Williams sign Felipe Massa for 2014 F1 season
Williams have signed Brazil’s Felipe Massa as one of their drivers for the 2014 Formula One season, the British-based team announced Monday.
Massa, 32, joins from grid rivals Ferrari, for whom he has raced since the 2006 season, with Pastor Maldonado axed by Williams.
“The Williams F1 Team is delighted to announce that Felipe Massa will join the team to drive alongside Valtteri Bottas for the 2014 FIA Formula One World Championship season,” a team statement said.
“The new line-up reflects Williams’ determination to bring success back to the team.”
Massa, replaced by Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari from next year, has competed in 12 seasons, winning 11 races and with 36 podium finishes to his credit.
He narrowly missed out on the 2008 drivers’ world title to Britain’s Lewis Hamilton but helped Italian giants Ferrari win the constructors’ world title in both 2007 and 2008.
No Williams driver has won the world title since Canada’s Jacques Villeneuve in 1997, the same year the team won the last of its nine constructors’ titles.