The two Williamses save themselves thanks to their start
After a catastrophic qualifying, both Williams drivers managed to get into the points thanks to a very good start. Felipe Massa is ahead of Lance Stroll, who finishes in the points for the third consecutive time.
Williams experienced a disastrous qualifying session, with both drivers eliminated in Q1. With 17th and 18th places on the grid, the team expected a difficult Grand Prix. But everything cleared up from the first corner when the Grove drivers managed to dodge the series of collisions.
Felipe Massa acknowledges that his race was decided at that moment: « Obviously, we can’t be happy with a ninth place, but starting 17th, it’s a fantastic race for me. I got a very good start, avoiding problems at the first corner and overtaking cars. It was a fantastic first lap because the pace was great, especially compared to qualifying. It’s something we need to work on so we don’t find ourselves in the same situation as today. »
The veteran could also be pleased that his teammate was also able to get into the points. The Canadian rookie placed himself in line with his teammate by fully taking advantage of the chaos of the first corner: « This shows that anything can happen and that it’s not over on Saturday. I am very happy to start 18th, finish 10th, and bring home an additional point. It wasn’t an easy race, even if the start was good and we managed to gain places. »
The Brazilian even tried to use his offbeat strategy, with an initial stint on soft tires, to overtake Esteban Ocon towards the end of the race but had to settle for the final 9th place: « At the end of the race, it was a bit disappointing not to overtake Ocon, but I was losing a lot of grip in high-speed corners, and he had good top speed on the straight. »
For Lance Stroll, it was mainly about defending his position, first against Kevin Magnussen, who was later eliminated by a gearbox problem, and then against Jolyon Palmer: “I knew after the good start that we were in a good position. So I had to stay focused, not make mistakes, and save the brakes and tires for the end of the race.”
Williams will now be able to turn to the celebrations of its 40th anniversary at home, on the Silverstone circuit, next weekend.
