Qualifying’s important in every Formula 1 weekend, but it’s near vital on the streets of Monaco. For Williams, it was the worst possible place to have their most disappointing result of the year, with neither Valtteri Bottas nor Felipe Massa managing to reach the third session, which furrowed a number of brows in the team garage this afternoon. But, can they recover in tomorrow’s race? And will their early season form continue despite this Monte-Carlo setback?
Williams Qualifying Results
Bottas and Massa will start 13th and 16th respectively for the Monaco centrepiece tomorrow, distinctly lower than most of their qualifying performances from previous rounds. During the dry session, Bottas completed a best time of 1.18.082 which saw him fail to reach Q3, while Massa finished with a 1.18.209 from the first run, although he was unable to compete in Q2 after colliding with Marcus Ericsson. Fans have been getting used to seeing the pair popping up in the top ten, but today’s sessions fell short of the mark in what was a ludicrously tight grid. Head of Performance Rob Smedley was clearly not overjoyed with the results, but preferred to view things positively in the post-qualifying press conference:
‘Today hasn’t been the easiest of days as is clear from our qualifying positions. Qualifying is important here, however there are 78 laps tomorrow meaning we still have time to recuperate and score some points. The midfield was very tight and sadly due to the nature of the circuit we were towards the back of it rather than in our usual position at the front of it. There were just a few tenths in it from where we should be so we need to analyse everything to ensure we understand it more for tomorrow.’
Massa held back by Ericsson mistake
Felipe Massa endured the toughest day, as he failed to post a Q2 time following a collision with Caterham’s Marcus Ericsson going into Mirabeau at the end of Q1. The Williams driver kept to the left to allow Ericsson through on his flying lap but the Swede still managed to clip the Brazilian’s wheel, sending the pair forward into the barrier. Massa was undoubtedly frustrated by the altercation, thrusting his hands in the air as he glanced accusingly at Ericsson for an impact that the young rookie would take all the blame for, including a grid penalty.
This incident evoked memories of Massa’s last visit to the French principality, when he had a violent crash at St. Devote during practice which confined his Ferrari to the garage on the Saturday.
After sitting out Q2 and Q3, Massa told F1.com:
‘I was hopeful for a good position today as the car actually felt ok; it would have been a fight to get into the top ten, not easy, but possible. I am disappointed and tomorrow is going to be a challenge but with this car points are still possible.’
Bottas didn’t enjoy a smooth Saturday, either. The Finn has generally been consistent in qualifying well this year (averaging 8th on the grid), but even though the Mercedes-powered FW36 appeared to be running without technical error, Bottas remained off the pace. The main issue was a lack of heat in the front tyres, leading to a loss of front end grip that is a necessity at Monaco, due to the track’s sinuosity and tightness. This ongoing problem put him 0.3 seconds off a spot in Q3, and 1.6 off the overall pace.
No real cause for concern
So, is this a turning point for Williams’ season? Probably not. Despite being out-qualified by their Force India and Toro Rosso rivals, this blip isn’t likely to serve as the start of a downhill run. All teams are going to have a bad weekend at some point (possibly even Mercedes); it’s just something every constructor expects to approach. Essentially, it’s a fabric of F1. Even though both Williams drivers will have to contend with the hectic midfield bunching and the lasting threat of a multi-car pile-up (see last year’s GP2 race), both should be able to climb some positions in the early laps, providing we get a clean start, of course.
Bottas has exhibited clever race-craft this year, averaging one finishing place higher than his qualifying average. The Finn’s ability to remain consistent pace-wise (as he showed in Spain where he lapped unfailingly despite being hounded by Sebastien Vettel) is an attribute that’ll help him tomorrow in terms of overall speed, without taking into account the added complexity of strategy.
Meanwhile, for Massa, it looks like race-day will be more of a rescue mission than anything else. Are we going to see a Herculean comeback from 16th to 6th? I’d say not to that extremity. Massa’s recent Monaco record suggests that it could be another frustrating end to the month of May for the 33 year old, but a points finish may not be out of the question, as the Williams displayed some promising pace before it ended up in the wall.
So, the stage is set for what should be a fiery Monaco Grand Prix tomorrow. For Williams, it’ll be a resurrection from today’s disappointment, but also a mammoth challenge. But, with the field so closely bunched in terms of lap times, the British outfit have every chance of avenging their poor qualifying session. If there’s going to be any car tearing through the field on a comeback drive, it’s likely to be bearing the Martini stripe.
Thank you for reading. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport – and “liking” our Facebook page.
For the latest sports injury news, check out our friends at sports injury alert.
Main Photo:
