Canada post race: Williams

23/06/2015 By Clive Couldwell in Formula One Tags: Canadian Grand Prix, Felipe Massa, Rob Smedley, Valtteri Bottas, Williams F1 Leave a comment

Valtteri Bottas finished third and Felipe Massa sixth in today’s Canadian Grand Prix. Bottas capitalised on a mistake by Räikkönen to move into third after his first and only pitstop, subsequently showing strong pace to keep clear of the Ferrari to secure the team’s first podium of the season.

Starting out of position in P15 after problems in qualifying, Massa drove a brilliant race to pick his way through the field and secure valuable points for the team. The team has extended its hold on third position in the Constructors’ Championship with a total of 108 points for the season so far.

Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: “The message I gave to the team this morning was that we have to go into this race believing in ourselves and be on the top of our game. If we did that I believed we could get on the podium with Valtteri and get a lot of points with Felipe, and that’s exactly what we’ve done. The two drivers were absolutely fantastic all race. The team has worked well as a unit and the strategies were spot on. The rewards are there when you get it right and we need to use this as a good boost to keep moving forwards. We now have races ahead of us where we should be aiming for more podiums.”

Valtteri Bottas: “We really maximised everything today and I’m really happy for us as a team. We had an opportunity to get third and we took it. We had the chance to change the strategy in the middle of the race and go for one stop instead of two. We knew it could be a risk but the team knew what to do and we were right. There was not much threat from behind so we could take a bit of a risk, and I’m really proud that we did. We were racing hard today and we earned the podium. It’s great to be back in the top three and we know there are better Grands Prix to come because of the updates we are bringing so I can’t wait for the next few races.”

Felipe Massa: “After a challenging qualifying for me yesterday I’m happy with how the race has gone and I’ve picked up some good points. Starting P15 was always going to lead to a busy race and there was a lot of great overtaking and the car had good consistent pace. We managed to have a one stop race and still keep the pace with the option tyre at the end which was fantastic. With the car I had today I could have been fighting for podiums, but all in all this has been a very positive weekend for the team and we should be very competitive in the next few races, especially with some upgrades planned for the car.”

Monaco images: Williams

30/05/2015 By Clive Couldwell in Formula One Tags: Williams F1 Leave a comment

Telling shot of Susie Wolff. Wonder what was going on inside her head. One hopes her chances of being anything other than a development driver – vital role though it is – aren’t slipping away. Comments made recently revealed her obvious frustration.

Felipe Massa

Monaco post race: Williams

24/05/2015 By Clive Couldwell in Formula One Tags: Canada, Felipe Massa, Monaco Grand Prix, safety car, Valtteri Bottas, Williams F1 Leave a comment

Monte Carlo, Monaco. Saturday 23 May 2015. Felipe Massa, Williams FW37 Mercedes. Photo: Glenn Dunbar/Williams ref: Digital Image _89P0038

Felipe Massa (and bottom).

Valtteri Bottas

Valtteri Bottas finished 14th and Felipe Massa 15th in today’s Monaco Grand Prix. Massa made contact with another car at Turn 1 causing a front-right tyre puncture. His first lap pitstop for new tyres and a new front wing resulted in him re-joining at the back of the pack and unable to fight for any points.

Starting P16, Bottas struggled for pace and was further compromised by a late safety car. The team heads into the next race in Canada confident that the FW37 will show a marked improvement in performance and will be back challenging for points.

Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: “It was quite a difficult weekend and we were nowhere near where we should be. At Monaco, if qualifying doesn’t go well you have partly made your bed so we knew getting points was going to be tough. It wasn’t a great race for us but we can’t dwell too much as we are out of position. We have to look at all areas to see what went wrong here with the inherent car performance and set-up. We cannot return here in 2016 and repeat this performance. We now have to focus firmly on the next three races. We have a really good package and some healthy upgrades coming soon so we look forward to coming back stronger in Canada.”

Valtteri Bottas: “This has been a tough weekend that ended in an even tougher race. We tried everything to try and get some points but with the pace we had it wasn’t possible today. We tried the two-stop strategy which never really came to us, with the safety car coming at just the wrong time. There are not too many positives from the weekend but plenty we can learn from as to why we struggled. We know we still have a good car and go to races in the next few weeks where we should be able to demonstrate our true performance.”

Felipe Massa: “Today was a very frustrating day and a race to forget for us. My race was effectively over in Turn 1, with another car pushing me over and I was left with a lot of damage to my tyre and front wing. The pitstop I had to make on Lap 1 put me right at the back of the pack and I spent the rest of the race looking out for blue flags. The car has not had its usual performance all weekend but we know that we are heading to tracks in Canada and Austria that suit our car and we should be back fighting towards the front.”

Too many vodkas…

Monaco qualifying: Williams

23/05/2015 By Clive Couldwell in Formula One Tags: Felipe Massa, Monaco, Monaco Grand Prix, Valtteri Bottas, Williams F1 Leave a comment

Felipe Massa

Valtteri Bottas

Felipe Massa qualified 14th and Valtteri Bottas 17th for the Monaco Grand Prix. Both drivers found it difficult to get the tyres up to temperature and found an overall lack of grip which hindered their ability to make it into Q3.

Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: “It was clearly a tough qualifying session for us and we are out of our usual position. We have been pouring through the data all week to try and find ways to improve our pace here, and whilst we have made some inroads, qualifying has just come too soon for us to recover everything. Starting 14th and 17th in Monaco is never ideal because it so difficult to overtake, but we will see what we can do and the aim will be to get both cars home in the points.”

Felipe Massa: “There were no major issues during qualifying that caused us to be out of position; Monaco just isn’t a circuit that suits the characteristics of our car. We struggled throughout the day and found it hard to set the lap times we wanted. Tomorrow won’t be easy, but anything is possible due to the nature of the track. It’s not a great result as we have become used to qualifying higher, but I’m confident we can still get points and that must be our focus.”

Valtteri Bottas: “I had some traffic on my initial option run and couldn’t go at the sort of pace needed to keep the tyre temperatures correct, and on my timed lap I just lacked overall grip throughout the lap. We knew this track was not going to suit our car and we’ve been struggling to get the tyres to work throughout the weekend. Then again this is the sort of track where lots of things can happen and if we stay out of trouble and finish the race then points are still possible.”

Valtteri Bottas, and below with team members.

Sir Frank Williams awarded

10/05/2015 By Clive Couldwell in Formula One Tags: Brembo, Frank Williams Racing Cars, Riccardo Cesarini, Sir Frank Williams, Team Principal, Williams, Williams F1, Williams Martini Racing Leave a comment

Riccardo Cesarini (left) and Sir Frank Williams with the award.

Brembo Performance Group Director, Riccardo Cesarini has presented the Team Principal of Williams Martini Racing with a special award for services to F1. The award is modelled on an F1 car’s braking system.

The Williams name has been synonymous with top-level motorsport since the 1960s, with the foundation in 1966 of Frank Williams Racing Cars and later in 1977, along with Engineer Patrick Head, establishing Williams Grand Prix Engineering.

Williams Martini Racing achieved 16 FIA Formula One World Championships, nine Constructors’ Championships and seven Drivers’ Championships, scoring 114 victories.

Brembo’s award – which you probably haven’t heard about – was initiated in 2011 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Italian company. On that occasion Alberto Bombassei, Brembo Chairman, gave Bernie Ecclestone a braking system personalised with the colour of the Italian flag.

In 2012 the award was given to Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, Ferrari Spa Chairman, and 2013 Niki Lauda, non-executive Chairman of the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team.

Nice one Frank.

Barcelona post race: Williams

10/05/2015 By Clive Couldwell in Formula One Tags: Felipe Massa, Ferrari, Valtteri Bottas, Williams F1 Leave a comment

Felipe Massa arrives on the grid.

Valtteri Bottas finished fourth and Felipe Massa sixth in today’s Spanish Grand Prix. Bottas’ long second stint on the option tyre allowed the team to change from a three-stop to a two-stop race, helping him to keep the closing Ferrari of Räikkönen at bay in the final laps. Massa managed to make up positions in the opening stint and drove an untroubled and consistent race to collect eight points for the team.

Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: “Overall I’m pleased with the result today. The car has shown pretty good pace throughout the weekend and we wanted to see if we could convert that potential into points. There was a lot of talk about different teams bringing updates for this race with big gains. We have shown that our improvements have moved us forwards and this ended up being our closest finish to Ferrari. It was a good job by the aerodynamic team and all the people back at Grove, as well as an excellent operational performance from the team today, with good strategy choices and well executed pitstops. We need to keep heading in this direction and to keep finding additional performance gains in this package to help us challenge for podiums in future.”

Valtteri Bottas: “It feels good to split the Ferraris for a second race in a row and this has been another solid points haul for the team. Tyre life was better than we expected and as a result we changed from a three-stop to a two-stop race, which was a good strategic choice from the team because it allowed me to keep Räikkönen behind. The big positive is that we were closer to the leaders than we have been at any point this season. That gives me a lot of hope because we have shown that the updates we are bringing are improving our performance. I want to thank all the team here and in Grove for providing me with a great car to go racing with, and I’d also like to thank Mercedes HPP as they continue to push hard on the power unit to help us keep our competitors at bay.”

Felipe Massa: “It was a good race for the team, scoring 20 points, not losing too much to Ferrari, but also getting a lot more than Red Bull which is really important and positive for our championship position. I managed to overtake cars on the first lap and then fought hard with Kimi (Räikkönen) for a long time, which was hard on the tyres. Because of the extra degradation a three-stop race was better for me today, but it meant the others were too far ahead. We finished with one car in front of a Ferrari so we have shown that we can be competitive with them and we can now look forward to Monaco which will be a very different test for the car.”

Claire Williams, Deputy Team Principal.

Felipe Massa and Dave Robson, Race Engineer.

Valtteri Bottas on the grid.

Bahrain post race: Williams

19/04/2015 By Clive Couldwell in Formula One Tags: Williams F1 Leave a comment

Valtteri Bottas finished fourth and Felipe Massa tenth in today’s Bahrain Grand Prix. After a sensor issue on the final fire up caused Massa’s power unit not to start he was forced to start from the pit lane. Massa fought his way back up to eighth but, struggling for pace due to damage sustained after being hit in the early stages, he dropped back to tenth in the final laps.

Bottas made a clean getaway from the grid and after holding P5 for the majority of the race, he was able to capitalise on Sebastian Vettel’s unplanned pitstop for a new front wing, holding off the Ferrari successfully for 17 laps to take fourth.

Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: “It was a race of two halves today for us. Felipe had a sensor issue on the grid and we struggled to return from that. In the end Felipe drove a great race to fight back and bring the car home with a point. Valtteri had a great race as we managed to capitalise on Vettel’s mistake and he did a brilliant job to hold off the Ferrari for 17 laps in the closing stages. Overall, our targets are being met in terms of Championship position but we need to develop the package quicker to catch the cars in front.”

Valtteri Bottas: “I am pleased with the race and happy with fourth position. It was a real shame for the team that Felipe had an issue at the start. It was a lonely race but the final 20 laps were very tough. Sebastian was quicker than me, and closed up behind very fast, but the fight was really good fun. I know a few tricks that can really help to defend and they all worked today, and I am delighted to come out on top today.”

Felipe Massa: “It was a frustrating day for me to have to start from the pitlane. The car struggled to fire-up and once under way I had a lot of positions to make up. A few laps in at Turn Four, Maldonado ran into the back of me and damaged something. From then on I really struggled with the rear and the car was very hard to drive. It was a difficult day but one point is better than nothing.”

China post race: Williams

12/04/2015 By Clive Couldwell in Formula One Tags: Williams F1 Leave a comment

Felipe Massa finished fifth and Valtteri Bottas sixth in today’s Chinese Grand Prix. Bottas had a good start to overtake Massa in the opening corners, only be retaken by Massa before the end of the first lap as the pair battled with Kimi Raikkonen who was able to jump both cars. For the remainder of the race both drivers managed their tyres and the gaps to their rivals before the race concluded under the safety car.

Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: “The team maximised the performance of the car. Fifth and sixth is accurate of the pace we had today. The pitstops were excellent and our race strategy was very good. We just need to continue working on the pace of the car.”

Felipe Massa: “We had a good race today and I managed to get the most out of the car. The team performed very well but we just don’t have the raw speed to catch the cars in front. I will work on my start as that is really the only thing that went wrong for us. We have scored the most amount of points available to us today.”

Valtteri Bottas: “It was a lonely race for me today. I struggled for race pace throughout, but as a team we got the best result we could have achieved. I would have liked to have kept Kimi behind for longer after getting in front of him at the start, but he made a good move on me to retake the position. There is quite a bit of work to do to catch the cars ahead, but it’s only race three, so there is plenty of time.”

Melbourne post race: Williams

15/03/2015 By Clive Couldwell in Formula One Tags: Felipe Massa, Ferrari, pitstop, Rob Smedley, Valtteri Bottas, Vettel, Williams F1 Leave a comment

Williams’ Felipe Massa finished fourth in today’s Australian Grand Prix. Starting in third and opting for a one-stop strategy, Massa lost a place to the Ferrari of Vettel after being jumped at the first pitstop, but after that showed consistent pace to bring the car home with 12 points to start the 2015 season. Valtteri Bottas was unable to race following a lower back injury sustained during qualifying. Following an evaluation by the FIA’s medical team and following a series of tests the FIA Medical Delegate deemed him unfit to take part in today’s race.

Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: “It’s always difficult to compete with only 50 per cent of your armoury with Valtteri having to miss the race, so today was about damage limitation in the Constructors’ Championship and we have managed to come away only a few points behind Ferrari which is a decent result. The team worked very well as a unit all weekend; the pitstop was good and so was the work on the pitwall. We made a decision to pit early because Vettel was a bit quicker behind us, but unfortunately this didn’t pay off for us. We are in a really competitive battle with the teams around us so this race is a marker for the rest of the season. We need to continue improving the car and getting maximum performance from what is a strong package.”

Felipe Massa: “The aim of today was to start the season with a solid points haul and demonstrate that we have a competitive car. We have managed to achieve much of what we wanted so this has been a positive start. The only disappointing part of the race was that I was jumped at the first pitstop by Vettel after losing a second and a half behind Ricciardo on my out-lap which was enough to lose the position. I have faith in the team and the car and we head to Malaysia knowing we are very much in the fight.”

Valtteri Bottas: “I have done a lot of work since the issue with my back came in qualifying to get myself ready, starting treatment immediately, so the news that I couldn’t race today was obviously disappointing but I respect the decision. I now have two weeks until the next race to receive further treatment to ensure I will be back to full fitness and even stronger in Malaysia. I’m very eager to get back in the car and race because the FW37 is looking competitive and I’m confident we can fight for podiums.”

Second pre-season test: final day

01/03/2015 By Clive Couldwell in Formula One Tags: Lotus F1 Team, Maldonado, Melbourne, Pastor Maldonado, Sahara Force India F1, Williams F1 Leave a comment

Lotus F1 ended the final day of pre-season testing early after a systems issue compromised Pastor Maldonado’s braking into turn four resulting in him making contact with the barriers. Maldonado had previously completed 36 laps, mainly aero and comparison work. With the E23 hybrid requiring a reasonable amount of rectification work for the damage sustained to the front wing and front suspension, the team opted to end the day’s running early. Maldonado’s best time from the morning assessment was 1min 28.272secs.

Track: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Spain, 4.7km
Chassis: E23-02
Weather: Cloudy, early spots of rain, then sunny. Ambient 10°C – 22°C Track 12°C – 31°C

Programme: Aero assessments including back to back aero component evaluations
Laps Completed: 36
Classification: P8, 1:28.272
Interruptions: Barrier

Pastor Maldonado: “It was a shame to end the day early, but that was the only issue we’ve had like this during testing so we can look to the positive that we have a lot of information to take the car in the right direction. My braking was compromised coming into turn four, meaning I went off the track and hit the barriers. I was able to brake and slow, just not as much as the maximum otherwise possible. The car was not too badly damaged and I am fine, but it’s a shame we had this issue as we would have been looking at running the softer tyres in the afternoon and putting in some fast laps. I’m looking forward to getting back in the car in Melbourne as I think we have good potential this season.”

Nick Chester, Technical Director: “Certainly ending the final pre-season test in the barriers was not part of our game plan, but overall we’ve had a productive two weeks here in Barcelona following on from our initial outing in Jerez. Pastor was unfortunate to have a braking-related issue which meant he wasn’t able to slow sufficiently into turn four and the car was damaged. There was nothing Pastor or any driver could have done to avoid this accident which was systems related and we’re investigating thoroughly to ensure it doesn’t happen again. We now have a quick turn-around to get the car back to Enstone, then shipped out to Australia at the end of the week. It was a pity we weren’t able to run any low fuel laps later in the day. We are looking forward to Melbourne where we will get a full picture of the relative pace of the E23.”

Williams

Driver: Valtteri Bottas
Chassis/Engine: FW37-01/PU106B Hybrid
Location: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, 4.655km
Objectives: Performance and Aero work
Weather: Warm and Dry
Air and track temps: 10 – 21ºC / 12 – 32ºC

Rod Nelson, Chief Test and Support Engineer: “Today’s programme was similar to yesterday, as we try to get the drivers in the best position before heading to Australia. Due to this the focus was more on performance with a mixture of long and short runs rather than just reliability work. Both drivers have worked extremely hard throughout the test and the entire team have worked very well together. We are really looking forward to Melbourne.”

Valtteri Bottas: “It was a really good day and a great way to finish the test. One of the main points we have learnt is that the FW37 is very reliable. The car we are taking to Melbourne is very competitive and should make for an interesting start to the season. We have made the most out of our time testing and I need to say a really big thanks to the team, not only trackside but also everyone back at the factory as they have produced a really quick and reliable car.”

Winter testing came to an end with another productive day for Sahara Force India. Sergio Perez completed his first miles in the VJM08, clocking 130 laps at the Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona.

Sergio Perez #11
Chassis: VJM08-01
Laps: 130 laps
Mileage: 605km
Fastest lap: 1:25.113
Classification: P6 of 9

Sergio Perez: “My first day in the car has been a good one, with a very high number of laps and a good atmosphere in the team. It’s no secret that we have some catch-up to do but I am optimistic: the team has a clear direction to work towards and we have been able to collect a large amount of data in such a short time which will help all those working back at base. Every run we do, here or at the races, teaches us a lot and moves us closer to where we want to be. Now we must focus on Melbourne: I am really excited about going racing again, the first race of the season is always a special one and one to which you really look forward since the end of the previous season.”

Tom McCullough, Chief Race Engineer: “Our pre-season testing comes to an end with a solid 130 laps. Today was Sergio’s first day in the VJM08 and, as he got accustomed to the new car, we continued our work of understanding its behaviour, trying various set-ups in both performance and long runs. All we have done in these tests in Barcelona will help us prepare for Melbourne, and even though we may arrive with less mileage than others, we have gathered lots of valuable data. We are making rapid progress with the car and we have a lot of material to analyse back at the factory ahead of the first flyaways. This last week’s work highlights the spirit of this team: credit must go to everyone involved with the design, manufacturing and assembly of the car. It has been a massive effort from everyone in the team and to get so many laps is testament to the great work done by all.”

Pre-season test: Day 3

28/02/2015 By Clive Couldwell in Formula One Tags: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Lotus F1 Team, Melbourne, Romain Grosjean, Sahara Force India F1, Williams F1 Leave a comment

Romain Grosjean drove for his final day of pre-season testing today, completing 116 laps in the Lotus E23 hybrid at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. He ran a comprehensive programme including a race simulation, clocking a best lap time of 1min 24.200secs.

Track: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Spain, 4.7km
Chassis: E23-02
Weather: Chilly, warm, chilly. Ambient 5°C – 18°C Track 9°C – 30°C
Programme: Set-up assessments, race simulation, aero evaluations
Laps Completed: 116
Classification: P5, 1:24.200
Interruptions: None

Romain Grosjean: “That was a long day and the track conditions varied quite a lot. This morning went pretty well, we had a lot of work to do with some aero and set-up tasks as we’re trying to test as many things as possible before Melbourne. In the afternoon we ran a race simulation and other performance evaluations. There’s potential for improvement in some areas but we have plenty of data to get the car more to where we want it to be for Melbourne. I can’t wait to for the season to start.”

Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director: “Today we completed another extensive programme with the E23 running reliably throughout. Track conditions were quite difficult for establishing a baseline as the track temperature varied a lot through the day, but nevertheless we ran for over 100 laps and have a lot more information relating to the various aero and set-up configurations. We have quite a long night ahead of us as tomorrow is the final day of testing where we hope to make further progress with Pastor at the wheel.”

Williams

Driver: Felipe Massa
Chassis/Engine: FW37-01/PU106B hybrid
Location: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, 4.655km
Objectives: Chassis and aero work
Weather: Warm and Dry
Air and track temps: 5 – 17 ºC / 9 – 30 ºC

Rod Nelson, Chief Test and Support Engineer: “It was Felipe’s last day in the car before Melbourne and we have had a busy day. We focused on chassis and aero work as well as longer runs on scrubbed tyres to see the degradation and tyre performance. We did a grid simulation at lunchtime to ensure the procedural processes are all in place for when we arrive in Melbourne. We have just one day of the test left now, and it will be another busy one for the team.”

Felipe Massa: “We had another good day with over 100 laps completed. We reached the end of the programme in good time and the car has remained very reliable over all three tests. Our long runs look positive and the car remains consistent throughout the stints. We are not the only quick car on the track though and the fight behind Mercedes will be interesting. I now have to get ready for the first race of the season in Melbourne, which I am really looking forward to.”

Sahara Force India completed another busy day of testing in Barcelona as Nico Hülkenberg clocked 158 laps at the wheel of the new VJM08.

Nico Hülkenberg #27
Chassis: VJM08-01
Laps: 158 laps
Mileage: 735km
Fastest lap: 1:24.939
Classification: P7 of 9

Nico Hülkenberg: “It was a very positive day in terms of reliability and getting a lot of mileage under our belts. It was our first full day of testing so our main focus remained on getting to know the car, the way we set it up and its characteristics. I think we made some good progress in this regard and we managed to get a decent understanding of how the VJM08 feels under different conditions. That’s definitely a positive, although it remains very hard to judge where everyone is in terms of performance. Next time I will step in the car will be in Melbourne: I am very excited to fly to Australia as that’s when you get the racing feeling again. I am really looking forward to getting going and being back in a competition; that is something I relish. Hopefully the work we did in the last few weeks will pay off and we will be in a position for fight for a good result.”

Tom McCullough, Chief Race Engineer “It was another solid day of testing with the VJM08, which is proving to be a very reliable car so far: the plan we had set for ourselves today was very ambitious but we managed to achieve all its main points. We have taken another big step in our process of understanding the performance of the car and we were able to work through both performance runs and longer stints. Track temperatures were not ideal as they were very much on the cool side, but we still learnt a lot and gathered a significant amount of data to analyse tonight. It was Nico’s last day in the car before heading off to Melbourne: the work he completed today will help us ensure we make the most of our final day in the car tomorrow as Sergio steps in the cockpit for the first time.”

Pre-season test: Day 2

28/02/2015 By Clive Couldwell in Formula One Tags: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Lotus F1 Team, Nico Hulkenberg, Pastor Maldonado, Sahara Force India F1, Valtteri Bottas, Williams F1 Leave a comment

The new Sahara Force India VJM08 made its bow at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with Nico Hülkenberg completing a total of 77 laps.

Nico Hülkenberg #27
Chassis: VJM08-01
Laps: 77 laps
Mileage: 358km
Fastest lap: 1:28.412
Classification: P9 of 9

Nico Hülkenberg: “It was a very good day, at least in terms of the running we managed to do. We were able to run reliably straight out of the box and that is very encouraging. The boys and girls at the factory and here at the track have been pushing really hard in the last couple of weeks and to do 77 laps in little more than one afternoon is a remarkable job by the team. Obviously we still have a big task ahead of us and we are playing catch-up in certain aspects, but I am quite satisfied so far. The car feels pretty good, although making a direct comparison with our 2014 car is not easy as the conditions in winter testing are always very particular. One of our team’s strengths is to learn about the car quickly, so we will need to get as much data as possible to get in a good position for Melbourne.”

Tom McCullough, Chief Race Engineer: “It has been a real big effort from all the staff back at the factory to get the car ready and out here for this test. Managing to run our installation laps before the lunch break was very useful and helped us achieve a solid first day with the VJM08. These are the very early stages of the VJM08’s running and it is encouraging to get 77 laps on the board: we could have got even more mileage had it not been for the red flags at the end of the day. Today was all about achieving a first understanding of the new car and to run this long allowed us to collect a sizeable amount of very valuable data.”

Williams

Driver: Valtteri Bottas
Chassis/Engine: FW37-01/PU106B hybrid
Location: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, 4.655km
Objectives: Aero work and race procedure
Weather: Warm and Dry
Air and track temps: 8 – 17ºC / 11 – 26ºC

Rod Nelson, Chief Test and Support Engineer: “We started the day doing some aero work comparing data and driver feel. We then moved on to a few performance based runs. Later in the day we worked on race procedure including some longer runs and grid simulations. We have had some new components that have performed as expected which has been productive. We have a busy final two days of the test as we optimise the time left until the first race.”

Valtteri Bottas: “It was nice to focus on performance today and work to get the lap times lower. We are working hard and still have two days left of the test so there is more still to do. The day was busy and we know there is still more to come, I feel positive and the balance was good. We still need to make sure we look at the longer runs and not just the one lap qualifying pace.”

Lotus

Pastor Maldonado completed a tally of 140 laps – more than 650km or the distance of two Grand Prix – as he resumed test duties in the E23 hybrid at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya today. Pastor ran an extensive programme including a race simulation, clocking a best lap time of 1min 26.705secs.

Track: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Spain, 4.7km
Chassis: E23-02
Weather: Blue skies with picturesque clouds. Ambient 9°C – 17°C Track 13°C – 24°C
Programme: Front suspension geometry evaluation, race simulation, aero assessments
Laps Completed: 140
Classification: P6, 1:26.705
Interruptions: None

Pastor Maldonado: “We ran the car for a long time today which has been a good endorsement of my winter training programme as I still feel fresh after 140 laps. We did a lot of different assessments so I had plenty to think about and it was good to do the race simulation as we’ll soon be heading to Melbourne. There’s a lot of information to digest from today and I can’t wait to get back in the car on Sunday.”

Nick Chester, Technical Director: “We’ve completed a high tally of laps today and the E23 has run reliably throughout. This is great for us as we’ve been able to try a number of different set-up and aero configurations to enable us to get as much data as possible to make further progress in our understanding of our new car. Pastor did a great job despite driving the equivalent distance of more than two Grand Prix and we’re looking forward to Romain jumping back into the car tomorrow.”

2nd pre-season test: Day 1

28/02/2015 By Clive Couldwell in Formula One Tags: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Felipe Massa, Front suspension geometry, Lotus F1 Team, Romain Grosjean, suspension geometry, Williams F1 Leave a comment

Romain Grosjean resumed test duties in the Lotus E23 hybrid for the first day of the second pre-season test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Grosjean completed 75 laps over the course of a programme of set-up evaluations and performance simulations, in particular evaluating a new front suspension geometry. His best lap was a 1min 26.177secs.

Track: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Spain, 4.7km
Chassis: E23-02
Weather: Cool, cloudy, occasional rain, changeable. Ambient 8°C – 17°C Track 10°C – 24°C
Programme: Front suspension geometry evaluation, set-up assessments
Laps Completed: 75
Classification: P5, 1:26.177
Interruptions: Aero evaluation equipment removal.

Romain Grosjean: “We tried a lot of different set-ups today so there was a lot of returning to the garage for different things to be changed, which is all part of testing. The car’s been reliable again and we’ve gone through quite a bit of work even if the lap count isn’t as high as some other days – it’s all part of the learning process at a test.”

Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director: “We had a productive morning evaluating a new front suspension geometry, then we spent more time trying different set-ups in the afternoon. The E23 was once more reliable and we’ve collected plenty of data and good feedback from Romain. The track was damp for a while, so we avoided too much time on the circuit in those conditions as it’s not productive to be on circuit at those times for test purposes.”

Williams

Driver: Felipe Massa
Chassis/Engine: FW37-01/PU106B hybrid
Location: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, 4.655km
Objectives: Aero and Chassis work
Weather: Overcast and dry
Air and track temps: 8 – 17ºC / 19 – 24ºC
Rod Nelson, Chief Test and Support Engineer: “The programme was slightly upset by the rain in the morning, but that just meant we had more work to do in the afternoon. We managed to complete the planned schedule though and we have made some positive changes to the chassis, as well as some aero adjustments. We are now looking at what we will take to Australia to make sure we are prepared for the first race. It has been a good day, with no reliability issues.”

Felipe Massa: “It was a good day for us and the car behaved well. When we tried to use the new soft tyre we managed to get some quicker laps in. The FW37 never showed a sign of an issue and this has been the case since we arrived at the first test in Jerez. We are doing a lot of work and seem to be moving forward.”

Barcelona tests: Day 4

22/02/2015 By Clive Couldwell in Formula One Tags: Barcelona, Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Lotus F1 Team, Nico Hulkenberg, Romain Grosjean, Sahara Force India F1, Williams F1 Leave a comment

Nico Hulkenberg (and below)

Sahara Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg clocked his first miles of 2015 in the final day of testing in Barcelona, completing 36 laps on a windy and chilly day at the Circuit de Catalunya.

Nico Hulkenberg #27
Chassis: VJM07-02
Laps: 36 laps
Mileage: 168 km
Fastest lap: 1:26.591
Classification: P8 of 9

Nico Hulkenberg: “It was a very nice sensation to be back in a Formula One car and getting the feeling of being in the cockpit again. It was exciting and I really enjoyed my time driving the car and working with the engineers after the winter break. Unfortunately our day was shortened by an issue with the power unit, something we will look into once the car is back at the factory. This, together with the very windy and cold conditions, made our work harder but every lap is valuable in pre-season. I am really looking forward to the final test next week and to try the new car. I am especially looking forward to Melbourne and starting racing again.”

Tom McCullough, Chief Race Engineer: “It was not the most straightforward of days, with a few technical issues costing us track time. A windy morning made it difficult to evaluate some of the items we were testing, but it still made for a useful first experience with the new Pirelli tyres for Nico, and we will be able to extract some data from those laps. Although we finish this test with a fairly frustrating day for Nico, over these four days we gathered a lot of useful information and we will put that into good practice for the start of the season.”

Romain Grosjean returned to the wheel of the Lotus F1 E23 hybrid to top the times for the fourth day of testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Romain completed 111 laps over the course of a programme of set-up evaluations and performance simulations. The day was characterised by clear skies and sunshine, however conditions were windy. Romain’s best lap time of 1min 24.067secs was the fastest of the test.

Track: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Spain, 4.7km
Chassis: E23-02
Weather: Sun, crisp and windy. Ambient 10°C – 19°C Track 11°C – 29°C
Programme: Tyre and aero assessments, performance simulations
Laps Completed: 111
Classification: P1, 1:24.067
Interruptions: Aero evaluation equipment fitting and removal.

Lotus F1 will resume test action at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the next four-day test commencing Thursday 26 February with Romain driving on the first and third day and Pastor in action on days two and four.

France’s Romain Grosjean (and below)

Romain Grosjean: “It was great to get behind the wheel of the E23 once more. Conditions were pretty tricky with quite a bit of wind, especially early on, but the car ran well, meaning we could complete the tests we wanted to – even if I had to modify my lines in the morning because the wind was pushing the car! We made some good improvements with the balance and set-up over the course of the day and it felt a lot better after we made changes for the afternoon. We completed a very promising mileage and it’s always good to see your name at the top of the timing monitors, even if it is far too early to know what everyone else is doing.”

Nick Chester, Technical Director: “We’ve enjoyed a solid first test in Barcelona with good reliability and encouraging performance. The biggest positive we have seen so far is the reliability of the E23 which is enabling us to push along with our assessments and evaluations over the course of 361 laps or 1680km. It was good to have Romain in the car so we could add his feedback to that we’ve already received here from Pastor and Jolyon. Today was particularly windy, making it harder to work on car balance assessments, but we conducted a productive race simulation in the afternoon as well as other performance evaluations. During this test, we’ve completed plenty of laps so we have plenty to be working on over the next three days before we’re back in action here.”

Williams

Driver: Valtteri Bottas

Chassis/Engine: FW37-02/PU106B hybrid
Location: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, 4.655km
Objectives: Set-up and Race sim
Weather: Warm and Dry
Air and track temps: 11 – 19 ºC / 12 – 28ºC

Rod Nelson, Chief Test and Support Engineer: “We had a very busy plan today. The morning was tough due to the wind conditions which affected our chassis testing. In the afternoon we had a race-sim planned, but this was interrupted by three red flags, then once again in the final run of the day there was another red flag. All of these stoppages stilted our progression slightly and meant we couldn’t quite complete our plan. Throughout the whole test though we have gathered a lot of data and are prepared for the final test next week.

Valtteri Bottas: “We completed quite a few laps today which was positive even though our programme was disrupted a few times. The FW37 remains reliable but we have quite a way to go before we are at the level we want to be, although we are on schedule. Both tests have been relatively issue free and so we have begun preparations for Australia and look forward to the final test next week.”

Barcelona tests: Day 3

21/02/2015 By Clive Couldwell in Formula One Tags: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Lotus F1 Team, Pascal Wehrlein, Pastor Maldonado, performance simulations, Sahara Force India F1, Williams F1 Leave a comment

Pastor Maldonado returned to the wheel of the Lotus F1 E23 for the third day of testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, setting the day’s fastest lap whilst he accomplished an extensive programme. Pastor’s quickest lap was a 1min 24.348secs, completed during the course of his 104 laps, comprising of various aero, tyre and performance simulations.

Track: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Spain, 4.7km
Chassis: E23-02
Weather: Cold and cloudy with sporadic rain. Ambient 8°C – 14°C Track 10°C – 20°C
Programme: Tyre and aero assessments, performance simulations
Laps Completed: 104
Classification: P1, 1:24.348
Interruptions: Aero evaluation equipment fitting and removal

Pastor Maldonado: “We achieved a lot today and it was great to complete so many laps and end the day as the fastest car. Certainly, I feel much more confident in the E23 and we’re learning a lot about it with all the laps we’re completing. I’m able to push when needed and everything about the whole package feels a lot more together than last year, especially if you remember where we were in terms of performance and reliability during the pre-season in 2014. We still have a lot of work to do, but we’re making very good progress so we’re all very positive about the work being done.”

Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director: “It was a productive day for us today. We chose to stay in the garage when it was damp outside yet we still managed to complete over a hundred laps. We’ve worked through a long checklist including aero and tyre assessments in the morning, then various performance assessments in the afternoons. Our aero work has been particularly productive and we’re showing good correlation with our wind tunnel and simulations.”

Pascal Wehrlein was back in the driving seat as Sahara Force India completed another successful day of testing in Barcelona, the young German completing 81 laps in a session affected by unpredictable weather. Race driver Nico Hulkenberg will make his 2015 debut in the final day of testing tomorrow.

Pascal Wehrlein #34
Chassis: VJM07-02
Laps: 81 laps
Mileage: 377 km
Fastest lap: 1:27.333
Classification: P8 of 10

Pascal Wehrlein: “It was great to be back in the car after a surprising Thursday and this turned out to be another great day. When you get into a completely different car to what you are used to, everything is new, from how the car feels to the buttons and dials on the steering wheel. Having had the experience on Thursday really helped me with this, I learnt a lot in these two days and that made a difference for me. The team did really help me settle in my role: everyone welcomed me from the start and made it really easy to work. The atmosphere is great. Today’s work was very focussed on set-up and we even managed to include a longer run: it was a good day’s work and I am looking forward for more opportunities in the future.”

Pascal Wehrlein (and below)

Tom McCullough, Chief Race Engineer “It’s never ideal to have rain showers disrupting the day, but in the end everyone is under the same sky and facing the same challenges. Today it was a matter of adapting to the conditions and making the most of the time we had and I feel we achieved that. Pascal settled within the team really well in his first full day, getting to know the engineers and the mechanics; he did a very mature and solid job without putting a single foot wrong. He handled the changing conditions well and did not let the very low track temperatures affect him. We managed to include both set-up and long run evaluations in our programme and, despite the poor weather, it was still a productive day. Our final day of testing tomorrow will be similar to what we did yesterday, allowing Nico Hulkenberg to do his first running on the 2015 tyres and to get his first mileage of the season.”

Williams

Driver: Felipe Massa/Valtteri Bottas
Chassis/Engine: FW37-02/PU106B hybrid
Location: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, 4.655km
Objectives: Pitstop practice
Weather: Cold with a few showers
Air and track temps: 4 – 14ºC / 10 – 18 ºC

Rod Nelson, Chief Test and Support Engineer: “We were expecting rain today so we changed the plan slightly. The day was dedicated to pitstop practice and we ran through various scenarios, issues and problems we may encounter in a race situation. I am happy with the way the team has managed themselves and worked with the issues thrown at them. We have a busy programme planned for Valtteri tomorrow so hopefully the conditions are good.”

Felipe Massa: “I did a few laps at the start of the day, but it was hard to gain anything from my perspective. The programme for the day was to practice the pitstop procedure which come a Grand Prix are always important. It is positive to have the team ready and it’s always good for the driver to practice so the team know what to expect. The whole procedure has to be quick and we can only do that by practicing.”

Valtteri Bottas: “The programme for the whole day was pitstop practice. It was difficult to get a feel for the car on the rest of the lap as I was on old tyres and my only proper run was when the track was very cold at the end of the day. It was good for the team to practice the pitstop procedure, but also for me to practice too. Australia is just a few weeks away and we need to be ready for all elements of the race. Every stop is important and it’s good to be well prepared.”

CLIVE COULDWELL: Formula One as it is…

A slightly different take on the sport

Tag Archives: Williams F1

Canada post race: Williams

Monaco images: Williams

Monaco post race: Williams

Monaco qualifying: Williams

Sir Frank Williams awarded

Barcelona post race: Williams

Bahrain post race: Williams

China post race: Williams

Melbourne post race: Williams

Second pre-season test: final day

Pre-season test: Day 3

Pre-season test: Day 2

2nd pre-season test: Day 1

Barcelona tests: Day 4

Barcelona tests: Day 3

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