Williams F1 driver Felipe Massa has announced he will retire from Formula 1 at the end of the 2017 season. The veteran F1 driver announced his retirement from the sport for the second time after he originally retired at the end of last year. However, Williams asked Massa to comeback to the sport after Valtteri Bottas was upgraded to Mercedes-AMG to fill in for Nico Rosberg, leaving a void within Williams. That said, Williams is yet to announce a replacement for Massa with Robert Kubica, Paul di Resta and Pascal Wehrlein in contention.
Speaking on his retirement, Felipe Massa said in a statement, "As everyone knows, after announcing my retirement from Formula 1 last year, I agreed to return this season to help Williams when the call came."
Thanks for the support love you guys 😉 pic.twitter.com/TUCcXIYHVv
— Felipe Massa (@MassaFelipe19) November 4, 2017
"I have now enjoyed four great years with the team, but my career in Formula 1 will finally come to an end this season. Once more, I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who has supported me throughout this time: my wife and my father, my whole family, my manager Nicolas and all my friends, colleagues and sponsors."
Williams is yet to announce a replacement for Massa with Robert Kubica
Massa has had 267 grand prix starts in his career, while his final races will be at Brazil, his home race next week and the F1 grand finale at Abu Dhabi. The Brazilian racer won 11 races during an eight-season spell at Ferrari during which he was famously denied the world champion in 2008 by Lewis Hamilton. Massa has finished on the podium 41 times.
The driver is yet to announce his future plans and where he'll be racing next, but rumours do suggest that Massa could make the switch too Formula E. That said, there's no official confirmation on the same. Meanwhile, Williams said they will announce Massa's replacement in "due course".
It is said that Massa was keen to stay in F1 only with Williams if the team asked him to. But there is said to be no communication from the team about the same. The driver currently has secured 36 points this season, four points behind teammate Lance Stroll.
With respect to his replacements, Robert Kubica has not raced in F1 since 2011 after suffering serious injuries, but was seen testing the 2014 F1 Williams F1 car earlier this year. Paul di Resta, on the other hand, is the team's current reserve driver and filled in for Massa in Hungary in July this year when the Brazilian fell ill.
For the latest auto news and reviews, follow CarAndBike on Twitter, Facebook, and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Comments (0)