Felipe Massa Returns To Williams As Valtteri Bottas Moves To Mercedes

There’re plenty of reasons for shock and awe that 2016 gave us and, while the flame of this year’s candle is wavering into oblivion, there’s juice left in it yet. The Formula 1 space gave us exciting moments in 2016 – some great (or controversial) chases, brutal spat between racers and a couple of retirements. Speaking of retirements, the 2016 F1 world champion Nico Rosberg shocked everyone with his surprise adios to the sport which caught Mercedes off guard and searching for its new driver. And if recent news is anything to go by, Mercedes Petronas has found its driver in Williams' Valtteri Bottas. The talks are in the final stages and we expect Mercedes to make it official soon. 

This shift, however, had left Williams in a fix as it became one driver short – its driver Felipe Massa had also announced his retirement before Rosberg. However, the Brazilian F1 veteran has decided to return to the sport or, better, un-retire for at least another season (2017) for the sake of his team.

Massa’s decision is also expected to strengthen Williams’ position since the 2017 season will witness several rule changes and the team will benefit from his immense experience in the sport. The team was found saying, "If we did allow Valtteri to leave, we would only do this if an experienced, credible alternative was available, such as someone like Felipe Massa, for example."

Apart from Massa, 18-year-old rookie Lance Stroll will be joining Williams as part of its 2017 blitzkrieg.

Massa’s return certainly paved way for Bottas’ easy move to Mercedes. But the German team has made it clear that it will not make its new driver's (Bottas) name public until January 2017. Probably because Niki Lauda had said that the discussions over the acquisition of a new driver were proving ‘difficult’ for them.

We would love to see what happens in the next few weeks. Till then, look out for our 2017 Formula 1 car feature.