Felipe Massa qualified ninth and Valtteri Bottas 12th for this afternoon’s US Grand Prix. Rain affected the whole session and Bottas suffered a suspension failure as he was eliminated at the end of Q2. Q3 was then cancelled as the weather worsened so the Q2 standings will form the grid for this afternoon’s race.

Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: “A very factious qualifying session as we didn’t even get to run Q3. We will move up two positions as the Ferraris take their penalties. We now have a fraught preparation for the race to make sure we have all eventualities covered. The predictions for the weather haven’t been totally accurate so we have to be reactive to any changes and hopefully can have a successful race.”

Felipe Massa: “It was a very difficult qualifying. It is clear to see our improvements in the wet as we have made it into the top 10 which shows progress, although we want to be up at the top. It was a good choice to red flag the final session. One of the biggest challenges of the race will be to finish, that’s the first job, then we can look for points.”

Valtteri Bottas: “Those were very tricky conditions. It’s a shame we couldn’t make it to Q3, I just couldn’t find the same amount of grip that I had in Q1, so in Q2 I struggled a bit more with traction. The race is very soon now, so that’s the only opportunity to make the best we can from here.”

Felipe Massa finished 4th, with Valtteri Bottas classified 12th after an accident on the final lap ended his chances of a podium in today’s Russian Grand Prix. Bottas was set for third place after overtaking Perez on the penultimate lap on newer tyres, but was hit by Raikkonen on the final lap and his race ended in the barrier at T4. Starting down in P15, Massa drove a strong and consistent race to make his way through the pack and score some valuable points for the team.

Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: “Obviously we are bitterly disappointed to lose what looked like a deserved podium finish on the last lap of the race. The team has done a good job and made the right strategy calls, and both drivers did a fantastic job, so to come away with less points than we should have and no silverware is frustrating. Pirelli did a good job with the tyres this week and on different strategies our cars managed to make them work for us when needed. We now have to go on to the USA and Mexico in good spirits and to use the positives of this race weekend and the strong pace we have shown to make amends and have another strong weekend.”

Valtteri Bottas: “It was quite a strange race with lots of accidents and safety cars, and we managed to do a very good job as a team to give me a good shot at the podium. I was running in P3 on the last lap and then I was hit from behind in Turn 4 and that was it. It’s difficult to describe the disappointment because the team has worked so hard all week to get a good result, and then the result we feel like we deserved was lost with only one lap remaining. It’s a tough end to the weekend.”

Felipe Massa: “It was a good result for me today and we managed to do well to fight back from a disappointing qualifying yesterday. I lost a bit of time behind slower cars at the beginning of the race because I was on harder tyres than those around me, but the pace was very good on the supersofts at the end. This allowed me to close up and be in a position to collect more points on the final lap due to the incidents up ahead.”

Valtteri Bottas finished the Japanese Grand Prix in fifth place, whilst teammate Felipe Massa finished in 17th. Bottas was jumped by Vettel at the start but held on to third in the early stages after passing Rosberg on the first lap. Contact with Ricciardo at the start resulted in a front-right puncture for Massa, with him needing to pit for new tyres and front wing on the first lap. Being a lap down after the stop made it difficult for Massa to challenge for points. Bottas ultimately finished in a comfortable fifth after being passed by Raikkonen at the final round of pitstops collecting an important ten points for the team to extend the gap to Red Bull Racing in the Constructors’ Championship to 69 points.

Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: “It was a tough race for the team today. Unfortunately I don’t think we showed the pace we were hoping for. Felipe had a bad start which was further compounded when he received a puncture following a collision with Ricciardo. He then had to complete a whole lap on three tyres which put him down by a lap and effectively ended his chances of a competitive race. Valtteri had a good position at the start and was driving very well. Our call on the first stop was the right one and kept us in front of Rosberg, but our second stop was too late and so we lost the position to Raikkonen. We have further solidified our third place in the Championship but leave Suzuka with the knowledge that we could have achieved more.”

Valtteri Bottas: “Not a perfect day for us, but we will take the ten points. I was hoping for a podium, but the pace wasn’t as good as we had expected. Defending from the quicker cars was hard and I think we should have pitted earlier for the final stop, but it’s always easier to say that after the race.”

Felipe Massa: “A very tough day for me today right from the first lap. I had a bad start and then had contact with Ricciardo and it took me a long time to get back to the pits. From there it was the end of the race barring any miracle. We have scored some decent points for the Constructors’ Championship with Valtteri’s fifth but I had the car to contribute a good haul of points as well. We have to regroup and get those points back at the next race.”

Felipe Massa finished sixth and Valtteri Bottas ninth in the Belgian Grand Prix. Both cars struggled at the start and lost positions during a difficult first stint. An error at the first round of pitstops for Bottas resulted in him being awarded a drive-through penalty and the rest of the race was damage limitation, so a good result to get back into the points. Massa struggled for pace in the first stint but after the pitstops battled hard to finish sixth.

Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: “I am clearly disappointed with what has happened to Valtteri. As a team we have made a mistake, and on behalf of the team I am very sorry that we cost him what could have been a podium position. There will be an investigation into the processes in place to understand what happened fully, and to put in place a procedure to stop this happening again. The rest of our race was dictated by the lack of pace in the first stint and from then on we had to fight our way back. The big difference at this race was that there were five teams all with very similar race pace. Unfortunately though, because so many cars were close in performance, the result was dictated primarily by what happened in the first stint when we were struggling. After that we had the pace on the prime tyre and as a result still managed to finish with both cars in the points. We have gained on Ferrari and lost very few points to Red Bull which is positive considering the day we have had.”

Felipe Massa: “It was a frustrating day for me. I struggled at the start and then the soft tyre in the first stint didn’t operate as well as it should have done so I lost a few positions. At this point we were fighting from behind but the medium worked well. I couldn’t overtake the Force India of Perez at the end as their straightline pace was good. It has been a difficult day but to still finish sixth is the main positive we will take away from the weekend.”

Valtteri Bottas: “We haven’t got the result we were after today. The pitstop and the race pace are two areas that we need to investigate. We thought we would be stronger during the race but the soft tyre in the first stint didn’t work as well and put us in a difficult position. We have to make sure we bounce back well in Monza.”

Now back to the real stuff… Objectives: aero evaluations, set-up and tyre work.

Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: “We have had a decent Friday. We had set ourselves an ambitious programme to complete and although the red flags hampered this slightly we are very well prepared for the weekend. We focused on rear and front wing development during the morning and this afternoon was all about tyres. We still have a bit of time to find on the low fuel, but we know where to find this. On the higher fuel loads we look quite competitive. There are lots of small areas where we can find performance, so everyone needs to ensure that they have done their job to be ready for FP3.”

Valtteri Bottas: “It was nice to be back in the car after the break. Today our main focus was on aero testing, including the rear wing configuration and we also looked at the tyres as you would expect from a Friday. We collected plenty of data throughout the day so we know that today’s times are not too representative, and we will continue to strengthen our performance throughout the weekend.”

Felipe Massa: “It was a typical Friday for Williams; we don’t go out trying to top the time sheets. We completed a lot of the work we had set ourselves, only held back by the red flags which were unexpected. This has meant my long run pace isn’t as clear as I would have hoped, but we should be able to be competitive tomorrow and build as the weekend progresses.”

Felipe Massa finished fourth and Valtteri Bottas fifth after running 1-2 in the first stint of an exciting British Grand Prix.

After a brilliant start, Massa took the lead of the race, holding on to the position until the first round of pitstops. Bottas was racing for second off the start, eventually holding third until he was able to capitalise on a mistake from Hamilton to retake the position after a brief safety car period. Hamilton jumped both cars in the first pitstops before rain played havoc with the field allowing Rosberg and Vettel to move ahead as they stopped for intermediates.

Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: “There were a few moments in the race where things didn’t go our way. We have to remain positive and proud of our result. The pace we showed throughout this weekend was great, we had a stunning race up until the rain came. We raced two cars against both Mercedes for a majority of the race which shows the hard work and upgrades we are bringing to the car are all working. We closed the gap on second position and moved further ahead of fourth, so it has been a good weekend.”

Felipe Massa: “It is a frustrating result because the race was amazing today. I had a fantastic start and we were fighting with Mercedes the whole time, it could even have been possible to win the race if it had stayed dry, which is great to see. It was a shame to lose positions in the rain. We waited one lap longer on the second stop which is where we lost the opportunity to be on the podium. That shower also highlighted the car’s weakness in the wet.”

Valtteri Bottas: “In some ways it was an incredibly frustrating race, and others it was very pleasing. Both cars had great starts and we raced the Mercedes with genuine pace, but when the rain came I really struggled with the intermediate tyre. I was allowed to race Felipe, but it was hard to get through, and I didn’t want to make any mistakes. We have to have a look the race data and make sure we continue to learn from this.”

Felipe Massa finished third and Valtteri Bottas fifth in today’s Austrian Grand Prix. After an early safety car, Bottas and Massa were running fourth and sixth respectively, before pitting for their one and only stops of the race.

After Valtteri’s pitstop he had to re-pass Hulkenberg to claim fifth, while Massa capitalised on an error in the Ferrari pitstop and overtook Vettel. In the closing stages of the race Massa held off heavy pressure from Vettel to claim his first podium of the season.

Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: “Third and fifth is a good result for the team. We wanted to get a podium today and so made the most of the opportunities we were given and we weren’t going to let it go once we had it. We have kept quicker cars behind us on three occasions already this season which shows the great race craft the drivers have. Felipe did a great job under such pressure and Valtteri had a strong race with some very solid overtaking manoeuvres.”

Felipe Massa: “I am delighted with the result, the team did a great job and it was a fantastic race. We made the most of the slower Ferrari pitstop and took all the opportunities that came to us to achieve my first podium of the year. The team were pushing me a lot throughout the final stages of the race and I was doing my best to keep Vettel behind. I knew it was not the time to make mistakes and it was amazing to bring it home.”

Valtteri Bottas: “It is a good result for the team. I was hoping for a bit more from the race personally. I enjoyed the overtaking that I made, it was just a shame it wasn’t further up. Midway through the race I had a brake issue which I had to manage a bit. We have closed the gap to the team in front in the Constructor’s Championship which is a good feeling. Well done to Felipe on a great result to get on the podium.”