Felipe Massa had to break an agreement to race in Formula E this year, according to the Spanish sports daily Marca.
Although the Brazilian had officially retired from formula one, it is believed Williams convinced him to return in 2017 in order to replace Valtteri Bottas.
None of the news is official, but Bottas will reportedly head to Mercedes for 2017, following Nico Rosberg’s shock decision to quit the sport as world champion.
As a result of the late shakeup, Marca claims Massa actually broke a "preliminary contract" he had agreed with a Formula E team for 2017.
"The deal was done," correspondent Jaime Martin said. "However, with Rosberg’s decision, everything changed."
The report said Massa’s contract with the unnamed Formula E team was broken "amicably".