F1's Brazilian duo face uncertain future

Aug.9 - F1's two Brazilian drivers are each facing an uncertain future beyond 2016.

The most experienced of the pair is Felipe Massa, the long-time Ferrari driver whose current employer Williams is openly assessing its options for 2017.

But Valtteri Bottas, Massa's current teammate, thinks the British team would be wise to keep the 35-year-old on board.

"Massa is undervalued," the Finn is quoted by the Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat as saying. "He is still driving really well.

"It depends on Felipe as well, but personally I see no reason why he can't continue," Bottas added.

Their technical boss, Pat Symonds, apparently agrees, even though deputy team chief Claire Williams has named Jenson Button and Sergio Pérez as potential alternatives.

Symonds, however, said: "Drivers are one of the things I am satisfied with regarding our team."

Arguably with a more secure future than Massa is his countryman with an almost identical name -- Felipe Nasr.

Over a decade younger and with millions in Banco do Brasil sponsorship, Nasr currently drives for the recently-sold Swiss team Sauber.

He told Brazil's UOL Esporte: "It is not me who takes care of the issue of the contract -- I have good people working on it.

"I need to consider all the options and see what is best for us."

The report said Haas could be one alternative, with his manager Steve Robertson said to have been in talks with the Ferrari-linked American team.

Current Haas driver Esteban Gutierrez told UOL Esporte: "Yes, I will continue in formula one. In Haas? We'll see, but definitely I will be in F1."

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Leopold

Leopold Pleijsier founded F1-Fansite.com in 2001 and has followed Formula 1 since the early 1980s. He writes about daily F1 news, race weekends, drivers and the sport’s history.

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