Friday: Williams F1 competitive with Bottas, Massa needs to work
While Valtteri Bottas was comfortable from the first laps, this was not the case for Felipe Massa, who struggled to find the balance of his F1.
Valtteri Bottas (No. 77) – 4th and 3rd
The Finn was very happy with his car right from the start of free practice: From the first lap, the balance of the car was good so we made good progress. The developments we brought worked well, which is very positive. It will be interesting to see where we stand tomorrow compared to the others when they start digging a little deeper into their car’s potential. Although Mercedes still seems strong, there will be a great battle between us, the Ferraris, and the Red Bulls.
Felipe Massa (No. 19) – 11th and 14th
Even though he is pleased with the competitiveness of his teammate’s F1, the Brazilian was struggling: « I had some problems today and had no grip; it’s not because of the new aerodynamic parts since they seem to have worked well. Once we resolve these issues, we should be competitive tomorrow. »
He worked with the rest of the weekend in mind: « The work done today was focused on performance in qualifying, as the race is expected to be wet, so that’s something we need to take into account for setting up the car. Our race pace seems good as Valtteri showed, so we’re going to work hard to get my car running just as well tomorrow. »
