2016 Felipe Massa Memorial Italian Grand Prix

[Mexicola 10]

It's official; Felipe Massa's 2016 season will be his last. Let's hope he can score a podium before he sets off.

http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/felipe-massa-column-why-i-m-retiring-from-formula-1-813646/

[sjsharp2010 225]

Sad to see him go but it is understandable. Especially after what happened to him in Hungary I'm sure he's glad he has the opportunity to walk away from the sport at his own choosing to an extent. It just remains to be seen who will take over his seat at Williams.

[RevolvingPrawn 1]

sjsharp2010 said:

Sad to see him go but it is understandable. Especially after what happened to him in Hungary I'm sure he's glad he has the opportunity to walk away from the sport at his own choosing to an extent. It just remains to be seen who will take over his seat at Williams.

Button ;)

[Mexicola 10]

RevolvingPrawn said:

sjsharp2010 said:

Sad to see him go but it is understandable. Especially after what happened to him in Hungary I'm sure he's glad he has the opportunity to walk away from the sport at his own choosing to an extent. It just remains to be seen who will take over his seat at Williams.

Button ;)

Pérez :)

[f1since08 60]

Mexicola said:

RevolvingPrawn said:

sjsharp2010 said:

Sad to see him go but it is understandable. Especially after what happened to him in Hungary I'm sure he's glad he has the opportunity to walk away from the sport at his own choosing to an extent. It just remains to be seen who will take over his seat at Williams.

Button ;)

Pérez :)

Perez is going to Renault.

[Mexicola 10]

fIsince08 said:

Mexicola said:

RevolvingPrawn said:

sjsharp2010 said:

Sad to see him go but it is understandable. Especially after what happened to him in Hungary I'm sure he's glad he has the opportunity to walk away from the sport at his own choosing to an extent. It just remains to be seen who will take over his seat at Williams.

Button ;)

Pérez :)

Perez is going to Renault.

Who's your source, Monsieur F1?  :p

[f1since08 60]

Mexicola said:

fIsince08 said:

Mexicola said:

RevolvingPrawn said:

sjsharp2010 said:

Sad to see him go but it is understandable. Especially after what happened to him in Hungary I'm sure he's glad he has the opportunity to walk away from the sport at his own choosing to an extent. It just remains to be seen who will take over his seat at Williams.

Button ;)

Pérez :)

Perez is going to Renault.

Who's your source, Monsieur F1?  :p

Nah, someone at Read Motorsport actually has a real source. Don't know how reliable it is yet, but he said it would be announced around Singapore and today Autosport have an article out saying that Perez's future will be announced at Singapore.

[Mexicola 10]

Well, he could do worse than Renault I suppose. Being part of a works team wouldn't hurt. Here's hoping it goes well and they like his pace.

[HelmetSquad 0]

Why leave Force India for Renault? Are Renault likely to have a competitive package come 2017's new regs?

[GoldenColt 1]

As well as FI have competed this season, it does make sense to move to a works team. Good choice from Checo, if it turns out to be true.

[MBKF1 91]

As Fernando Alonso and McLaren have said before, if they wanted to win the world championship then it had to be as a works team, which is what they're doing with Honda.

People have asked Fernando if it hurts to see Ferrari beating McLaren, but at the end of the day, Ferrari are still not winning the championship anyway. McLaren was the best opportunity for Alonso to win the title. Yes, they're struggling at the moment, but they're making quick progress and I really really have my fingers crossed for some podiums next year.

Therefore I can totally see why Perez would go to Renault. Like Alonso, he may be beaten by his old team for a year or two, but Renault will come good eventually.

[f1since08 60]

HelmetSquad said:

Why leave Force India for Renault? Are Renault likely to have a competitive package come 2017's new regs?

Considering their budget and the fact they've been developing the 2017 car all season, I'd say yes.

[FMassa93 0]

Massa... :( Well, he is 35years old guess it had to happend att some point... I guess I can remember moments like this atleast https://youtu.be/3kYSrnn2yPQ?t=76 :P 

[Xyadas 0]

fIsince08 said:

HelmetSquad said:

Why leave Force India for Renault? Are Renault likely to have a competitive package come 2017's new regs?

Considering their budget and the fact they've been developing the 2017 car all season, I'd say yes.

Possible short term loss for a huge long term gain :smile:

As for who will replace Massa, easy. Button.

[Liaveil 129]

Well if the Perez/Renault thing turns out to be true then I can't see anyone other than Button being his replacement. With Mclaren looking like they could be competitive again in the not too distant future a part of me wants Button to stay and Mclaren loan Vandoorne out to Williams but that probably won't happen!

I suppose it's starting to hit home now though that the "old guard" of F1 are all going to be in their final seasons now or soon with Felipe being only one of four that has been around for 15+ years. It's a sad thought that Jenson, Fernando and Kimi are all likely to soon follow and to be honest, the day the three of those are all retired as well I think I'd personally lose most of my interest in F1. It's only really the four of them plus Lewis, Seb, Dan, both Nico's and Sergio that I like to see now and no one in the lower formulae look like they'd keep me interested in F1 should they enter other than Vandoorne.

All the best to Felipe though, despite everything he's always been a strong competitor. Massive respect to him for his comeback after what happened in 2009. Showed great strength in it all even if the results didn't show for it.

[sjsharp2010 225]

RevolvingPrawn said:

sjsharp2010 said:

Sad to see him go but it is understandable. Especially after what happened to him in Hungary I'm sure he's glad he has the opportunity to walk away from the sport at his own choosing to an extent. It just remains to be seen who will take over his seat at Williams.

Button ;)

I agree it's likely to be Button but nothing's been confirmed yet and there's also question marks over whether Button will continue as well but until we get answers nothings confirmed.

[Jiggy 5]

I'm glad Felipe is moving over. Nothing against him, but I always saw him as this unmemorable competitor who ended up having a career where he probably over-achieved a little bit in terms of length and results.

This means that there will be room for Vandoorne, who I am very excited to see in a race seat in F1.

[Hughesy 254]

My only memory of Massa is his dad celebrating him winning the championship, then realising that Hamilton had won it. I'm surprised Lewis got out of Brazil alive. 

[Mexicola 10]

http://www.verstappen.nl/nl/article/9882/

Translation according to reddit: "Max wanted to speak with Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel to clear the air. "We wanted to plan a meeting, but they were very busy. So we couldn't meet. But it is good to give our opinions and to have a discussion. Nevertheless, Spa is behind us. It was all unfortunate but it is over."

Good man/Max.

[HelmetSquad 0]

With Toto Wolff having a financial interest in Williams; perhaps Wehrlein?

[Mexicola 10]

Toto sold his shares earlier in the year if I recall, so I doubt it.

[couger1981 89]

Red bull seems to be off the pace this weekend so looks like a duel between Mercedes and Ferrari.

[HelmetSquad 0]

Mexicola said:

Toto sold his shares earlier in the year if I recall, so I doubt it.

Ah yes you are right.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/123186

[VetteIfan 0]

MBKF1 said:

As Fernando Alonso and McLaren have said before, if they wanted to win the world championship then it had to be as a works team, which is what they're doing with Honda.

People have asked Fernando if it hurts to see Ferrari beating McLaren, but at the end of the day, Ferrari are still not winning the championship anyway. McLaren was the best opportunity for Alonso to win the title. Yes, they're struggling at the moment, but they're making quick progress and I really really have my fingers crossed for some podiums next year.

Therefore I can totally see why Perez would go to Renault. Like Alonso, he may be beaten by his old team for a year or two, but Renault will come good eventually.

But he's not going to win a title at McLaren either, so ultimately he's chosen to waste several years of his career fighting in the midfield with McLaren rather than compete for podiums and the occasional win with Ferrari. As much as he likes to deny it, I think we all know what he would rather have been doing. 

Also to everyone thinking Massa's announcement is good news for JB - according to most F1 journos, Button isn't even in the frame for the Williams seat any more. Apparently they're looking at Nasr. Who is younger, much cheaper, brings sponsorship and is potentially a strong driver in his own right, so he wouldn't be a surprising choice, as much as I would like to see Button stay on the grid. 

[Hughesy 254]

Nasr a strong driver?  That's hilarious  :joy: