F1: Bottas released from Williams as Massa returns from retirement

Williams have released Valteri Bottas from his contract with the team, meaning he is now free to join Mercedes for the season ahead.

Bottas, who was locked into a contract with Williams until the end of 2017, has been top of the Mercedes list of drivers to replace Nico Rosberg, who retired from the sport just days after winning the world title.

It is understood that Felipe Massa has agreed to return to the Williams squad for 2017, after he retired from the sport in 2016 following a long career in F1.

Although BBC Sport previously reported that Bottas was Mercedes-Benz’s first choice to replace the outgoing Nico Rosberg, Claire Williams told BBC Sport on 15 January that certain details regarding Bottas’s switch still needed to be clarified, adding: “we are still crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s at the moment with all of the contracts.”

Other deals are expected to be made, such as Paddy Lowe stepping down from his role as Mercedes’ Technical Director, in a possible transfer to Williams.