The Williams Martini Racing duo of Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa both finished inside the top six in Malaysia two weeks ago, but will be looking for better this weekend in China.
Bottas is looking forward to the race at Shanghai this weekend, feeling it is an interesting track and one that offers good chances of overtaking, especially down the long back straight. He also is happy to see the support of Finns at the track, with a number seemingly making the trip to the circuit to support him and fellow Finn Kimi Raikkonen.
“China is a good fun circuit to drive,” said Bottas. “The long and high speed corners give it a good character, plus it has a very long back straight which aids overtaking and makes the races more interesting.
“There is a lot of support for the Finns in China which is great to see and they are passionate about Formula One too.”
Bottas believes he should have no problems with his back that had caused him to miss the Australian Grand Prix and have discomfort during Malaysia.
“There is much less pressure on the back and now there is a two-week gap between races for a good recovery,“ said Bottas. “I am sure in China it will be 100 per cent and no problem in the future.”
Team-mate Massa believes the Shanghai circuit is similar to that of the Barcelona circuit in Spain where most of pre-season testing took place, and hopes the data they retrieved in Spain will benefit them this weekend.
“China is a similar track to Barcelona where we have conducted most of our pre-season testing, so we have a lot of data that can assist us in setting up the car,” said Massa.
“The track is harsh on the front tyres, often resulting in graining. It’s a good circuit, and you will always see overtaking there due to the long straight, which has the added DRS effect as well.”
