The Williams F1 Team recently announced that Felipe Massa will join Valtteri Bottas for the 2014 season.
The Brazilian will replace current driver Pastor Maldonado, who is in contention for the vacant seat at Lotus. But have Williams made the right decision? Here I share my view on the latest driver announcement.
With so much gossip doing the rounds in the F1 paddock, I was sceptical about placing Felipe Massa at Williams when I first heard the rumour. However, now that it has officially been confirmed I think it is a great move for the Grove based outfit.
Massa's eight year stint at Ferrari will come to an end in two races time. He will be replaced at the Scuderia by Kimi Raikkonen. However, just two months after he was announced to be leaving, he has found a new home at Williams - another iconic Formula 1 team with a rich history.
The Oxfordshire-based team have endured a terrible season in 2013 and have only scored one point so far. They currently sit ninth in the constructors' standings. They are desperate to return to the top step of the podium and I think that, with plenty of new regulations coming into force in 2014, there is opportunity for the tables to be turned.
The team recently appointed Pat Symonds as chief technical officer and have more announcements on further personnel reshuffling to make in the coming weeks. It is expected that the Brazilian's current race-engineer at Ferrari, Rob Smedley, will follow him to the team.
Williams will also move to Mercedes powerplants in 2014, which is predicted to be the most powerful unit on the grid next year.
Massa will bring valuable experience and maturity to the team as they tackle the new regulations debuting next year. He has spent the last eight seasons at Ferrari and will bring a wealth of knowledge with him to the team as they look to return to the front of the grid.
He will, for the first time, lead the team and have the opportunity to thrive outside of a team-mates shadow. I rate the 32-year-old highly so it is great to see that he will remain on the grid in 2014. He has a great combination of speed and experience which will not only help the team to develop the car but also to develop its young driver, Valtteri Bottas.
The Finn has had a difficult rookie season but has matched current team-mate Maldonado consistently. He was blindingly quick during qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix, where conditions were tricky, but has also shown some strong speed in the dry as well.
He hasn't had the car to challenge for points but has managed to impress plenty of people up and down the paddock. I certainly believe he is one to watch for the future and I can't wait to see how he fares alongside Massa and what he will learn from his new team-mate.
Of course, money is also involved in the decision as Williams will lose Maldonado's PDVSA millions next year. Fortunately, Massa does come with some sound financial backing and sponsorship which will help limit the blow.
Massa moving to Williams, it all just seems to work nicely. I can't wait to see how he will fare at the team next season, it will certainly be strange to see him outside of the famous red race suit.
Now we look to McLaren and Lotus, two top teams who have yet to finalise their 2014 plans. Maldonado is looking to move to the Enstone based squad and with gossip indicating that their deal with investment consortium Quantum Motorsports has hit trouble; the Venezuelan could well be wearing black and gold overalls in 2014.
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
The Brazilian will replace current driver Pastor Maldonado, who is in contention for the vacant seat at Lotus. But have Williams made the right decision? Here I share my view on the latest driver announcement.
With so much gossip doing the rounds in the F1 paddock, I was sceptical about placing Felipe Massa at Williams when I first heard the rumour. However, now that it has officially been confirmed I think it is a great move for the Grove based outfit.
Massa's eight year stint at Ferrari will come to an end in two races time. He will be replaced at the Scuderia by Kimi Raikkonen. However, just two months after he was announced to be leaving, he has found a new home at Williams - another iconic Formula 1 team with a rich history.
The Oxfordshire-based team have endured a terrible season in 2013 and have only scored one point so far. They currently sit ninth in the constructors' standings. They are desperate to return to the top step of the podium and I think that, with plenty of new regulations coming into force in 2014, there is opportunity for the tables to be turned.
The team recently appointed Pat Symonds as chief technical officer and have more announcements on further personnel reshuffling to make in the coming weeks. It is expected that the Brazilian's current race-engineer at Ferrari, Rob Smedley, will follow him to the team.
Williams will also move to Mercedes powerplants in 2014, which is predicted to be the most powerful unit on the grid next year.
Massa will bring valuable experience and maturity to the team as they tackle the new regulations debuting next year. He has spent the last eight seasons at Ferrari and will bring a wealth of knowledge with him to the team as they look to return to the front of the grid.
He will, for the first time, lead the team and have the opportunity to thrive outside of a team-mates shadow. I rate the 32-year-old highly so it is great to see that he will remain on the grid in 2014. He has a great combination of speed and experience which will not only help the team to develop the car but also to develop its young driver, Valtteri Bottas.
The Finn has had a difficult rookie season but has matched current team-mate Maldonado consistently. He was blindingly quick during qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix, where conditions were tricky, but has also shown some strong speed in the dry as well.
He hasn't had the car to challenge for points but has managed to impress plenty of people up and down the paddock. I certainly believe he is one to watch for the future and I can't wait to see how he fares alongside Massa and what he will learn from his new team-mate.
Of course, money is also involved in the decision as Williams will lose Maldonado's PDVSA millions next year. Fortunately, Massa does come with some sound financial backing and sponsorship which will help limit the blow.
Massa moving to Williams, it all just seems to work nicely. I can't wait to see how he will fare at the team next season, it will certainly be strange to see him outside of the famous red race suit.
Now we look to McLaren and Lotus, two top teams who have yet to finalise their 2014 plans. Maldonado is looking to move to the Enstone based squad and with gossip indicating that their deal with investment consortium Quantum Motorsports has hit trouble; the Venezuelan could well be wearing black and gold overalls in 2014.
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