SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

Massa could turn to Brazil's stock car?

Felipe Massa could find himself out of F1 and in Brazil's national stock car series in 2017.

Felipe Massa could find himself out of F1 and in Brazil's national stock car series in 2017.

That is the view of Brazilian journalist Flavio Gomes, who thinks 2016 has so far been "the worst season for Felipe at Williams" since he joined the team from Ferrari in 2014.

Williams has reportedly re-signed Valtteri Bottas for 2017, while Jenson Button or the well-sponsored Lance Stroll are in the running to be his teammate.

"I don't see Massa at Indy like (Rubens) Barrichello did, as he did not want to stop racing at all," Gomes told UOL Grande Premio.

"I think Felipe would tend more for stock car and fight for the title," he added.

Williams has been a force in F1 since 2014, but this year the Grove team has fallen not only behind the 'big three' teams, but also Force India, despite having a bigger budget than the Silverstone based outfit.

"Since the tyre pressures increased everyone is suffering," 35-year-old Massa told Brazil's Globo Esporte, "but we are the most affected.

"They (Force India) are working much better with these tyre pressures. The drivers were at certain points of the (Spa) race a second quicker than us," he added.

(GMM)