Williams Martini Racing 2015

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JAPANESE GRAND PRIX

27 SEP 2015
Race Notes:
• Valtteri Bottas finished the Japanese Grand Prix in fifth place, whilst teammate Felipe Massa finished in 17th.
• Valtteri was jumped by Vettel at the start but held on to third in the early stages after passing Rosberg on the first lap.
• Contact with Ricciardo at the start resulted in a front-right puncture for Felipe, with him needing to pit for new tyres and front wing on the first lap.
• Being a lap down after the stop made it difficult for Felipe to challenge for points today.
• Valtteri ultimately finished in a comfortable fifth after being passed by Raikkonen at the final round of pitstops collecting an important ten points for the team to extend the gap to Red Bull Racing in the Constructors’ Championship to 69 points.

Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: It was a tough race for the team today. Unfortunately I don’t think we showed the pace we were hoping for. Felipe had a bad start which was further compounded when he received a puncture following a collision with Ricciardo. He then had to complete a whole lap on three tyres which put him down by a lap and effectively ended his chances of a competitive race. Valtteri had a good position at the start and was driving very well. Our call on the first stop was the right one and kept us in front of Rosberg, but our second stop was too late and so we lost the position to Raikkonen. We have further solidified our third place in the Championship but leave Suzuka with the knowledge that we could have achieved more.

Valtteri Bottas: Not a perfect day for us, but we will take the ten points. I was hoping for a podium, but the pace wasn’t as good as we had expected. Defending from the quicker cars was hard and I think we should have pitted earlier for the final stop, but it’s always easier to say that after the race.

Felipe Massa: A very tough day for me today right from the first lap. I had a bad start and then had contact with Ricciardo and it took me a long time to get back to the pits. From there it was the end of the race barring any miracle. We have scored some decent points for the Constructors’ Championship with Valtteri’s fifth but I had the car to contribute a good haul of points as well. We have to regroup and get those points back at the next race.

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F1 cockpit cam: See the driver at work

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Wow engine is so quiet

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Rob Smedley
The objectives for the Championship are fairly clear. We are looking to reduce the gap to the teams in front and extend the gap to the teams behind and we hope to further realise those goals in Russia. The facilities in Sochi are excellent considering it’s a new track and we are hoping for another good race, with plenty of overtaking like last year. The track has some quick straights and low speed corners, so the compromise on downforce has to be correct. Sochi is a circuit that suits our car with high power and drag sensitivities. We managed to have a good weekend last year from a performance point of view and we will be looking to build on this.

Felipe Massa
Russia is a very nice track with a few long straights which makes it interesting for overtaking. The circuit has almost everything, starting with a straight and then moving into high-speed corners and then very slow corners in the middle sector. This makes setting up the car really important and the importance of downforce evident. I hope to make amends for qualifying last year and I’m confident we can have a competitive race.

Valtteri Bottas
We had a good result last year in Russia so we’re expecting another strong weekend and a good collection of points. We all know the track now and it has a really good flow, with the long straights a good fit for our car. The fans were passionate last year so we look forward to putting on another good show for them. Pace wise we were close to Mercedes in Japan and I think we can be close again in Sochi, just like we were in 2014.

Full breakdown.
http://www.williamsf1.com/racing/news/r ... rixpreview

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RUSSIAN GP PRACTICE

09 OCT 2015
Sochi, Russia

5.848kms / 3.633 miles

FP1
Weather: Mild and Wet
Air & Track Temperatures: 19-21°C / 22-24°C
F Massa, FW37-02, PU106B Hybrid 1:46.333 (12th)
V Bottas, FW37-04, PU106B Hybrid 1:45.756 (8th)
Quickest Time: N Hulkenberg (1:44.355)

FP2
Weather: Mild and Wet
Air & Track Temperatures: 13-14°C / 18-19°C
F Massa, FW37-02, PU106B Hybrid 2:00.458 (1st)
V Bottas, FW37-04, PU106B Hybrid 2:00.688 (3rd)
Quickest Time: F Massa


Objectives: Wet set-up and tyre work.

Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: It was quite a stunted session today which stopped us from completing all of the work we wanted to. We had planned to run in the wet but we had a strange situation this afternoon in that half of the circuit was much wetter than the other half which made most of the tests null and void. We have been working on the wet set-up of the car and so wanted to get out at the end of FP2 to see the progress we have made. In a similar vein to our low speed corner work in Singapore, we seem to be making progress. We got through all of the bits and pieces we wanted to get through in terms of control systems and power unit set-up, and we have to go into tomorrow with a good plan for FP3 to get the car set-up for qualifying and the race.

Felipe Massa: We weren’t able to complete a lot of laps today with the wet weather in the afternoon and the spillage that disrupted the morning session. The laps we did complete gave us some understanding of the track and what it’s like in wet conditions, but it’s difficult to say where we are compared to other teams at this stage because there weren’t many cars out on track. Tomorrow morning will be busy for everyone and we need to make sure we make the most of the final practice session.

Valtteri Bottas: The track conditions made today difficult to get a full testing programme complete but it was the same for everyone. We still tried to maximise both of the sessions and we managed to learn a few things about the tyres and how the car performs in wet conditions. We now need to make a good plan for FP3 because, like in Japan, it will be a very important session to get us ready for qualifying and the race.

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RUSSIAN GP QUALIFYING

10 OCT 2015
Qualifying Notes
• Valtteri Bottas qualified third and Felipe Massa fifteenth for tomorrow’s Russian Grand Prix.
• Valtteri showed strong and consistent pace in all qualifying sessions to start P3 for the second year in a row.
• Traffic on his first quick laps and a mistake when the tyres were past their best prevented Felipe from making it through into Q3.

Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: Valtteri did a fantastic job today. He kept chipping away and putting in good laps, and when it counted he delivered what he needed to do. We had very little data to go into that qualifying session with, but the team worked really well to try and understand what we had to do in terms of tyre strategy and that bore fruit for Valtteri in Q3. Felipe’s qualifying didn’t go to plan which is a shame because with the pace of the car he was definitely on for a second or third row position. The car is looking very quick around here so we need to convert this into a podium for Valtteri, and with Felipe we have the car to make our way through the pack and score some good points.

Valtteri Bottas: It was a strong job by the team today – we managed to set-up the car well and maximise our performance. I felt very good in the car all day and managed to get in a rhythm quickly and put in consistent lap times despite the limited number of laps we had completed in practice. Tomorrow is where it really matters but I have put myself in a very good position to capitalise.

Felipe Massa: I made a mistake at turn eight in my first timed lap in Q2, and then in my final two attempts I came up against a lot of traffic which lost me a lot of time. On my final run my tyres were gone at the rear and that was the end of my chances. It’s a shame and I’m very disappointed, but I have a quick car around here so we need to have a good strategy and use our pace to move up into the points tomorrow

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RUSSIAN GRAND PRIX

11 OCT 2015
Race Notes:
• Felipe Massa finished 4th, with Valtteri Bottas classified 12th after an accident on the final lap ended his chances of a podium in today’s Russian Grand Prix.
• Valtteri was set for third place after overtaking Perez on the penultimate lap on newer tyres, but was hit by Raikkonen on the final lap and his race ended in the barrier at T4.
• Starting down in P15, Felipe drove a strong and consistent race to make his way through the pack and score some valuable points for the team.
• Congratulations to Mercedes who have clinched the 2015 Constructors’ Championship today.

Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: Obviously we are bitterly disappointed to lose what looked like a deserved podium finish on the last lap of the race. The team has done a good job and made the right strategy calls, and both drivers did a fantastic job, so to come away with less points than we should have and no silverware is frustrating. Pirelli did a good job with the tyres this week and on different strategies our cars managed to make them work for us when needed. We now have to go on to the USA and Mexico in good spirits and to use the positives of this race weekend and the strong pace we have shown to make amends and have another strong weekend.

Valtteri Bottas: It was quite a strange race with lots of accidents and safety cars, and we managed to do a very good job as a team to give me a good shot at the podium. I was running in P3 on the last lap and then I was hit from behind in Turn 4 and that was it. It’s difficult to describe the disappointment because the team has worked so hard all week to get a good result, and then the result we feel like we deserved was lost with only one lap remaining. It’s a tough end to the weekend.

Felipe Massa: It was a good result for me today and we managed to do well to fight back from a disappointing qualifying yesterday. I lost a bit of time behind slower cars at the beginning of the race because I was on harder tyres than those around me, but the pace was very good on the supersofts at the end. This allowed me to close up and be in a position to collect more points on the final lap due to the incidents up ahead.

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Williams looking for aerodynamicist

http://www.williamsf1.com/pages/careers ... dynamicist

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https://twitter.com/formulaspy/status/6 ... 1356887040

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Electric Aston Martin Rapide to develop 1000bhp

"Called the Aston Martin RapidE, the new model is set to go on sale in around two years' time. Targeted first at China as a way of meeting pressing fleet average CO2 regulations, it has been developed by Williams Advanced Engineering in Grove with assistance from a Shanghai-based investment partner, ChinaEquity. Aston Martin eventually intends to offer the car for sale around the world."



http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-c ... op-1000bhp

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US GP RACE

25 OCT 2015
Austin, United States
5.531kms / 3.436 miles

Race Notes:

Felipe and Valtteri both retired from the United States Grand Prix with damper failures.
Both cars suffered contact in separate incidents at the first corner. Valtteri gambled on dry tyres when pitting for repairs but retired shortly afterwards.
Felipe fought his way back up to 10th after his spin at the first corner, but was forced to retire on lap 24.
Congratulations to Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes on securing the Drivers’ Championship.


Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: A truly disappointing weekend for us to finish with no points. Valtteri was very quickly into retirement from a rear suspension failure. Felipe had good pace on the intermediate, we stopped him to fit the dry tyre and things were looking positive until he retired with the same problem. It’s bitterly disappointing, but there are three races to go and we have to bounce back to extend that gap to Red Bull. Mexico is a new circuit for everybody, the team has to remain positive and do the absolute best that we can. And finally congratulations to Lewis Hamilton for his third world championship.

Felipe Massa: It was a disappointing race. The first corner was very difficult with many things happening. I was involved in an accident which damaged the right side of my car. I carried on and was catching the cars in front but we had a problem with the damper, on both cars actually, so we had to stop. It’s not a nice weekend for all of us, so we need to concentrate on the next one.

Valtteri Bottas: It’s just not my day. I think that really sums it up. Two technical failures in the same day and it was the suspension failure that ended my race. The race didn’t start that well, there was damage to my front wing after lap one so I had to pit for that. We had to make a call to go to intermediates or risk the slicks. We tried the slicks, which was guided by me, I thought it could be possible. But it was the wrong call and we lost a lot of time there. In the end none of that matters because of the technical failure so there was no possibility for a result today, unfortunately.

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WILLIAMS SUPPORTS RELEASE OF SPECTRE IN MEXICO

29 OCT 2015
• WILLIAMS MARTINI RACING driver Felipe Massa plays Bond villain for the day in stunt Jaguar C-X75 featured in SPECTRE
• Drive at race track celebrates SPECTRE Americas Premiere and Formula One Grand Prix back in Mexico City
• Mexico City features heavily in the opening scenes of the 24th Bond adventure
• Jaguar C-X75 is driven by latest Bond nemesis Hinx in one of the movie’s most iconic high speed car chases in Rome
• The two WILLIAMS MARTINI RACING FW37s will carry 007 SPECTRE logos at this weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix to promote the release of the film
• Watch the film, here


Jaguar’s C-X75 supercar featured in the new Bond adventure, SPECTRE, made its Americas debut in Mexico City today with Williams Martini Racing driver Felipe Massa at the wheel. This activity celebrates the Americas movie premiere and the Formula One™ Gran Premio de Mexico.

SPECTRE, the 24th James Bond film, from Albert R. Broccoli’s EON Productions, Metro-Goldwyn Mayer Studios and Sony Pictures Entertainment, sees the Jaguar C-X75 driven by latest Bond nemesis Hinx in one of the movie’s most iconic high speed car chases.

Driven by actor Dave Bautista, who plays Hinx in the movie, the C-X75 supercar, named the most advanced Jaguar ever created, was provided by Jaguar Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) in collaboration with development partner Williams Advanced Engineering.

Williams Advanced Engineering, the technology and engineering services business of the Williams Group, collaborated with Jaguar Land Rover to design and build the original Jaguar C-X75 prototype, variations of which appear in the film in a spectacular car chase sequence through Rome alongside the Aston Martin DB10.

Seven new C-X75s were built at the Williams facility in collaboration with Jaguar Land Rover’s Special Operations division. This included two “hero” cars that retained the interior and hybrid powertrain of the original, and five stunt cars built with a level of robustness that could withstand complex and demanding stunt sequences, using a modified Jaguar supercharged V8 and a bespoke space-frame chassis.

Williams Martini Racing driver Felipe Massa, said: “It was a thrill to take the wheel of a real stunt car used in a Bond movie. Jaguar partnered with Williams Advanced Engineering on the production of these stunning supercars, so it was great to experience some of what my colleagues have developed outside of F1. It was so much fun, and very exciting to be driving the Jaguar on an actual SPECTRE location here in Mexico City.”

Williams will also display a 007 SPECTRE logo on the top of the chassis and 007 logos on the wing mirrors of both FW37s at this weekend’s race.

Speaking about the updated livery Claire Williams, Deputy Team Principal and Commercial Director of Williams, said: “As a quintessentially British team, we were more than happy to work with two other iconic British brands, in Jaguar Land Rover and the Bond franchise, to show our support this week for the much anticipated launch of SPECTRE.”