He was given a send-off
by Ferrari at their Mugello track on Sunday and is now looking forward
to starting a new period of his career.
“Williams is one of the most successful and important teams of all time
in Formula One,” said Massa.
“When I was a kid, I always dreamed about racing for Williams, Ferrari or
McLaren and I’m glad to be signing with another icon of the sport following
my time at Ferrari.”
Massa will be following in the footsteps of compatriots Nelson Piquet, Aytron
Senna and Rubens Barrichello in racing for Williams and is relishing the
challenge.
“With such a major change of regulations in 2014, I hope my experience
will be useful in helping the team in its effort to move on from a difficult
period,” he added.
“It is also nice to remember that some of the best Brazilian drivers
raced for Williams and cemented a strong national link with the team. I’m
highly motivated to start working hard from the very beginning in what is an
exciting new challenge in my career.”
Team principal Sir Frank Williams also hailed the arrival of Massa and was
quick to praise Bottas, whose services have been retained despite the Finn
not yet scoring a point for the team.
“We are delighted to be able to confirm our 2014 driver line-up and
welcome Felipe into the Williams family,” he said.
“Massa is an exceptional talent and a real fighter on the race track; he
also brings a wealth of experience as we begin a new chapter in our story.
“Valtteri is a valued member of the team and I’m pleased he was able to
demonstrate his talent in tricky conditions in Montreal [where he qualified
third on the grid]. There is much more to come from him.”
Maldonado was expected to leave the team and could yet find himself filling
the seat at Lotus which has been vacated by Raikkonen’s switch to Ferrari.
FELIPE MASSA FACTFILE
1981: Born April 25 in Sao Paulo.
1999: Wins the Brazilian Formula Chevrolet championship.
2000: Finishes first in both the Italian and European Formula Renault series.
2001: Wins the Formula 3000 Euro-Series.
2002: Moves into Formula One with Sauber. Debut season includes a fifth-placed
finish in Spain but Massa also misses the United States Grand Prix, being
replaced by Heinz-Harald Frentzen after incurring a 10-place grid penalty.
2004: After a year as a test driver for Ferrari, returns to a Sauber race seat.
2006: August 27 – having joined Ferrari, earns his first F1 win in the Turkish
Grand Prix.
Finishes third in the drivers’ championship.
2008: Misses out on the drivers’ title by a single point to Lewis Hamilton,
despite winning a dramatic last race in his native Brazil. Hamilton overtook
Timo Glock on the final corner to finish fifth and win the title.
2009: July 25 – Requires life-saving surgery after being struck on the head by
a suspension spring which had broken off Rubens Barrichello’s car in
Hungarian GP qualifying. Misses the rest of the season and has a titanium
plate fitted to his skull.
October 18 – Waves the chequered flag at the end of the Brazilian Grand Prix.
2010: March 14 – Returns to racing at the season-opening Bahrain GP, finishing
second behind Ferrari team-mate Fernando Alonso.
July 25 – Moves aside to allow Alonso to win the German GP, a move which
ultimately saw Ferrari fined 100,000 US dollars for the use of team orders.
2013: September 10 – Confirms he will leave Ferrari at the end of the season.
Kimi Raikkonen is announced the next day as his replacement.
November 11 – Signs up to drive for Williams in 2014.
Edited by Oliver Pickup