Sunday: Williams in the points, Massa and Bottas solid
The Williams team managed to limit the damage by placing both cars in the points. Valtteri Bottas, who started from eighteenth place, finished eighth. Felipe Massa was very economical, some might say too much. He finished seventh behind the wall-like Button.
Felipe Massa (No. 19) – 7th
The Brazilian did not encounter any major incidents but remained stuck behind Button’s McLaren.
I had a very good start which allowed me to gain a few places in the first lap, but my progress was slowed down by Magnussen’s McLaren during the first stint, which had good traction out of the last corner, making any overtaking difficult. I encountered the same problem later with Jenson, managing to get close to his exhaust near the end of the race with tires in better condition, but I just couldn’t overtake him.
He nevertheless thinks that the Williams team did well on a circuit that was unfavorable for them.
« Overall, I think this track didn’t particularly suit our car, so it’s good to have been able to finish in these positions, and I’m confident that we are more competitive in Bahrain.
Valtteri Bottas (No. 77) – 8th
Starting from afar, the Finnish driver finishes in the points. He explains:
« I think we can be happy with our race today because moving from eighteenth to eighth place is a good result, and we’re bringing points home in our bag. The car wasn’t as competitive as in Melbourne, but the team did a good job designing a single-seater that seems capable of regularly getting into the top 10. »
Thanks to a highly performant single-seater on the straights, he was able to move up the field quite quickly.
« I made an excellent start by gaining six places on the first lap, and after that, the pace was quite good and I managed to gain a few more places without too much trouble thanks to our very good top speed on the straight. It’s an encouraging start to the season for us so far. »
