Formula 1's Latest Rumours, Talk: Williams' Felipe Massa, McLaren-Honda and More
Despite being the only driver to score a point in each of the first six races of the 2016 Formula One season, Felipe Massa may find himself without a seat at the end of this year.
After being released by Ferrari almost three years ago, the Brazilian has successfully reinvented himself at Williams, becoming a valuable asset to a team who finished third in the constructors' championship in 2014 and '15.
With Williams now a stable upper-midfield outfit, there is a feeling that the team may require a more fashionable driver to truly progress to the next level and ultimately recapture their former glories.
But Massa has reiterated his desire to stay with Williams, revealing discussions over a contract extension are under way.
One of the drivers linked to Massa's seat is Jenson Button, who began his F1 career with Williams more than 16 years ago.
A return to the place where it all started would round the 36-year-old's career off nicely, but the 2009 world champion may yet be offered another reprieve at McLaren-Honda, with Eric Boullier revealing the team are yet to discuss plans regarding their 2017 driver lineup.
With arguably the strongest, most exciting pairing in the sport, Red Bull are likely to play a minor role in the driver market after promoting Max Verstappen alongside Daniel Ricciardo.
And Gerhard Berger has explained why Red Bull simply needed Verstappen to have a realistic chance of wresting the world championship back from Mercedes.
Elsewhere, Manor racing director Dave Ryan has outlined the difficulties in leading a small team following his return to F1, while Force India's deputy team principal Bob Fernley has revealed the team are back to full confidence after Sergio Perez's podium appearance in the Monaco Grand Prix.
Here's this week's roundup.
Felipe Massa Hopeful of New Williams Contract for 2017
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Felipe Massa has expressed his desire to remain with Williams for the 2017 season, with the Brazilian revealing he has started contract negotiations with the team.
At the age of 35, Massa, is among the oldest drivers on the current grid and has previously hinted 2016 could be his last season in F1, telling UOL Esporte (h/t ESPN F1) how he was not "afraid" of retirement last November.
Deputy team principal Claire Williams recently suggested the Grove, England-based outfit would be prepared to release both Massa and Valtteri Bottas at the end of 2016, telling Motorsport.com's Jonathan Noble Williams want to make their "own decisions" regarding their 2017 driver lineup.
But Massa, who is the only driver to score a point in every race of 2016, has revealed he is working on a deal to remain with the team, insisting he can still be an important asset to Williams.
The Brazilian—who suggested he will consider racing in alternative categories such as the World Endurance championship, the DTM and Formula E when his F1 career comes to an end—told Autosport's Lawrence Barretto:
"Yeah, sure. We are working on it.
I'm definitely not losing time to understand what is going to happen next year.
We are working on it and we'll see what's going to happen.
I still believe it can be very important to have a driver who knows what to say.
They know where to improve, which being honest is what I did in the last few years with Williams.
Part of this improvement of this team is also totally related to my points, my experience and my help to make the car better and make the team better as well, which is what we saw in the last two years.
"
Massa told Press Association Sport (h/t ESPN F1's Nate Saunders) he is "zero scared" about rumours that Jenson Button could replace him at Williams in 2017, with Bottas telling the same source "it is way too early to say" whether he will remain with the team next season.
McLaren-Honda Yet to Begin Talks over 2017 Driver Lineup
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McLaren-Honda racing director Eric Boullier has insisted the team are yet to begin discussions regarding their 2017 driver lineup.
With seats potentially available at every team on the grid, this year's transfer market is likely to be the most hectic for a number of years, and McLaren are expected to play a lead role.
While Fernando Alonso is contracted to the team until the end of next season, the future of Jenson Button is likely to be up for debate for the third successive year as the 2009 world champion edges toward the end of his existing deal.
F1 commentator David Croft recently told Sky Sports how Button could postpone his retirement from F1 by returning to Williams for 2017 after "very nearly" rejoining the Grove-based outfit at the close of last season.
Meanwhile, reserve driver Stoffel Vandoorne has upped the pressure on McLaren to promote him to a full-time seat following his impressive debut in April's Bahrain GP, revealing he is attracting interest from other teams, per Racer.
Over the Monaco Grand Prix weekend, McLaren chairman Ron Dennis insisted Vandoorne, who he regards as "an integral part of McLaren-Honda's future," is "not for sale" and suggested the team are "not yet ready to commit or communicate" on their 2017 plans, per BBC Sport's Andrew Benson.
When asked whether McLaren have started talks, Boullier said, per ESPN F1's Nate Saunders: "No, absolutely nothing. We have not started discussing anything with any drivers. It's too early in the season so it would be too distracting for the team."
The Frenchman added the team's reluctance to begin discussions is "part of the game" and a ploy to ensure the drivers perform well in the hope of earning a race seat.
Meanwhile, Honda F1 boss Yusuke Hasegawa has revealed the Japanese manufacturer has prepared to introduce an upgraded power unit at this weekend's Canadian GP but is unsure whether the new engine will be taken to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, per Autosport's Lawrence Barretto.
In a separate Autosport article, Hasegawa told Barretto how Honda "doesn't want to have an enforced obligation" to supply a second team in 2017 but would be prepared to do so, with the company discussing the situation with governing body the FIA.
Red Bull 'Need' Max Verstappen to Compete with Mercedes, Says Gerhard Berger
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Former grand prix driver Gerhard Berger believes Red Bull needed to sign Max Verstappen from Toro Rosso in order to take the fight to two-time world champions Mercedes.
Little more than 12 months after becoming the youngest-ever driver to start an F1 race, Verstappen was promoted to Red Bull to replace Daniil Kvyat following May's Russian Grand Prix.
The 18-year-old went on to win his first race for the team in Spain, with Red Bull team principal Christian Horner telling Sky Sports' Matt Morlidge how Verstappen's partnership with Daniel Ricciardo can become "one of the, if not the, strongest pairing of future years."
Berger, who is an associate of Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz and was Toro Rosso team principal between 2006 and '08, feels the team needed a partnership capable of rivaling Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, who have won all but seven races for Mercedes since the beginning of 2014.
Referring to Verstappen as an "outstanding" talent, the former Ferrari and McLaren driver told Motorsport.com's Adam Cooper:
"I think Mercedes have the best two drivers they can have.
I think the other teams are realising that if you want to beat Mercedes, when they have a big technical advantage, and especially on the engine, even if you put yourself on the same level, you have to beat these two drivers to win the constructors' championship.
Because these two drivers are each in his way outstanding, and in a combination they are unbeatable.
That's why Red Bull reacted very strongly with Max Verstappen, they said, "We have Ricciardo, somebody able to compete, but we need another one, because they have Nico and Lewis."
They thought: "If we get Verstappen and Ricciardo we can at least put Ferrari under pressure, and next year we have a chance to compete with Mercedes with two big guys.
"
Per the same source, Berger revealed he can sense "a very big dynamic going on" at Red Bull, who have been restricted to just four victories since clinching the last of their four consecutive world championships with Sebastian Vettel in 2013.
The Austrian added Red Bull "managed very well" to retain their "key players," including Horner and technical boss Adrian Newey, during their barren spell.
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Manor's Dave Ryan 'Still Not Up to Speed' After F1 Return
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Manor racing director Dave Ryan has admitted he is still readjusting to the demands of F1 after returning to the sport at the end of 2015.
The New Zealander spent more than three decades at McLaren but parted company with the team in April 2009 amid the fallout of Lewis Hamilton's controversial disqualification from that year's Australian GP.
When Manor stalwarts John Booth and Graeme Lowdon resigned toward the end of last season, Ryan was appointed as the backmarkers' racing director and has effectively acted as the team principal.
With drivers Pascal Wehrlein and Rio Haryanto still without a point after the opening six races, Ryan recently told Reuters' Alan Baldwin how the Manor are "nowhere near quick enough," suggesting they may require "four or five years" to achieve their aim of becoming a "really solid midfield team."
And Ryan has admitted he has struggled to lead a team at the rear of the grid, having spent much of his F1 career competing for major honours. He told Autosport's Ian Parkes:
"It's taken me a few races to get my head around things and up to speed, and I'm still not up to speed. I'll be honest about that.
The difficult thing is managing expectations, for everyone.
The drivers are frustrated, which is understandable because it's their career isn't it? So we have to do as well as we can for them.
The team also is frustrated because we know we're capable of more, so collectively we just have to keep plugging away and build a strong base so we know what we have got moving on to next year, but there's a lot to do.
"
Ryan told the same source the team "have done a fabulous job" with the MRT05 car "if you take into consideration the restrictions they were working against," suggesting "just eight designers" began work on the 2016 chassis.
He acknowledged it is "pretty obvious" Manor "need to improve a lot," adding the team can make those necessary enhancements "given another year and some more resource."
Force India Have Rediscovered Confidence After Sergio Perez's Monaco GP Podium
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Deputy team principal Bob Fernley believes Force India have benefited from "a significant lift in confidence" following Sergio Perez's podium finish in the Monaco Grand Prix.
After enjoying their best-ever season in 2015, when the Silverstone-based team claimed fifth place in the constructors' standings, Force India suffered an unfortunate start to the current season, scoring just 14 points over the opening five races
The team introduced a major upgrade package at the Spanish Grand Prix and went on to register their first double-points finish of 2016 in Monaco, where Nico Hulkenberg claimed sixth and Perez took advantage of the changeable conditions to secure Force India's third podium in as many seasons.
With the team now seven points ahead of sixth-placed Toro Rosso, Fernley has admitted Perez's third-place finish was a timely result for the Force India, telling Autosport's Ian Parkes:
"Being able to get both cars in the points is incredibly encouraging because that's something we've struggled to do.
We just needed to have a bit of good fortune because we'd had a terrible run of being in the wrong place at the wrong time for the first four races.
Clearly our biggest rival is Toro Rosso, and we had a good result against them in Monaco which has moved us back up to fifth in the constructors' championship.
As we were also competitive in Barcelona after putting the updates on the car, we've shown it is now competitive, and the team is competitive again.
That gives the whole team a significant lift in confidence ahead of upcoming tracks that should be good for us.
"
Per the same source, Perez argued this year's VJM09, while quite "different" to its predecessor, is "better" than last season's car, and he told the official F1 website how Force India can still challenge Williams for fourth place in the championship.
Meanwhile, Fernley reiterated his belief that the team will switch their development focus to their 2017 car "sooner rather than later" ahead of next year's major regulation changes, per Motorsport.com's Darshan Chokhani.
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