04/11/2017
NEWS STORY
Felipe Massa has announced that he will retire at the end of the current season.
The Brazilian, who retired last season but was encouraged back to the grid after Valtteri Bottas joined Mercedes, had previously said he wanted to know Williams plans for 2018 before this year’s race in Brazil.
Today the veteran took to social media, where he said: "As you know, last I announced my retirement from Formula One. But because of Williams request I decided to do another season, but this time will be my last race in Brazil on Formula One, and my last race in Abu Dhabi in Formula One.
"I would to say thank you very much to all my family, to all my friends, to all my sponsors, to all of my fans - really, you guys support me a lot - so thank you very much and I hope to see you in Interlagos and Abu Dhabi. I really hope you can support me next year, or in the future in other races in other categories. Thank you very much... big kiss.
While there is no official word from the Grove outfit, it is clear that Massa know he will not be wanted in 2018 even though Paddy Lower had insisted he was still in the frame.
The two drivers currently under consideration for the seat alongside Lance Stroll are Robert Kubica and Paul di Resta, while some believe Daniil Kvyat could be in with a shout, though this mainly comes from the Russian (owned) media.
Massa has previously talked of Formula E though Sports Cars and even IndyCar may beckon.
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