2016 Williams Martini Racing F1 Team - Mercedes

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BRAZILIAN GRAND PRIX PRACTICE

11 NOV 2016
FP1
Weather: Hot and dry
Air & Track Temperatures: 26-29C / 36-46C
V Bottas, FW38-03, PU106C Hybrid, 1:13.129 (5th)
F Massa, FW38-02, PU106C Hybrid, 1:13.318 (8th)
Quickest time: L Hamilton, 1:11.895

FP2
Weather: Hot and dry
Air & Track Temperatures: 30-32C / 46-54C
V Bottas, FW38-03, PU106C Hybrid, 1:12.761 (3rd)
F Massa, FW38-02, PU106C Hybrid, 1:12.789 (4th)
Quickest time: L. Hamilton 1:12.271

Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: We are pleasantly surprised at how good our pace was today. We’ve done a lot of set-up and development work in the simulator, and then subsequently on the track here, and the drivers are happy with the results. We knew we had to take a slightly different approach for a track like this, with the low-speed corners, so that’s what we’ve been concentrating on. Both the low and high fuel runs looked good, we could run the soft tyre easily as long as we need to, and it was good on the medium tyre as well. There was a lot of degradation on the high fuel, but the degradation was high today so the aim is to have relatively less than other people. Felipe suffered a flat spot on his long run that knocked his pace back a little bit, but overall we’re in good shape.

Valtteri Bottas: For a Friday, it was good. The balance was quite good in the first run, so it has just been fine tuning after that. The long runs were consistent, the car feels ok and the pace seems promising. But it’s only Friday so, like every weekend, we will need to find a lot more for tomorrow because everyone else will improve as well. I’m happy with today, but it’s tomorrow and Sunday that count. I think we can be more competitive than we were in the last race, but it’s difficult to say in detail after practice because everyone is trying different things.

Felipe Massa: It’s definitely been a good day. It’s always nice to see your name near the top of the leaderboard. I’m really looking for that competitiveness tomorrow and especially on Sunday. This is a track that I love and the people here really support me, which gives me so much more confidence. I hope we can stay up there this weekend. It won’t be easy but I will definitely try!

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BRAZILIAN GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING

12 NOV 2016
Autódromo José Carlos Pace, Brazil
4.309km / 2.677 miles

Weather: Cool and damp
Temperature: Air 18-20C / Track 26-29C

Q1
F. Massa 1:12.432 (8th)
V. Bottas 1:12.680 (9th)
Quickest time: L Hamilton 1:11.511

Q2
V. Bottas 1:12.420 (11th)
F. Massa 1:12.521 (13th)
Quickest time: L Hamilton 1:11.238

Q3
V. Bottas -
F. Massa -
Quickest time: L Hamilton 1:10.736


Qualifying Notes
• Valtteri Bottas qualified 11th and Felipe Massa 13th for the Brazilian Grand Prix.
• Valtteri’s single run in Q1 was enough to progress to Q2 in P9. Felipe ran twice, with his second run on soft tyres sending him through in P8.
• Valtteri was P7 after the first run in Q2, but as the field tightened his second run wasn’t enough to progress into Q3, falling short by just a tenth of a second.
• Felipe improved on the second lap of his first run of Q2, to sit P8 on the leaderboard. However, as other cars crossed the line, Felipe dropped into the knock-out zone and was unable to improve on his second run after suffering from understeer.

Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: Today’s qualifying was disappointing for us because the car has been quick, especially over one lap, all weekend. When we needed to put the laps together, they just didn’t come off. It’s unfortunate because we were just a few tenths off Ferrari, right up until the time we needed to get the important laps in and they didn’t come. That’s just how it is, and we’ve got to look ahead positively to the race. We’re starting on the clean side with a free choice of tyres, so we’ll have a look at what we’re going to do with the strategy. The car is quick and it’s been very good in the long runs, so we’ll see what comes out of it tomorrow. I’m sure we can score some good points.

Valtteri Bottas: It’s obviously disappointing to be out before Q3. Our pace all weekend has been very good, as has the set-up; but for some reason in qualifying we were just not quick enough, while some other cars were surprisingly fast. I doubt we got everything out of these cooler conditions today, but the race is tomorrow. It will be a fight with Force India again, but at least now we might have the upper hand with the strategy.

Felipe Massa: This definitely wasn’t the greatest result because I expected to easily be fighting in Q3. The car didn’t work in the proper way and the front tyres stopped working. I was suffering from understeer and my best lap of Q2 ended up being my first one, so we need to understand what happened. But it was absolutely amazing to get out of the car and feel the support from the crowd, and to feel the love I have for these people as well as the love they have for me. I’m not happy with the result for them, but I will try everything I can tomorrow to give them a better result, as well as for my team, especially as it’s my last race here in Brazil.

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BRAZILIAN GRAND PRIX

13 NOV 2016
Autodromo José Carlos Pace, Brazil
4.309km / 2.677 miles

Weather: Extreme rain
Temperature: Air 18-19C Track 19-21C

Race Notes:

- Valtteri Bottas finished 11th and Felipe Massa retired from the Brazilian Grand Prix

- The start was delayed due to heavy rain and a series of safety car periods and two red flags, on laps 21 and 28, broke the race into several segments

- Both drivers lost track position when the first red flag penalised their early switch to intermediate tyres

- Valtteri contested the points placings for much of the race, and made up two places on the final lap

- Felipe was making good progress in the treacherous conditions until he crashed out of his last home grand prix on lap 47, prompting emotional scenes as he was cheered by fans and greeted by teams as he walked back down the pitlane

- Valtteri remains eighth and Felipe 11th in the Drivers’ Championship. The team stays fifth in the Constructors’ Championship

Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: We knew we needed to do something different to get in the points. We hoped the rain would ease off enough to cause the extreme wet tyre to wear, so that our early decision to switch to the intermediates would give us the advantage. Unfortunately, with all the safety cars and red flag periods, it allowed everyone to keep changing their wet tyres for fresh ones, so we never saw the benefit. We did our best in difficult conditions but the safety cars and stoppages didn’t help us. It was a shame that Felipe had to end his race the way he did, as it would have been great for him to get a good result. You could see that he was absolutely filled with emotion, as he has been all weekend, and this final home race for him, in front of his fans and surrounded by friends and family must be something very special for him. It’s been an emotional rollercoaster. Credit must also go to Max Verstappen, who was in a class of his own today and was incredible to watch. He may have even won the race had it gone on a few laps longer. Thank you as well to all the fans who stayed to watch despite all the delays.

Valtteri Bottas: It was a very difficult day in very difficult conditions. We managed to keep the car in one piece but it wasn’t easy. We had quite a lot of potential with the strategy, but in the end the intermediate tyres starting working a bit too late for us. It’s a shame that Force India got a lot more points than us, so it’s going to be tricky in Abu Dhabi. We were just really unlucky today with the timing of our strategy. It’s been amazing to see the support here for Felipe and I’m sure he really appreciated it. We’ll enjoy Abu Dhabi.

Felipe Massa: It’s impossible to explain my feelings from today, for everything that has happened. So much love. We couldn’t finish the race. I wanted to finish in the right way, with the flag on the top. Unfortunately, I couldn’t, but I think God knows what to do. I was just walking, in front of my people, with this amazing reaction. Not just from the fans but from all the people in Formula One coming out to clap their hands for me. It’s impossible to explain these emotions. I never expected this in my life, I don’t think I deserved as much as this. The minimum I can say is thank you very much to everyone, all the people I’ve worked with, all of the fans. I will never forget this day.

[bill shoe]

Ron Dennis and Frank Williams are the last old school I-put-it-together-myself team principals, and of course we are about to lose Mr. Dennis. I know Frank will undoubtedly have words for him. Wonder if Frank will choose to say anything publically.

If nothing else it's a reminder how precious it is to F1's heritage to have Mr. Williams still there and regularly attending races.

[Mr Brooksy]

I think Sir Frank will possibly die before he leaves the sport.

His enthusiasm and commitment to his team has only been matched to some degree by Ron Dennis, but somehow he has stayed less political and a simpler philosophy.

On another note... Can we start 2017 yet... This year has not been a good one for Williams.

[Sevach]

That's it for this season.

[Sevach]

[LookBackTime]

I have watched him this season from time to time.

It was/is evident that he can be very very fast (specially when he is in front) and more importantly his brake skills are very good - almost Verstapen level!

Comments from this video confirm my observations. A lot of people will be surprised how good he is

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Engine performance parity will happen by 2017 - Symonds

http://en.f1i.com/news/81264-engine-per ... monds.html

[Manoah2u]

I have watched him this season from time to time.

It was/is evident that he can be very very fast (specially when he is in front) and more importantly his brake skills are very good - almost Verstapen level!

Comments from this video confirm my observations. A lot of people will be surprised how good he is

LOL!

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Lance Stroll’s F1 test programme ‘unprecedented’ – Williams

Williams kept Lance Stroll’s test programme top secret in order to reduce the pressure on the 2017 team rookie.

That is the claim of team deputy Claire Williams, referring to Stroll’s near-unprecedented world tour of tracks in a 2014 car to prepare him for his Melbourne debut next March.

When asked about that programme, Williams told Auto Motor und Sport: “I can’t go into too much detail.

“But he drove on a handful of European and non-European tracks. In the end, he will have driven about 8,000 kilometres.

“It’s to make him familiar with the job, working with the engineers, all the processes and the way the race weekend runs, including pitstops and starts.

“His preparation is unprecedented at a time when basically no testing is allowed,” Claire admitted.

Undoubtedly, the programme has been funded by Lance’s billionaire father Lawrence Stroll, a Canadian fashion mogul.

As for why it was kept so secret, Williams said: “We wanted to take the pressure off him. And he shouldn’t be distracted from his work.

“A lot of people are interested in him and his story, not only because of his talent, but also because he has a well known father.”

http://www.thisisf1.com/2016/11/21/lanc ... sF1.com%29

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ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX PREVIEW

25 - 27 NOV
ROUND 21 OF 21

22 NOV 2016
YAS MARINA CIRCUIT, ABU DHABI
It’s just seven years since Abu Dhabi arrived on the calendar with Formula One’s first ever twilight race, yet the Yas Marina circuit has already established itself as a staple of the season. The ultra-modern design stands apart thanks to its unique features, including the LED-lit hotel sprawling over the circuit and tunnelled pit lane exit, as well as joining the likes of Monaco and Singapore in boasting a trackside yacht-filled marina. The long straights and open nature of the circuit promote entertaining racing, and the venue was the scene of celebrations for Williams in 2014 as a double podium for Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas secured the team 66 points in the double points system, the most points scored by a team at a single grand prix.


Pat Symonds
After two high altitude races we now head right down to sea level in Abu Dhabi. Although a modern circuit, it is quite challenging with the high-speed areas of turns two and three, and turns 15 and 16, really testing the cars. However, the set-up also needs to allow good low-speed change of direction. The two long straights have independent DRS zones giving drivers two bites at overtaking, or conversely, if they accomplish the overtake on the first straight, they must defend on the second. Pirelli are bringing the ultra soft tyre to this race for the first time, which could prove a difficult tyre to use as the numerous corners that make up sector three may well push this tyre above its ideal operating temperature, particularly as the prescribed pressure is significantly higher than we have used with this tyre before. Unlike Brazil, we can be pretty sure of a dry race here in the desert and, in spite of the introduction of the softer tyre, we would still expect a two-stop to be the favoured strategy.



Valtteri Bottas
Abu Dhabi is a nice place to finish the Formula One season. The facilities are great there and it seems like more and more people come to this race every year. It’s the place where I had my first ever Formula One test in 2011. It’s a good track for racing and it looks very cool with the sunset. We ended the 2014 season there with a double podium so it would be nice to finish this season with another strong result. Normally it’s a good track for our car because of the long straights and short corners and chicanes, so I look forward to it.


Felipe Massa
It’s going to be another emotional one! You try not think about it too much when you’re in the car, you just try to do as good a job as you can. It’s a really nice track to drive, there are lots of fans who really enjoy themselves at the track and outside of the track and it is, of course, a twilight race which is interesting for us and everyone watching. I really hope the final, and 250th race of my Formula One career, can be a fantastic one. We will of course have a big party! Hopefully we can celebrate with a great result.

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