Breaking news
Formula 1
Massa: "No reason" to leave F1 after 2017
Williams driver Felipe Massa is keen to continue in Formula 1 next season, saying he sees "no reason" to end his grand prix racing career.
Edited: Aug 7, 2017, 4:08 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
The 36-year-old had initially retired from F1 at the end of 2016, but agreed to a return to Williams after Valtteri Bottas was signed by Mercedes.
Massa, who made his debut in 2002 and has started 260 grands prix, believes he is still improving as a driver and will continue in F1 if he has the right opportunity.
Williams has yet to decide on who will partner Lance Stroll in 2018, with Massa among the contenders to stay on for a fifth season with the team.
When asked if him staying on was dependent on there being a good opportunity, Massa told Motorsport.com: "Sure, yes. I’m really in good shape, the way I’m driving, the way I understand the car and everything.
“I have no reason not to stay in F1, but we’ll see what’s going to happen.
Williams chief technical officer Paddy Lowe is impressed by Massa’s approach, and believes the Brazilian still has the ability to fight for the world championship given the right car.
“Felipe is world champion material, we saw that from the season he was briefly world champion [2008],” Lowe told Motorsport.com.
“He is clearly very talented and it’s a great pleasure to work with him and find out how he works.
“He’s a fantastic guy to work with: enthusiastic, friendly, very supportive of Lance and the learning that Lance needs to go through.
“He’s fun to work with and a very stable and dependable guy to have on the other side of the garage. I think if we could give Felipe the right car, he could go and get the job done.”
Massa believes that his short-lived retirement has allowed him to return to F1 in a more relaxed frame of mind.
He has taken two sixth-place finishes this year, in Australia and Bahrain, and was on course to finish on the podium – and might even have been able to fight for victory – in Azerbaijan before retiring with a broken damper.
“I’m racing in a much more relaxed way and I’m happy with what I do in the car,” said Massa. “Unfortunately, I was a little bit unlucky in a few races, but I’m enjoying it.
“Not thinking about some other things that are sometimes inside your job just makes you more relaxed, doing what I like to do, enjoying it and no pressure.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Nobuharu Matsushita will not return to Sauber as Charles Leclerc eyes up F1 seat
Next article From karts to F1: Michael Schumacher's collection of race cars will be exhibited in 2018
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Felipe Massa
On this day: Michael Schumacher wins… and stuns tifosi with F1 retirement
Formula 1
Formula 1
Italian GP
2 mo
On this day: Michael Schumacher wins… and stuns tifosi with F1 retirement
Defendant ordered to pay £250,000 legal fees in Felipe Massa F1 title case
Formula 1
Formula 1 8 mo
Defendant ordered to pay £250,000 legal fees in Felipe Massa F1 title case
Felipe Massa’s F1 2008 lawsuit will proceed to trial
Formula 1
Formula 1
Las Vegas GP
11 mo
Felipe Massa’s F1 2008 lawsuit will proceed to trial
More from
Williams
"It's horribly painful" - Williams drops 2026 car upgrades to benefit 2027
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
12 h
"It's horribly painful" - Williams drops 2026 car upgrades to benefit 2027
What the Brazilian GP revealed about F1's ability to cope with rain
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
2 d
What the Brazilian GP revealed about F1's ability to cope with rain
Latest news
TV ratings released for NASCAR Cup season finale
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
2 h
TV ratings released for NASCAR Cup season finale
Chase Elliott's car chief leaves Hendrick for NASCAR Truck crew chief role
NASCAR Truck
NSTR NASCAR Truck
Homestead
3 h
Chase Elliott's car chief leaves Hendrick for NASCAR Truck crew chief role
“I was getting beat up” – How Daniel Ricciardo burned out on ‘humiliating’ F1 return
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1 7 h
“I was getting beat up” – How Daniel Ricciardo burned out on ‘humiliating’ F1 return
Feature
Discover prime content
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Formula 1
By Kevin Turner
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe