After a qualifying session that promised so much, Williams failed to capitalise in a chaotic race in Bahrain. The team also took part in the in-season test held a few days after the race.
Race report:
After controversy last time out at Malaysia, the Williams drivers found themselves again at Bahrain. No team orders occurred this time however, and from a purist point of view, I’m glad that they were free to race. Both drivers were forced to do three pitstops whereas most of their rivals did two. Since then, the team have confirmed that the drivers are free to race each other, much like at Mercedes, which is great from a fan’s perspective but perhaps not so from the pitwall!
No. 77 Valtteri Bottas (FIN)
Q: P4 (Started P3 following Daniel Ricciardo’s penalty)
R: P8
After equalling his best grid slot (alongside the wet Canadian Grand Prix last year), Bottas failed to look after his rear tires as well as his teammate. After losing out at the start as well, Bottas spent much of the race fighting with the Force India drivers of Nico Hulkenberg (who started out of position) and Sergio Perez (who ended up on the podium). Despite this, Bottas finished in 8th place for the third time in his short career. He narrowly missed hitting Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen after he was caught out by how early the Ferrari had to brake. Later on in the race he was fighting with both Ferraris and with both Red Bulls as well. He did well to hold off Fernando Alonso after the safety car period.
No. 19 Felipe Massa (BRA)
Q: P8 (Started P7 following Daniel Ricciardo’s penalty)
R: P7
Massa felt like he could have gotten more out of the car in qualifying, which he perhaps could have with Bottas being as high as P3. Massa had an awesome start to the race which saw him in third after the first corner, behind just the two incredibly fast works Mercedes. Like his teammate, he spent much of the race battling with the Force Indias. He was victim to a fantastic move by Sergio Perez on the inside of the very fast turn 5-6 complex but generally looked after his tyres better than his teammate. Just like his teammate, he dropped down during the safety car period as well and ended up fighting with the Red Bulls and Ferraris by the end of the race. He finished just six tenths ahead of his teammate at the chequered flag.
Reserve driver Felipe Nasr took part in Free Practice 1, his first Formula One session.
Bottas and Nasr took part in the two days testing after the Bahrain Grand Prix, at the same circuit. The times are difficult to read due to not knowing what fuel loads the cars were running, but Bottas managed just 28 laps on day one whereas Nasr managed 64 laps on day two. I am sure the team would have liked to get more running on the car to try out new parts but I am sure they have tested the parts that they plan to use for the Chinese Grand Prix, which is on Easter weekend. It seems like the car is struggling to look after rear tyres and is lacking slightly in front downforce, which means the car is unbalanced slightly, which may cost them on circuits tougher on tyres, like China or Spain, the next two events, but not so at circuits with slower corners and fewer straights, like Monaco. The team, like most teams, will probably bring a huge upgrade for Spain, to mark the start of the European season, at that point, we will see if Williams can challenge for the whole season, or if they will fall back into the midfield with Toro Rosso, Sauber and Lotus.
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