2016-17 Silly Season. Drivers Market

I think you're all a little harsh on Felipe Baby. I think his rep got tarnished by the Fernando Alonso mind games train and people forget how good he is. I think he's made the most of that Williams car the last few years without pulling up trees. In situation like this where everyone is off the market, you already have a rookie driver, there is less than 2 months before testing and he is already integrated into the team, then it's probably the most sensible option.
 
Last edited:
RasputinLives the problem is the mind set of Massa after a long career in F1 you decide you are not able to put 100% to it like you use too then it puts yourself at unnecessary risk

I don't want to see Massa running around the back soldiering knowing full well he's only been asked to stop gap because of the situation at Williams

Its a decision he would have consulted his family over and be at pains to make it
 
Last edited:
Doesn't this highlight the lack of strength in depth of the driver market at the moment?

Granted the timing of Rosberg's retirement hasn't been great.

We have (based on 2016) the best seat on the grid up for grabs and potentially as a result of the deal, a seat at a legendary team in Williams yet the best F1 has to offer is a slightly underwhelming Finn and the return of a retired driver whose best years have long passed.
 
I think it's more the drivers with experience are all locked in to their contracts. If Nico had announced he was retiring at the end of the year 6 months ago, it would be a very different story. The only drivers now available are rookies who have no idea how to set up a car or direct a teams development direction.
 
Yeah I'm with Greenlantern101 on this one. I think if Williams other driver wasn't Stroll they'd go for a LeClerc or a Giovanzzi.

Massa is still part of the team and stability, in a year where everything is changing, is probably important. It's not like he was Luca Badoer bad was it?
 
The only person who was Luca Bodoer bad was Luca himself.

I wonder what Roberto Moreno is doing these days? That man qualified an Andrea Moda so the 2017 Williams should be a piece of cake.
 
I think Stroll could be fast for Williams he just needs an old hand to help with set up next year. I can see Stroll out performing Massa after the first half dozen races once he settles in.
 
Re-hiring Massa would make perfect sense for Williams, whatever anyone else on here seems inclined to say. He offers continuity and experience and he can still do a job. At a time when Bottas to Williams is looking like a strong possibilty people should remember he never exactly destroyed Massa as a team-mate. Bottas had probably a clearer advantage over him in 2016 but they have been fairly even during their entire time as team-mates, and of the two it was Felipe who came closest to winning a race.

All this Good-Riddance-Felipe-stuff is getting really tedious and symptomatic of this age of tiresome automatic cynicism that's become the norm in all areas of social media, I think. He'a won several GP's, been a WDC contender and been involved in some memorable moments of GP racing and although he's probably no longer in his peak years he can still definitely do a good job given a decent car. Not too many drivers can claim that.

williams are obviously much better-placed to assess just what he offers them than those armchairs specialists who claim they'd be making the worst possible choice in re-hiring him.
 
Last edited:
Since Mercedes are unwilling to commit until next year maybe they are waiting for a driver whose contract terminates on 13st December. There are only two who I can think of, Button and Massa. One to Mercedes and the other to Williams?:unsure:
 
"@MassaFelipe19 has scored a massive 1,122 points in his @F1 career. Something that only seven other drivers have achieved", Williams Racing.

Just a random stat and at the time more of a send-off. Now it seems like justification enough to re-hire granpa Massa. I'm fine with that 8-)
 
Last edited:
RasputinLives Giovinazzi has signed for Ferrari as 3rd driver :thinking: Another option for them in 2018 and Italian as well


Are Williams still owned by shareholders because I would have thought they want a say in the matter who the other driver would ideally be ?
Well for a start Martini the team's main sponsor are not too keen on having Wehrlein so that is two drivers under 25 trying to promote responsibly drinking :cheers:
 
Back
Top Bottom