It was a good qualifying session for the Williams Martini Racing team, who had looked to be slightly off the pace during the weekend’s practice sessions, though Friday does tend to be a slower day for the Oxfordshire based squad.
Valtteri Bottas qualified in seventh, eight-tenths of a second off the pace of pole sitter Lewis Hamilton, but only two tenths back from the Scuderia Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen, which was a positive for the team, in what was a very close qualifying session.
The Finn has gone well at Montreal in the past, finishing on the podium here last year, and is positive ahead of tomorrow’s race.
“I think we did well today. The cloudy conditions made it a bit more tricky to get the tyres working. For me the main problem was the front tyres and getting them hot enough to grip well. That was the main issue, but otherwise the car was handling well.
“Obviously it was very close today so it was definitely better than the last couple of races, but it’s tomorrow that counts and the weather could affect things. Tomorrow’s the day we need to get the most out of.”
Team-mate Felipe Massa was just one tenth further back in eighth place, but was happy with that result, considering he had been in the barriers on Friday and the team were unable to give him full performance in the FW38, due to a lack of parts.
“It was a very competitive qualifying session, which meant we were fighting with every team for a very small gap.
“With the car I had today, I did a very good job and I’m really happy with my lap. If I had a similar car to Valtteri, I’d have done an ever better job.
“All in all, I’m pleased with the lap I did and my overall qualifying result, considering my accident yesterday.”
Though disappointed at being the fourth fastest team on Saturday, Williams believe they have a quick car, with both their drivers topping the speed traps during qualifying, and are hopeful of a strong points haul in the race.
