Breaking news
Formula 1
Massa wanted guarantees before confirming Williams return
Felipe Massa asked for guarantees that Williams was going in the right direction and that his input would be valued before committing to returning to F1 with the Grove team this season.
Adam Cooper
Published: Mar 11, 2017, 12:18 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Massa was contacted by the deputy team principal Claire Williams following Nico Rosberg's retirement announcement, after it became clear that Mercedes had targeted Valtteri Bottas.
Massa then travelled to the UK to discuss what went wrong for the team the year before.
"She called me straight away, so we spoke," said Massa, "And then I took the plane to England to sit with her and just discuss so many things around that, so many things around the team, so many things that I believe [were] some ideas for the team that didn't work last year.
"So anyway, we had a very long conversation. And then it took a little bit of time to be 100 percent clear. It was not just due to myself, but also because of so many things around – with Mercedes, with Valtteri, with me. Anyway, it took a little bit of time."
Massa says that in the end he was convinced returning was the right choice to make: "I just followed my heart, and really followed all the messages I got from the fans, from my family.
"I didn't really see any message saying 'don't do it'. I just followed my heart, that's what I love to do. I was for sure not ready to carry on in Formula 1 just to be part of the grid.
"I think if I work somewhere, I need to work in a place where I feel important, that I can be important, and maybe I can be competitive.
"I took this decision to carry on because I found the possibility to stay in a professional direction."
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 Stats: Eight days of Barcelona F1 testing by the numbers
Next article Q3 will be "extremely difficult" in Melbourne - Sainz
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Adam Cooper
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Formula 1
Formula 1
Japanese GP
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Formula 1
Formula 1
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
Formula 1
Formula 1
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
More from
Felipe Massa
On this day: Michael Schumacher wins… and stuns tifosi with F1 retirement
Formula 1
Formula 1
Italian GP
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
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
Felipe Massa’s F1 2008 lawsuit will proceed to trial
More from
Williams
Williams has better cooling vests than anyone – Alex Albon
Formula 1
Formula 1
Williams has better cooling vests than anyone – Alex Albon
James Vowles explains request for review of F1 cost cap
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
James Vowles explains request for review of F1 cost cap
Latest news
Lamborghini World Finals | AM-LC Race 1: An unstoppable Lewandowski dominates to win Race 1
Lamborghini Super Trofeo
LBST Lamborghini Super Trofeo
World Finals - Monza 2026
1 h
Lamborghini World Finals | AM-LC Race 1: An unstoppable Lewandowski dominates to win Race 1
Why Cadillac F1 boss provoked fresh intrigue by dodging driver question
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
2 h
Why Cadillac F1 boss provoked fresh intrigue by dodging driver question
Lamborghini World Finals | PRO-PRO/AM Qualifying: Pole position for Lind, Bamber, Van der Drift and Marcelli
Lamborghini Super Trofeo
LBST Lamborghini Super Trofeo
World Finals - Monza 2026
2 h
Lamborghini World Finals | PRO-PRO/AM Qualifying: Pole position for Lind, Bamber, Van der Drift and Marcelli
Jorge Martin's endless ordeal since signing for Aprilia
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
2 h
Jorge Martin's endless ordeal since signing for Aprilia
Feature
Discover prime content
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