Saturday: Williams drivers expected more from the qualifying session

Felipe Massa (No. 14) – 10th and 9th

Even if the Brazilian expected more from these qualifications, there is satisfaction: « Placing both our cars in Q3 is a step forward for the team compared to last season, but we clearly had a car capable of finishing even higher on the grid today. »

Massa believes that the rainy conditions did not favor the qualities of the FW36: The car seemed good in the dry during free practice 3 and in Q1, but on a wet track we struggled more with the rear downforce, and these conditions made us suffer more than the others.

But the primary goal is to finish the race and achieve the best possible position: « The race could be unpredictable tomorrow with reliability as a key factor, so we need to work to ensure we don’t encounter any issues with the car and to use our good pace in the dry to gain positions. »

Valtteri Bottas (n°77) – 20th and 10th [15th on the grid after penalty]

Like his teammate, the Finn expected more from the qualifications but remains satisfied with his performance: « The changing weather conditions were very tricky for everyone today, and I’m generally a bit disappointed to finish 10th in Q3. We had the pace to finish higher, but we struggled to get the intermediates and wet tires to work well. »

« We should take the positive from being able to place both our cars in Q3 because it hadn’t happened for a long time, » adds Bottas.

Following an unexpected gearbox change, Bottas will finally start in 15th position but remains confident about his chances to climb up during the race: « It’s a shame we had to change my gearbox because our reliability seemed good in practice, but our pace in the dry was good so if the weather is on our side, then we will have a good chance of finishing in the points tomorrow. »