Williams have requested that Felipe Massa postpone his Formula 1 retirement to return to the team for 2017, to partner and tutor their younger driver Lance Stroll.
The news comes as Mercedes are considering poaching Valtteri Bottas from the Williams team to partner Lewis Hamilton.
That is despite Bottas already signing a contract to stay at Williams for the foreseeable future, with his new contract due to expire at the end of the new season.
Bottas has close links with the triple-champion ‘Silver Arrows’ team, as team principal Toto Wolff is also his personal manager.
Mercedes are considering Bottas as the prime replacement for Nico Rosberg, who announced his retirement from the sport in December, just days after winning the World Driver’s Championship title in Abu Dhabi.
Rosberg’s shock early retirement from F1 has left Mercedes a driver short for the 2017 season.
ESPN previously reported that Bottas was central to Williams’s 2017 campaign, as he would serve as the team’s experienced driver alongside rookie Lance Stroll – who is making his F1 debut with the team.
According to ESPN, Williams technical director Pat Symonds told Gazzetta dello Sport: “holding on to Bottas will be crucial for our success,” and that “losing [Bottas] would have a big impact on the team.”
Should Mercedes reach an agreement with Williams, other deals could also be agreed between the two teams.
Paddy Lowe is expected to step down from his role as Mercedes’ Technical Director, and it is understood that he may return to Williams – his former team – for the 2017 season.
KPH car blog 