Felipe Massa Still Has Much to Offer Williams, Formula 1 Despite Retirement Hint
Sir Frank Williams couldn't speak highly enough of his team's rising star, but he had a backhanded compliment specially prepared for his senior driver.
As Williams announced their 2015 driver lineup on the morning of last year's Italian Grand Prix, confirming the partnership between Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa would extend into a second season, Sir Frank addressed a team of two halves.
Having claimed a number of podium finishes in just his second year in Formula One, Bottas had established himself as a future world champion, and his team principal knew it, with Sir Frank telling BBC Sport's Andrew Benson how the team had "great hopes" for their "long-term investment."
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His assessment of Massa, however, was far less enthusiastic.
Despite becoming the first Williams driver to secure a pole position in almost four years in Austria, Massa had been embroiled in one too many dramas and on-track incidents for his team's liking over the course of 2014, his inconsistency costing them valuable points.
Rather than commenting on the Brazilian's impact at the team following his move from Ferrari, Sir Frank said it best by saying nothing at all as far as 2014 was concerned, instead choosing to focus on what Massa had achieved prior to his arrival at Williams and suggesting another scruffy season would not be tolerated.
"Felipe is a very experienced driver," he told the same source. "He has learnt how to stand up to Ferdy (Fernando Alonso), my hero in Formula 1 and given him a hard time in the past and I have the highest regard for him.
"He's agreed to stay and we look forward to a new stronger season with him next year."
As much as his words were intended to provide the Brazilian with a much-needed kick up the backside, Sir Frank had effectively set Massa a challenge to prove he was the driver Williams thought they signed at the end of 2013, to show he was still capable of competing at the front of the grid.
And Felipe responded in the only way he knows, securing his first podium finish of the season just hours later.
That assured third place at Monza proved to be the springboard for his Williams career, with Massa gaining much confidence and scoring four further podiums over the following 12 months—the sheer level and consistency of his performances hushing the hype around Bottas.
His knack of answering his critics, silencing his doubters and overcoming various difficulties has been the recurring theme of his entire F1 career and the reason he has spent so much of his racing life in contention for points and prizes.
When, for instance, he was dismissed as Michael Schumacher's latest puppet at Ferrari in 2006, he recovered from an unsteady start to win two races by the end of season. When he was widely regarded as the weakest link in title battles featuring Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Raikkonen and Alonso in 2007 and '08, the underdog came within seconds of being crowned the champion of the world.
When, following his life-threatening accident in Hungary 2009, it was feared he would never be the same again, he reached the podium in the first two races of the following year. And when he was viewed as damaged goods after his departure from Ferrari, he successfully repaired his reputation at another iconic team.
Such resilience has made Massa one of the most respected, popular figures in the sport, and although he has resisted the weight of popular opinion throughout his decade around the front of the field, it appears he is now battling the voice within.
Ahead of this weekend's Brazilian GP, Massa—rather unusually for a racing driver in the modern era—admitted that he is already contemplating retirement at the end of 2016, telling UOL Esporte (h/t ESPN F1):
"Next year will be the last of my contract, so I think that will be the most important season to understand if I continue or not. If I have the chance to be with a competitive team, I will [continue]. Otherwise, I stop.
I'll be in F1 if I have a team like Williams, with whom I am very happy and they are also happy to have me. When you love working and feel loved, that is what gives [you] motivation to continue.
"
While, on the evidence of his comments, Massa's future is very much in the hands of Williams, the very fact he is considering retirement—claiming he is, unlike many of his peers, unafraid of walking away—is strange when his career is currently in the midst of an Indian summer.
As Rob Smedley, his long-term friend and colleague, told Autosport's Lawrence Barretto in April, Massa, even at the age of 34, continues to "develop and get better and better" and is driving more smartly than ever before, performing "as good" as he did when he came so close yet so far in 2008.
Perhaps Massa feels that, come the end of his three-year plan in 2016, his work in helping to re-establish Williams as a major force will be done and the time will be right. But the timing of his retirement hint will have short-term repercussions on the eve of what could be his penultimate F1 appearance on home soil.
With two victories and three further podium finishes, Massa has always excelled at his home track at Interlagos, where—as noted ahead of last year's event—he enjoys a powerful, unique relationship with the local spectators.
At a venue where Williams' FW37 car should perform strongly, and at a time their hero is openly questioning his future, the affection of the home support may play an enhanced role in propelling Massa to another strong result this weekend, leaving him unable to imagine a life without F1.
The end may be beginning to appear on the horizon. But it would, as ever, be foolish to write him off just yet.
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