Indycar, WEC alternatives fade for Massa

Aug.25 - Felipe Massa has played down any claims he might keep his racing dream alive for 2017 by switching to Indycar.

As Williams reconsiders its next driver lineup, the Brazilian has said he needs a competitive seat in order to stay in F1 for a sixteenth season.

But Turun Sanomat, a Finnish newspaper, said the door to the works Renault team appears to have been closed to Massa, with the 35-year-old's manager Nicholas Todt and Renault chief Frederic Vasseur having fallen out.

"I'll do what is best for me next year," Massa is quoted as saying by correspondent Luis Vasconcelos.

"I'm not interested in just driving -- I want to win races, or at least fight for the podium."

But he said switching to Indycar, where many of his Brazilian compatriots have found a home over the years, is not an option.

"I'm not at all keen about driving on ovals, because I think the risks are too high and the driver's influence is less than on a normal race track," he said.

The report claimed that representatives for Massa recently travelled to the Nurburgring round of the world endurance championship, but were not met with enthusiasm by manufacturers Porsche, Audi or Toyota.

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