It has become a habit: it is very rare to see the Williams shine on Friday before a noticeable improvement in times and positions when it’s time for the qualifiers. This Friday was no exception to the rule as Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas did not focus on setting times, concentrating more on long stints.<\/p>\n
Felipe Massa, who finished 10th in both sessions, was thus satisfied with his day: \u00ab It was really a normal Friday for us. We focused on understanding the car’s balance, how it works with different types of tires, and we also had some good long runs at the end. We collected a lot of information today and now we will try to understand it to improve for tomorrow.<\/i> \u00bb<\/p>\n
On Valtteri Bottas’s side, achieving a better time and securing a better position in the second session (8th compared to 12th in the morning) is the positive aspect of the day: “The car performed better during the evening session with cooler temperatures and less wind, which is good since we need the car to be at its best at that time of day for qualifying and the race. We can still improve, but it was encouraging to see the consistency we demonstrated during the long runs on medium tires.”<\/p>\n
For Rob Smedley, the team’s director of engineering, the main satisfaction came from being able to complete a full testing program, which had not been the case in Melbourne. This had a definite impact on the rest of the weekend: \u00ab It was an essential day for us because we lost so much work in Melbourne due to the weather during testing. The good news is that we have now reviewed the majority of this work. We have clearly learned a lot about the car, which is really a good thing. We can use this tomorrow to help us improve the car.<\/i> \u00bb<\/p>\n
The objective for tomorrow will therefore be to place both drivers in the top 8, which was not the case in Melbourne, with Valtteri Bottas starting in 12th place on the grid.<\/p>\n