For the most part, the Williams British GP was one to forget for the team, with a catalogue of errors in qualifying eliminating both cars very early on Saturday, and for a crash for one of their cars which could have ended in very nasty circumstances. Despite this, Williams managed to set a little bit of history, and deliver their best result of the season following another fantastic performance by their rising star Valtteri Bottas.
No. 19 Felipe Massa (BRA)
Grid: P15 (P18 in qualifying)
Race: Retired on lap 1 (Collision damage)
Felipe Massa’s 200th Grand Prix was definitely one to forget: he crashed heavily in practice-ironically he crashed at the same spot last year-; was caught out in qualifying by the rain, leaving him with lots of work to do and his race was over very early. Having crashed at the very fast Stowe corner, Massa needed to bounce back on Saturday. However, the rain came suddenly, as it does in England and he was left just 18th after the session, but 15th on the grid following Max Chilton and Esteban Gutierrez’ penalties and Pastor Maldonado’s exclusion. On the formation lap, he complained about how slow the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg was going and was left with a cold clutch at the start and very nearly stalled. Once he did get going he avoided an incident involving Sergio Perez and Jean-Eric Vergne and was poised to make up a few places, but was caught unaware of former team mate Kimi Raikkonen parked in the middle of the road after a big shunt. Massa nearly t-boned the Ferrari but avoided doing that, however he damaged his car in the process.
No. 41 Susie Wolff (GBR)
The dream for Susie Wolff was over incredibly quickly after her car suffered an oil pressure problem just four laps into FP1. She was incredibly buoyed following the support she got and will be hoping to do more laps at Hockenheim.
No. 77 Valtteri Bottas (FIN)
Grid: P14 (P17 in qualifying)
Race: P2
The young Finn was definitely my driver of the weekend. He missed FP1 due to Wolff being in the car and was caught out in qualifying as well, but was just ahead of his team mate. Despite this setback, he raced absolutely superbly in the race and was already running in the top 10 by the end of the first lap. It was a performance which replicated his race in Australia but without the mistake. He pulled brilliant overtakes on Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel, who share seven World Championships between them. With more performances like that, it definitely won’t be long before many will be saying that he too will become World Champion one day. Williams-Mercedes now lie fourth in the Constructors’ Championship and are very swiftly closing in on Ferrari. This year, in which Williams are still adjusting to a new engine supplier, new team members and a new driver is turning out to be their best season since the BMW days. Next on the agenda will be a win; something which Sir Frank Williams knows how to do incredibly well.
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