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Massa reveals McLaren talks

ESPN Staff
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Felipe Massa has revealed he was in talks with McLaren before signing for Williams for 2014.

After it was announced that Massa would be replaced by Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari next season he was linked with a move to Lotus as well as Sauber, Force India and Williams. Having confirmed where he would be driving next year, Massa said there were four teams he had spoken to and that McLaren was strongest but opted to promote Kevin Magnussen instead.

"I was talking to Lotus, but I was talking not only with Lotus," Massa said. "I was talking with Lotus, with Williams, with Force India and with McLaren. To be honest with everything that was happening, everything that I was looking for the future, I am more convinced that Williams was the right choice.

"Maybe a strong choice was going to be McLaren but McLaren chose a different direction for them. So in my opinion I think that Williams was the most constructive team for the future and I really believe that my choice was a very good one."

Acknowledging that Williams is enduring the worst season in its history, Massa said he was encouraged by the facilities available to the team to recover.

"It's a lot of work to try to get away from these difficult moments that Williams has been passing, but it is a very big team. I was really surprised by what I saw inside the company; I think they have all the possibilities and all the infrastructure to do a good job. It's always important to put the pieces together, and I'm very happy that the pieces are changing - so many pieces inside the team - to help and to try to put together change for the future to try to bring back Williams to what they were for a long time; a competitive team, a competitive car and part of the history of F1."

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