Felipe Massa cut short the briefest ever retirement to return to the team he ‘left’ at the end of 2016 to replace Mercedes bound Valtteri Bottas, and with it revealing to team chief Claire Williams that in fact he did not want to quit Formula 1.
Word is the Brazilian who earned around $4.5-million a year at Williams, in 2015 and 2016, is now going to bank $6-million for his services alongside well financed teenage rookie Lance Stroll in 2017.
In the wake of Massa’s confirmation, Williams told Sky Sport, “I know there’s a lot of talk out there: let the guy retire, leave him alone. [But] he wants to come back. Little-known to me, I didn’t actually realise that he didn’t really want to retire.”
With Mercedes wanting Bottas to replace retiring Rosberg, Williams had a lucrative offer to release the Finn. But at the same time there was a requirement to have an experienced driver in the pit garage alongside 18 year old Stroll.
Williams explained that Massa was the obvious go-to-guy, “We are never going to put a driver in the car who we don’t believe can deliver. As everyone saw even in his last race last year [in Abu Dhabi], he delivered for this team. He has lost none of his motivation. I think Felipe is going to do a good job this year”
One of the iconic moments of the 2016 season was Massa’s tearful walk from his wrecked car through the Interlagos pitlane, passing an impromptu guard of honour by mechanics, Brazilian flag draped over his shoulders and acknowledging the cheers of fans in the grandstands for what was to be his final appearance as an F1 driver on home soil…
Williams recalls, “Bless him, Felipe had announced his retirement, we had a whole fanfare around it, and then to have to phone your ex-driver up and say ‘would you mind coming out of retirement?’ you feel quite bad about it. But I’ve never heard anyone so happy and excited, so it was a big relief for us.”
Massa admits feeling “a little bit strange” to give up on his retirement, “After we had this conversation it was very difficult for me to say no to keep working for a team that I really love to be part of. Especially in a year when everything starts from zero.”
“Completely different rules for the cars, it will be a very difficult year from the physical point of view for the drivers – and I like that. I like new things starting so I’m sure my experience can help the team. I hope to have a competitive car and to grow a lot from the first to the last race. I’m really motivated,” he added.
Williams said of the one year deal, “He’s got a year to just have some fun and sometimes when that’s the case the pressure is off. He can just go out there and deliver without worrying about anything else. So I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do and having that pairing with Lance I hope is going to work really well for us.”
Read the full story at GRAND PRIX 247
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