Paddy Lowe admitted scoring points in the Monaco Grand Prix was a good result for the Williams Martini Racing team, especially after starting well down the field after a difficult qualifying session on Saturday.
Felipe Massa started fourteenth on the grid as a result of not getting a clear lap in during Q2, while Lance Stroll was down in seventeenth on his first visit to the principality, and although the Canadian rookie retired due to high brake temperatures, Massa was able to put in a strong result to finish ninth.
Chief Technical Officer Lowe admits Williams were not quick enough in Monaco, and he hopes they can learn from what went wrong to ensure they can be more competitive going forward.
“It was always going to be a difficult race starting from 14th and 17th,” said Lowe. “We planned to deploy our strategy tactically and take advantage of safety cars if there was an opportunity to make up positions.
“As is usually the case in Monaco, it was an eventful race in the end. Felipe was able to benefit from this as he managed to secure two points for the team.
“Lance drove a solid race but, unfortunately, we had to retire him on lap 72 due to a problem with his left front brake system, which appears to have been caused by debris being picked up that blocked the cooling system.
“Overall, we’re happy to have collected some points, but our car wasn’t quick enough today. We’ll learn from this to ensure we come back stronger next time.”
