Brazilian publications have reported that the newly retired Felipe Massa has been offered a contract worth just less than €6m to drive for Williams in 2017. The offer was made in response to the possibility that Valtteri Bottas will be moving to Mercedes.
Bottas has emerged as the lead candidate for the 2017 Mercedes seat left by Nico Rosberg, who retired suddenly at the end of the 2016 season. A potential move from the Finn would leave Williams without a lead driver for 2017.
The team has already signed Canadian rookie Lance Stroll and Mercedes has reportedly offered Pascal Wehrlein to replace Bottas. However, Williams is not likely to take Wehrlein due to his lack of Formula One experience. The team will be require a lot of driver feedback to build a competitive car and will need to get some good results in order to improve on their poor 2016 campaign. It is also believed that the team’s title sponsor, Martini, is not willing to sponsor a driver lineup with two drivers who are under the age of 25.
Reports recently stated that Felipe Massa had been in contact with Williams to make a single season Formula One return. More recent reports from Brazilian media suggest that the Brazilian driver has been offered a one year contract worth roughly €5.9m, although none of the parties involved have confirmed or denied these reports.
There is unlikely to be any new developments in the situation at both Mercedes and Williams, as Mercedes has said that there will be no driver announcement until early January. Sauber and Manor are the only other remaining teams without a full driver lineup confirmed, which is also unlikely to happen until the Mercedes situation is resolved.
Although no official offer has been confirmed, Massa appears to be thinking about something, posting this message on Twitter as he prepares for his Holiday vacation with his family:
On the way to our holidays! Time to enjoy , relax and ??… a caminho das férias! Curtir , descansar e ??… pic.twitter.com/L6iPXPu1yP
— Felipe Massa (@MassaFelipe19) December 15, 2016
Felipe Massa Could Make A Shocking 2017 Return
Bottas-Mercedes Link May Be In The Works
Rosberg Shocks F1 With Retirement
