The Williams Martini Racing F1 team came into 2015 as strong favourites for the runner up spot behind Mercedes. However, after a somewhat disappointing race in the Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne, their true pace this year is now being questioned.
The team had a reasonable Saturday in Australia, Felipe Massa qualified third and Valtteri Bottas in sixth despite back problems that caused him to pull out of Sunday’s race. During the race, Sebastian Vettel jumped Massa in the pit stops after following the FW37 in the early stages of the race.
2015 Malaysia Grand Prix Williams Preview: Better Results Expected at Sepang
Vettel’s Ferrari managing the final podium position and the best of the rest title down under shows that the Maranello team have made some significant gains over the winter and possibly overtaken Williams in terms of race pace. But Rob Smedley believes Williams have more development potential than the rest of the pack and that Melbourne didn’t play to their car’s strengths.
Before Valtteri Bottas can race in Malaysia he must take FIA medical checks on Thursday. It is looking likely that he will be cleared to race. However, in the event that he is deemed unfit to race, Susie Wolff or Alex Lynn are looking likely to take his place in the Williams.
Last year at Sepang, Bottas and Massa had a less than impressive qualifying but made up plenty of places during the race, in the latter stages some controversial team orders were relayed to the drivers and duly ignored. This changed Williams’ policy on team orders and made for a healthier driver relationship.
As we all know, the Malaysia Grand Prix is known for its rain storms and if last year is anything to go by, wet conditions will not suit the FW37 at all. We shall find out this weekend how the Williams drivers fare in Kuala Lumpur.
Main Photo Credit: TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP/Getty Images
