For the fifth time in 2014, the Williams Martini Racing team locked out the second row of the grid, with Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa qualifying third and fourth in Abu Dhabi.
Bottas has one eye on the World Constructors’ Championship on Sunday, with the Finn determined to secure third place in the standings behind Mercedes and Red Bull Racing, and feels the team are in a good position to do just that. He also wants to finish fourth in the Drivers’ Championship, and will be starting ahead of both Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel, his rivals for that position.
“It is important for the team to get third in the championship and we have set ourselves up well to achieve that,” said Bottas. “I also have a good chance to regain fourth in the Drivers’ Championship and so will be focusing on that as well.
“That was one of the best laps I have done in qualifying all season, throughout the session I worked the times down and got it all together when it mattered. I will be ready to fight for any opportunity to move forward in the race tomorrow.”
Team-mate Massa was just behind Bottas in fourth, and felt the team are in a good position going into the race. He was slightly disappointed to drop behind Bottas after getting the better of him in the first two sessions of qualifying in Abu Dhabi, but feels a podium finish on Sunday is a definite possibility.
“We are starting in the best positions we could tomorrow,” said Massa. “I potentially had the pace to be in front of Valtteri but I didn’t put together my final lap after I locked up. The car is showing good performance for tomorrow and another second row lockout is encouraging.
“The tyre degradation will be vital tomorrow, so this will be important for the strategy. A podium is possible so I will fight hard for that as it would be a great end to the season.”
