Felipe Massa begins talks over 2017 Williams Formula 1 deal

The Brazilian is the only driver to have scored in all six grands prix of 2016 so far and is seventh in the drivers' championship, eight points clear of team-mate Valtteri Bottas.

When asked by Autosport if he had started talks with Williams, Massa said: "Yeah, sure. We are working on it.

"I'm definitely not losing time to understand what is going to happen next year.

"We are working on it and we'll see what's going to happen."

Massa believes his experience, which includes eight seasons at Ferrari, can play a crucial part in aiding car development at a time of major rule change.

"I still believe it can be very important to have a driver who knows what to say," he said.

"They know where to improve, which being honest is what I did in the last few years with Williams.

"Part of this improvement of this team is also totally related to my points, my experience and my help to make the car better and make the team better as well, which is what we saw in the last two years."

Bottas said he had "not yet" started talks with Williams about continuing with the team as a race driver for a fifth season.

"I think it's too early for this to start," he said.

Massa says he would like to try other motorsports in the future but not until after F1.

"It would be nice to try whatever, different cars, whatever different categories," he said, when asked about Romain Grosjean's desire to contest a NASCAR race between grands prix.

"I really don't see myself racing NASCAR as it's completely different and you need to start from zero again. It's like maybe going to do rallying, it's completely different.

"But I do see myself racing in other categories, maybe WEC, maybe DTM, maybe Formula E. I don't know. We'll see."