Following a tricky weekend in Monaco which saw Williams suffer their first terminal issue of the season, optimism should be the subject for the Grove-based squad as the Formula One Circus heads to the Canada GP, the scene of heroics last year courtesy of Valtteri Bottas.
Montreal, with its long straights, bumpy chicanes and slow corners should suit the FW36 and, perhaps more importantly, the Mercedes hybrid powertrain. This is one of the circuits; the others being the Red Bull Ring, Spa and Monza where the lack of horsepower delivered by both the Renault and Ferrari powertrains should be at its peak. Renault were 80 brake horsepower down earlier in the season, but they are yet to catch up fully, while they expect to have more software updates for Austria. So this is the time for teams like Williams, Force India and McLaren to pounce and fight for a podium.
The last podium for Williams here was in 2007, where Alexander Wurz brilliantly avoided the chaos to deliver a well-earned third place. The last win for the team was in 2001 where Ralf Schumacher beat his brother Michael.
Williams Canadian GP Preview
No. 19 Felipe Massa (BRA) – 11th
Form: 7/7/15/13/7
2013 (Driving for Ferrari): Grid: P16, Race: P8
Massa has never been on the podium in Canada. His best finish here was back in 2005, where he finished 4th whilst driving for Sauber. Having had a brilliant recovery drive to finish seventh last time out in Monaco, he will be hoping to achieve his best result of the season here, although it’s not a circuit he seems to go brilliantly at. He had a tough time qualifying in the rain here last year but delivered a solid run to finish in 8th, albeit quite a way behind his teammate. He’s not beating Bottas as some have expected so far this season, but he has had a bit more bad luck. It’s an inter-team battle that continues to be quite intriguing.
No. 77 Valtteri Bottas (FIN) – 7th
Form: 8/8/7/5/R
2013: Grid: P3, Race: P14
Bottas performed a miracle last year by placing the FW35, a disaster of a car, on the second row of the grid, only behind the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel and the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton, arguably the two fastest drivers over one lap in the two fastest cars over one lap. As the session was held in rainy conditions, this showed his first glimpse of why Sir Frank Williams and his daughter Claire rate him incredibly highly. The race was held in dry conditions and the car held him back in the race as he slipped through the field out of the points. Morover, he’s been doing the business this season, running well into the top 10 yet again before suffering only the second mechanical failure of his career at Monaco. If he can replicate his brilliant performance in qualifying here, like he did at Bahrain earlier in the year, he could be a serious podium contender.
With Williams lying in sixth in the Constructors’ Championship at the moment some major points are required if they hope to fight with McLaren and Force India, who are level and fifteen points ahead respectively. The team could also do with a podium; something each of the five teams ahead of them all has at least one of, which would be incredibly morale-boosting. Slipping through the field hasn’t quite happened yet for Williams, and arguably they are ahead of their nearest rivals on overall pace, but the first non-accidental retirement of the year could be concerning, especially as finishing a race is absolutely vital in this era of Formula One.
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