After a great final race in Abu Dhabi in 2014, with Felipe Massa chasing down Lewis Hamilton for the race win and Valtteri Bottas in third place, things were looking up for Williams. They were relatively quiet in testing and it was hard to gauge where they were in the pecking order, but towards the end of testing the picture became clearer and it was obvious that they would be battling it out with Ferrari.
Come qualifying on an overcast afternoon in Melbourne the stage was set to see who would be gunning for the second row behind Mercedes. Williams made it through Q1 due to Manor’s not participating due to their own issues, both McLarens and Sergio Perez left Q1, and in Q2 while ending a flying lap Valtteri Bottas looked to have got on the exit curb of the final corner and as he came off of it the car bounced awkwardly and jarred his back; he did make it through to Q3 with Felipe.
In Q3 it looked to have been Sebastian Vettel nailed on for third spot but Massa took that away right at the last minute while Bottas secured sixth place on the grid. After qualifying Valtteri did attend hospital to get himself checked out with some scans; there was some damage to the lower back and after failing the extraction tests from the car he unfortunately was deemed unfit to race.
At the start of the race Felipe got a great getaway, keeping Vettel behind him throughout the first stint; after pitting first he came back out behind Daniel Ricciardo and after getting stuck behind for a whole lap it meant that Vettel jumped the Williams in the pitstops; unfortunately Felipe could not find a way past for the rest of the race and finished fourth.
What was clear from the first race from a Williams perspective is that they have fallen behind Ferrari in the pecking order but not by much; Williams have the resources and talent to keep up the fight, but I’m sure a resurgent Scuderia will be able to stay ahead of the Grove squad. Certainly, an epic battle between Williams and Ferrari will unfold during the course of the season.
