Felipe Massa not worried about talk of Williams return for Jenson Button

British driver may be on his way out of McLaren and is rumoured to be set to replace Brazilian at Williams.

There is speculation Felipe Massa, centre, may be replaced by Jenson Button at Williams next season. Ahmed Jadallah / Reuters

Brazilian Felipe Massa is not afraid that Jenson Button could replace him at Williams next year with the British team interested in a romantic move for the 2009 world champion.

Button, who began his Formula One career at Williams in 2000, is out of contract with McLaren at the end of the year.

And with Stoffel Vandoorne, the highly-rated McLaren reserve driver – who deputised for Fernando Alonso in Bahrain earlier this year – waiting in the wings, Button may be without a seat for 2017.

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Button began his career with Williams as a 20-year-old, and a move back to the Grove-based team for one final hurrah could be seen as the perfect bookend to his world championship-winning career.

But asked if speculation linking Button to Williams was unsettling, a defiant Massa told Press Association Sport: “For sure not. We all know about rumours in Formula One, and to be honest I am zero scared and worried about anything.

“I am really happy working for Williams - this is a team which gives me a lot of pleasure to work for - and I see the same with them working for me.

“It would be nice to stay, but it would be nice to stay in a team where you really see that you can do a good job and have a good future. I am ready for everything to be honest.”

Massa, the only driver to finish in the top 10 at every race this season, joined Williams in 2014 after a long association with Ferrari which saw him miss out on the title to Lewis Hamilton by just one point in 2008.

And the 35-year-old, hinting at moves to the popular World Endurance Championship or FIA’s electric series Formula E, says he would only remain in Formula One if he is competing at the sharp end of the grid.

“I want to be doing Formula One when I have a team that I really feel happy to work with, and a team that can be competitive,” Massa added. “If I am working in a team that I know will be at the back, I will decide to stop and do a different thing.

“I like WEC and maybe even Formula E. It is a series that is growing, and maybe in two or three years it will be completely different and more enthusiastic for the drivers in terms of the cars.”

A move to Williams is likely to see Button team up with Valtteri Bottas. The 26-year-old Finn was heavily linked with a move to Ferrari for 2016 before the Italian constructor opted to re-sign Kimi Raikkonen for a further season.

“I have been at Williams for a long time and I would like to stay, but it is way too early to say if I am going to be here next year or not,” Bottas told Press Association Sport.

“I want to win, which is the same for the team. We are working hard for that and I really hope we can do it together, but only time will tell if it is possible or not.”

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