Williams F1 wants to extend Felipe Massa for 2016
Felipe Massa's contract extension with Williams for 2016 is confirmed according to several Brazilian media outlets. The announcement is expected to be made official this weekend.
After the end of his F1 career, Felipe Massa had expressed potential interest in Formula E or the World Endurance Championship. However, it will not be immediate: having been on the grid since 2002 with an initial year at Sauber, the Paulista will experience a new season as an F1 driver in 2016.
Concordant sources in Brazil indeed assure that Williams will announce this weekend the signing of Felipe Massa for 2016. The Grove team is thus exercising an automatic extension option that was due to expire on July 31.
This announcement will not surprise anyone. A few days ago, Felipe Massa reiterated his desire to stay with Williams: “The team treats me with great respect and we have good performances. I am not in discussions with any other team, so why change?”
Since joining Williams in 2014, Felipe Massa has secured four podiums and one pole position, in Austria. He is currently 6th in the world championship, just three points behind his teammate Valtteri Bottas.
Now it is much more on the Finn that the suspense is crystallizing. Valtteri Bottas could indeed take over from his compatriot Kimi Räikkönen at Ferrari. The identity of Felipe Massa’s future teammate (Hülkenberg, Nasr, or maybe Bottas) remains very uncertain.
