Felipe Massa completed a strong late lap of Silverstone to pinch third place on the grid ahead of Williams Martini Racing team-mate Valtteri Bottas, and insisted it was a good day for the whole Grove team.
The Brazilian driver, fresh off a podium finish in Austria two weekends ago, felt it was important to show Williams have the pace to beat everyone except the Mercedes team, and is hoping for a good race on Sunday, although he knows it won’t be easy to maintain his position.
“It was a fantastic day for us at our home Grand Prix and it’s great to have us P3 and P4,” insisted Massa. “I enjoyed fighting closely with Valtteri and exchanging lap times.
“The wind into Copse was really strong and that affected the balance of the car, so I made sure to be cautious and not to waste a lap by running wide.
“It’s very important for us to show that we have the pace to get both cars ahead of everyone except from Mercedes. Tomorrow won’t be easy but we are ready for it and it will be an exciting race.”
