Williams driver Massa, secured one podium with the team in Monaco en route to fifteenth in his first Formula E season last year. A poor season this year, however, saw the Brazilian eventually finish the championship in 22nd.

After race winner Stoffel Vandoorne crossed the line to take the victory, the team released a statement regarding Massa's departure. It is not yet clear who will drive alongside Edoardo Mortara in season seven.

“Leaving a team is never an easy decision to make,” Massa said in the statement.

“We’ve made some good memories together and it’s given me the opportunity to learn something completely different from what I’m used to, so, first of all, I want to thank [Venturi president] Gildo [Pastor] and [team principal] Susie [Wolff] for their faith in me.  

“It’s been an honour to be part of the only motorsport team from the Principality, and representing them on the podium at the Monaco E-Prix was a definite highlight for me.  The past two seasons have been a big learning curve for us all and unfortunately, for various reasons, we haven’t quite achieved what we hoped.  

“Despite that, it’s been a lot of fun and I wish the team nothing but the very best of luck for the future. I look forward to announcing my future plans in due course.”