After speculating that Daniil Kvyat was headed to Williams after being demoted from Red Bull, the mere rumour that Felipe Massa is entertaining a move to another team is too tempting not to make a comment.
Not that I’m patting myself on the back, far from it. Kvyat has been wayward and unruly since returning to Toro Rosso, even when he’s not retiring.
As I’ve also mentioned in this column, Williams aren’t exactly setting the world on fire this season, so his string of P5-P8 finishes is laudable.
Recently however, teammate Valtteri Bottas has had the wood on this teammate, either edging him out in the minor points places or putting a gap on Massa and finishing a few positions clear, punctuated clearly with the team’s only podium finish this season in Canada.
You could argue that Sergio Perez was fortunate to score a few podium finishes, but the fact that the Mexican is currently splitting the Williams drivers in the championship only affirms that there is a divide between the two.
So where is the 35-year old rumoured to headed?
“I don’t want to put names down because I don’t think that is really the right thing to do,” Massa is reported to have told French website f1i.com.
“But not a small team, so maybe teams like the ones I raced for but maybe also teams that are pushing to be better.”
So that rules out all the teams that aren’t pushing to be better, which isn’t too many.
“I’m not here to be in the back of the field and just not enjoying myself,” explained Massa. “I’m not ready for that.”
This comment from the Brazilian is far more telling. His chances of progressing to one of the front-running teams (i.e. replacing Rosberg at Mercedes or Raikkonen at Ferrari) are virtually nil. Furthermore, he doesn’t want to drive for a backmarker team like Sauber or Manor.
Similarly it’s unfathomable that a seat at Toro Rosso would be available, which leaves four possibilities.
Renault might be sitting in ninth place in the championship, but have already shifted their development efforts to their 2017 car. Neither driver, Kevin Magnussen or Jolyon Palmer have performed especially well, and there’s no guarantee that either will retain their seat.
Haas surprised everyone with some early form this season, but as their competitors fine-tuned their performance they were left in the dust. Although they’ve proven to be a highly organised and ambitious team, they are still green and a few years away from truly cementing themselves in the mid-field.
Force India could be an interesting move for Massa, and certainly I’ve put the kiss of death on them to beat Williams in the championship. They are the very definition of a team that’s pushing to be better, and if Massa has deemed Williams as a team worthy of his talents, then why not join the team that’s rapidly closing the gap on them?
The final option, and in my opinion the most likely, would see Massa take up a seat at McLaren.
I’m not particularly swayed by the suggestion that Jenson Button will return to Williams, the team with which he made his debut. However, if he leaves to join another team or retires I can see Massa slotting in alongside his old chum Fernando Alonso and racing in a low-pressure environment while the team rebuilds.
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