--- title: "Dissecting the race for the second Williams seat" canonical: "https://readmotorsport.com/2017/09/25/dissecting-race-second-williams-seat/" type: "post" language: "en-GB" author: "Kyran Gibbons" section: "Formula 1" published: "2017-09-25T16:53:17Z" modified: "2017-09-25T22:27:31Z" --- # Dissecting the race for the second Williams seat The Singapore Grand Prix weekend was one of seismic implications. Sebastian Vettel’s misjudgement off the line gifted title rival Lewis Hamilton a significant championship advantage. Off track, McLaren finally announced its impending divorce with beleaguered power unit partners Honda. With Carlos Sainz Jr being loaned to Renault – in conjunction with the power unit politics that will see the Honda supply head to Toro Rosso next season – and Fernando Alonso now likely to stay at a Renault powered McLaren outfit in 2018, the driver market conundrum is nearing its conclusion. Williams is now the team with the most sought after seat. With Lance Stroll continuing for another season, three drivers are under consideration for the second seat – incumbent Felipe Massa, super-sub Paul di Resta and the fans favourite Robert Kubica. Williams faces unique challenges when it comes to selecting a driver line-up. Their heritage and ambition demands that it fields a box-office pairing, but recent form and budget restraints no doubt inhibits the team from capturing elite names. It is believed Williams made an offer for Alonso’s services without success last month. ![Mark Thompson/Getty Images Sport](https://media.readmotorsport.com/readmotorsport/2017/09/847336582.jpg) To further complicate matters, title-sponsor Martini requires one of the team’s drivers to be over 25-years-old. This allows the alcohol brand to use at least one of the pairing at promotional events across the globe. With 18-year-old Stroll occupying one seat, drivers such as Pascal Wehrlein are ruled out of contention for the second from the start. As a result, when Nico Rosberg announced his shock retirement from Formula 1 and Williams’ Valtteri Bottas was confirmed as his replacement at Mercedes, Williams looked to Felipe Massa to fill the newly created void. Massa, who had announced his own retirement, was recalled to the team. Ultimately, Williams had few alternative options. Stroll needed the support of an experienced team-mate; Martini demanded a driver over 25; world motorsport’s top drivers had already sealed deals in their respective categories. Massa was Williams’ only option. In 2018, the team finds themselves in an entirely different position. Massa, di Resta and Kubica are all candidates who are not in demand elsewhere and therefore not about to be snatched by a rival, and Williams has the most coveted seat still available for ‘18. Retaining Massa would be the unadventurous choice. However, that was exactly the criticism aimed at Williams when it re-signed the Brazilian in December last year. His performance this season has been solid – if admittedly unspectacular – and he currently sits 11th in the drivers’ standings on 31 points. In an FW40 that has failed to live up to expectations and proved to be inconsistent throughout the season, Massa’s performances have ultimately vindicated Williams’ decision – not least for the positive impact that he has no doubt had on Stroll’s rapid development. ![Mark Thompson/Getty Images Sport](https://media.readmotorsport.com/readmotorsport/2017/09/847247128.jpg) However, if Massa is signed into another season of midfield obscurity, it will surely be difficult for him to find motivation. He has nothing more to prove and has already openly admitted his plans to join Formula E after his F1 adventure. If Williams is in search of unrelenting motivation alone, then Robert Kubica would be hired in an instant. Kubica was forced out of F1 due to a rally accident which nearly cost him his life in January 2011. His injuries – in particular those to his right arm – significantly hampered his ability to drive a racing car. Despite returning to rally as part of his rehabilitation, Kubica himself admitted in 2013 that a return to F1 would be “nearly impossible” on account of his physical limitations. After undergoing several operations since, as well as driving rally cars, sportscars and testing Formula E machinery, Kubica has found renewed determination to make it back to F1. Signing a short-term contract with Renault earlier this year, Kubica tested the 2012 Lotus E20 at Valencia before jumping in the team’s 2017 machinery at the post-Hungary test. Despite high mileage being completed on both test days, the results were inconclusive. Assessments of Kubica’s performance vary in positivity. Renault’s signing of Sainz for 2018 effectively ended the dream of a Kubica comeback with his former team. Williams has provided him with a lifeline. The team is set to run Kubica in their 2014 FW37 at an as yet un-named European circuit in a private test in the coming weeks. They will seemingly conclude the evaluation process that Renault started. ![Charles Coates/Getty Images Sport](https://media.readmotorsport.com/readmotorsport/2017/09/825507232.jpg) Should they deem Kubica physically able to meet the demands placed on a current grand prix driver, it would be a no-brainer to place the Pole in the second car. Title sponsor Martini would not only have their age criteria fulfilled, but would also have a hugely marketable driver at their disposal. Williams as an independent team needs to generate publicity in order to indirectly grow its resources and he would be a significant asset in this regard. Kubica was hailed by many pundits and rivals as one of the very best drivers in F1 prior to his accident. While current Williams reserve driver Paul di Resta failed to obtain such significant acclaim, he too is deserving of an opportunity to return to the paddock in a race seat. Di Resta competed at Force India between 2011 and ‘13. In his 58 races at the team, di Resta’s best result was fourth in the ‘13 Bahrain Grand Prix. However, the Scot was renowned for his consistency rather than flair or an ability to grab a shock result. This trait will mean fewer headlines and in many ways, served to attribute to di Resta’s exit from Force India at the end of 2013 – a season in which he secured seven points finishes in the opening eight races. ![Lars Baron/Getty Images Sport](https://media.readmotorsport.com/readmotorsport/2017/09/824192616.jpg) Di Resta impressed on his cameo appearance at this year’s Hungarian Grand Prix, where he deputised for an unwell Massa. Despite the remarkably short notice given, he out-qualified Marcus Ericsson’s Sauber in what was not only his first competitive F1 running since 2013, but his first ever laps completed in V6 hybrid era machinery. However, if Williams promotes di Resta, they would arguably find themselves once again failing to excite their fans and sponsors with a dynamic driver pairing. Di Resta is no doubt a safe pair of hands – as was proven by his solid performance in Hungary – but after a season of Massa and Stroll, Williams may feel that taking a chance on Kubica is a worthwhile gamble. It remains to be seen whether a Kubica return would be viable. Given the publicity and popularity that Williams and F1 in general would stand to gain from plugging the ‘comeback-king’ into its 2018 line-up, should the imminent tests provide conclusive results, it would surely be an obvious choice. The dream of a second chance for one of this era’s most talented drivers is still very much alive.