British racing driver Alex Lynn will be joining Williams Martini Racing as Development Driver for the 2015 Formula One World Championship season. Lynn will mainly use the team's simulator to help setup the car for each race while helping the development of the team's car, the Mercedes-powered FW37
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19 JUN 2015
Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Austria
4.326kms / 2.688miles
FP1
Weather: Cool and dry
Air & Track Temperatures: 15 - 17°C / 24 - 30°C
V. Bottas, FW37-03, PU106B Hybrid 1:11.452 (4th)
F. Massa, FW37-02, PU106B Hybrid 1:11.890 (9th)
Quickest Time: N. Rosberg, 1:10.401
FP2
Weather: Cool and dry
Air & Track Temperatures: 16 - 17°C / 23 - 29°C
V. Bottas, FW37-03, PU106B Hybrid 1:10.746 (14th)
F. Massa, FW37-02, PU106B Hybrid 1:11.011 (15th)
Quickest Time: S: Vettel, 1:09.600
Objectives: Aero evaluations, set-up and tyre work.
Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: We had quite a few new parts to test today and so worked on different configurations of those throughout the day. We have a lot of data from both drivers and cars that we have to go through tonight in order to make sure we are getting the most from the package. The long runs this afternoon were extremely encouraging and so we end the day happy, with everything looking to be working well.
Valtteri Bottas: Our main aim today was to put the new parts we have through their paces and they all seem to be working as expected, which is encouraging. We have high targets for this weekend and we are still on course to meet these. The long run looks really positive and seem to be closer to the front than we have been previously.
Felipe Massa: We have had a good day with a lot going on in terms of changes to the set-up. We had a slight issue when we went out to set our fastest laps, but we have corrected these and feel comfortable moving forward. The long run looks strong but we have two very quick cars in front so it still won’t be an easy weekend.
Valtteri Bottas ‏@ValtteriBottas 4m4 minutes ago
Pleased to see the upgrades worked well today in the practice. Aiming for strong weekend here #AustrianGP
24 JUN 2015
Driver: Valtteri Bottas
Chassis / Engine: FW37-01 / PU106B Hybrid
Location: Red Bull Ring, Austria, 4.326km
Objectives: Aero and chassis work
Weather: Mild and Dry
Air & track temps: 13 - 21ºC / 18 - 32ºC
Rod Nelson, Chief Test & Support Engineer: We have had an excellent day today to complete the two-day test. We completed our scheduled programme including a number of additional items on top, which is really positive. We have a lot of data to go through now and have a clear direction in terms of development. It was great to have Susie back in the car yesterday, and Valtteri has built on that progress today.
Valtteri Bottas: It was a good day overall and luckily the weather was kinder to us. The work Susie did yesterday was really important as we continued our programme. We focused on aero and mechanical work, and now have a clearer idea where we need to push in terms of development. I now have to switch my focus to Silverstone, which I am really looking forward to.
03 JUL 2015
Silverstone, Northamptonshire
5.891kms / 3.660 miles
FP1
Weather: Warm and Dry
Air & Track Temperatures: 18 - 20°C / 31 - 38°C
F. Massa, FW37-02, PU106B Hybrid 1:36.469 (10th)
S. Wolff, FW37-04, PU106B Hybrid 1:37.242 (13th)
Quickest Time: N. Rosberg, 1:34.274
FP2
Weather: Warm and Dry
Air & Track Temperatures: 22 - 24°C / 39 - 46°C
F. Massa, FW37-02, PU106B Hybrid 1:36.148 (10th)
V. Bottas, FW37-03, PU106B Hybrid 1:36.183 (12th)
Quickest Time: N. Rosberg 1:34.155
Objectives: Aero evaluations, set-up and tyre work.
Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: It was a typical Friday at Silverstone. There was a lot of wind today, which made things a little inconsistent, but we completed our job list. We had a lot to do in terms of development and we also has some new parts to test which we will evaluate tonight to ensure they have worked as expected. Susie did a great job this morning and we then had a busy afternoon with Valtteri and have set ourselves up well for the weekend ahead.
Felipe Massa: It was not an easy day today as we found it difficult to find the right balance, especially on new tyres and with low fuel. With the high fuel though the car was good, consistent and where we expected it to be. The most important job we need to do now is concentrate on the new tyres for qualifying as our race pace isn’t far off where we want it.
Valtteri Bottas: Missing this first practice means I spent a bit of time at the start of FP2 getting used to the conditions and the track’s grip. Looking at the lap times there is a bit of time to find, but we are improving the balance and have some further changes to make which will help. I struggled with the tyre temperatures over one lap so that will be tonight’s focus for me.
Susie Wolff: It was great to be back in the car especially at Silverstone. It’s not easy to jump into the car after such a long time, so to be within eight tenths off Felipe isn’t, I left a bit on the table but completed my programme. The team did a great job to get me ready and fully prepared so I am grateful to them for that.
04 JUL 2015
Silverstone, Northamptonshire
5.891kms / 3.660 miles
Qualifying Notes
• Felipe qualified third and Valtteri fourth to secure an all-Williams second row for tomorrow’s British Grand Prix.
• As the final runs of Q3 approached Valtteri sat P3 with Felipe P4, but it was Felipe who was to improve on his final run to move ahead of his teammate.
Q1
V. Bottas: 1:34.171 (5th)
F. Massa: 1:34.542 (9th)
Quickest Time, K. Raikkonen: 1:33.426
Q2
V. Bottas: 1:33.020 (2nd)
F. Massa: 1:33.707 (7th)
Quickest Time, N. Rosberg: 1:32.737
Q3
F. Massa: 1:33.085 (3rd)
V. Bottas: 1:33.149 (4th)
Quickest time, L. Hamilton: 1:32.248
Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: I'm really happy with how qualifying went, it's a great position and is well deserved. The improvement from yesterday shows we did the right homework yesterday and after FP3. The main thing now is to convert it into the right amount of points tomorrow. We're going to be doing everything we can to get at least one of our cars on the podium. The car has been good over long runs all weekend, so hopefully that should bode well for the race.
Felipe Massa: It was a fantastic day for us at our home grand prix and it's great to have us P3 and P4. I enjoyed fighting closely with Valtteri and exchanging lap times. The wind into Copse was really strong and that affected the balance of the car, so I made sure to be cautious and not to waste a lap by running wide. It's very important for us to show that we have the pace to get both cars ahead of everyone except from Mercedes. Tomorrow won't be easy but we are ready for it and it will be an exciting race.
Valtteri Bottas: We knew how much we could improve today but we were still a little bit surprised it was so much and that's a good thing because tomorrow could be a very good race for us. Of course you always want to be in front of your teammate but we had a good battle and Felipe improved a bit more at the end. It's great to be in front of our closest championship rivals with both of our cars. That is a really good starting point and we now have the upper hand for the podium fight.
05 JUL 2015
Silverstone, Northamptonshire
5.891kms / 3.660 miles
Race Notes:
• Felipe Massa finished fourth and Valtteri Bottas fifth after running 1-2 in the first stint of an exciting British Grand Prix today.
• After a brilliant start, Felipe took the lead of the race, holding on to the position until the first round of pitstops.
• Valtteri was racing for second off the start, eventually holding third until he was able to capitalise on a mistake from Hamilton to retake the position after a brief safety car period.
• Hamilton jumped both cars in the first pitstops before rain played havoc with the field allowing Rosberg and Vettel to move ahead as they stopped for intermediates.
Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: There were a few moments in the race where things didn’t go our way. We have to remain positive and proud of our result. The pace we showed throughout this weekend was great, we had a stunning race up until the rain came. We raced two cars against both Mercedes for a majority of the race which shows the hard work and upgrades we are bringing to the car are all working. We closed the gap on second position and moved further ahead of fourth, so it has been a good weekend.
Felipe Massa: It is a frustrating result because the race was amazing today. I had a fantastic start and we were fighting with Mercedes the whole time, it could even have been possible to win the race if it had stayed dry, which is great to see. It was a shame to lost positions in the rain. We waited one lap longer on the second stop which is where we lost the opportunity to be on the podium. That shower also highlighted the car’s weakness in the wet.
Valtteri Bottas: In some ways it was an incredibly frustrating race, and others it was very pleasing. Both cars had great starts and we raced the Mercedes with genuine pace, but when the rain came I really struggled with the intermediate tyre. I was allowed to race Felipe, but it was hard to get through, and I didn’t want to make any mistakes. We have to have a look the race data and make sure we continue to learn from this.
Rob Smedley received an Honorary Doctorate from Loughborough University yesterday, as recognition of his outstanding contribution to Formula 1 engineering
"A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool."~William Shakespeare