Once again, the Williams Martini Racing team confirmed they are becoming a force to be reckoned with, as Valtteri Bottas took second place on the grid at Hockenheim alongside Nico Rosberg, while team-mate Felipe Massa was third. Both drivers are in a good position heading into tomorrows German Grand Prix.
Bottas equalled his best ever qualifying performance in second, but felt the Mercedes were still just out of reach. The Finn is hopeful of getting ahead of Rosberg on Sunday but believes the best result might be to stay ahead of Ferrari and Red Bull to help with their championship standings.
“The car was feeling great today and it is ready for the race, so as a team we are pleased with the result,” said Bottas. “The last lap I had was almost perfect so I can’t fault the session. The Mercedes are still a bit quicker than us, but we are going to work hard tomorrow to get in front but it will be difficult.
“The aim tomorrow is to keep ahead of the Ferraris and Red Bulls and hopefully the cooler temperatures predicted will play into our hands.”
Team-mate Massa was positive about his third place on the grid, and is looking forward to having a good race on Sunday, although the Brazilian believes the race might be more difficult than qualifying.
“It was a very positive qualifying for us,” said Massa. “I didn’t get the perfect lap, but we are second and third, so there are no complaints. The race will be difficult so today was more important than usual and so I am delighted with the result. Hopefully we can continue this forward and have a positive day tomorrow as well.”
Head of Performance Engineering Rob Smedley believed the team maximised their performance in qualifying, and was happy for both drivers to finish second and third. He is looking for the team to follow their strong qualifying with a strong race.
“It was a good job by the team and a good result,” said Smedley. “We have maximised our performance throughout the weekend and the drivers did the work today to set us up well for tomorrow. Qualifying is important here and we have showed we have good race pace so it’s now time to convert that into points, and hopefully further improve our championship position.”
