Singapore wasn’t the greatest of races for Williams this season. The team slipped behind Ferrari in the constructors’ championship and Valtteri Bottas had a poor race for the first time in a long while. Despite this, Felipe Massa managed to minimise the damage as the FW36 was clearly disadvantaged around the Marina Bay streets. Suzuka circuit is a completely different type of circuit, one that on paper plays into the hands of Williams nicely. They will be hoping to be ahead of Ferrari here, on the track and in the points.
As we head into the closing stages of the season, the development race could well be taking its toll on teams like Williams, who do not have the funding to be able to aggressively develop their cars all year around. Should they be able to get ahead and stay ahead of Ferrari, it would be an absolutely brilliant achievement given how the team performed last year.
Williams Japanese GP Preview
No. 19 Felipe Massa (BRA) – 9th
Form: R/5/13/3/5
2013 (Driving for Ferrari): Grid: P5, Race: P10
Massa has had a decent couple of races now, and his form has suddenly spiked right up. He pulled off his strategy fantastically at Singapore, netting a fifth place on a day when the Williams looked poor, and prior to that he was tasting champagne. Suzuka is a track that Massa has been on pole, and he has finished second on two occasions, but he could only manage fifth last year, despite outqualifying team mate Fernando Alonso.
No. 77 Valtteri Bottas (FIN) – 6th
Form: 2/8/3/4/11
2013: Grid: P13, Race: P17
Bottas pulled out a brilliant performance in qualifying last year, beating both Toro Rossos, a Sauber and a Force India. He dropped back in the race however and finished behind his team mate Pastor Maldonado. After a poor race at Singapore and a bit of bad luck at Monza, Massa has clawed back some of the huge deficit in points. Bottas will be looking to change the momentum back in his favour at Suzuka.
.@ValtteriBottas Suzuka is my favourite track on the calendar. The high speed corners make it a very special track to
drive and a lot of fun
— WILLIAMS RACING (@WilliamsRacing) September 30, 2014
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