2016 Review – Williams: A season of disappointments

The important figures

Constructor’s Championship standing: 5th

Pole: 0

Victory: 0

Podium: 1

Points: 138

Best result: 3rd (Bottas: Canada)

Best qualification: 2nd (Bottas: Russia)

A season in the fight with Force India but disappointing results

Williams was counting on this season to close the gap with Mercedes and Ferrari after a slightly less successful 2015 compared to a very convincing 2014, greatly aided by the superiority of the German engine. The team from Grove was quickly overtaken by the Mercedes-Ferrari-Red Bull trio, positioning itself as the fourth force on the grid. This was ultimately a logical position given the budget gap between Williams and the big teams in the discipline. Despite a nice podium finish for Valtteri Bottas in Canada, Frank Williams’ team saw Force India take the lead once the season resumed in Belgium. While Bottas and Massa had a maximum gap of 33 points in Austria, the collective performance of the Indian rival pushed Williams to fifth position. To recall, Hülkenberg and Pérez secured fourth and fifth positions at Spa-Francorchamps, while the best Williams only finished eighth, thanks to Bottas. It was quite a blow on a circuit where engine performance is crucial. In the shadow of the big players, an interesting duel began for the “best of the rest” position.

In fact, it was mainly Bottas who kept the team in the race. The Finn finished the season with a podium and 85 points, 32 more than Felipe Massa, whose best results were only two fifth places: in Melbourne and Sochi. These disparate results put Williams in fifth place in the constructors’ standings with 138 points, 35 points behind Force India! It’s worth noting that Sir Frank’s team scored 92 points in the first 10 races, but only 46 points in the last 11!

Bottas dominates Massa head and shoulders above

Valtteri Bottas began his fourth consecutive season with Williams this year since his arrival in F1. He started his season with five consecutive top 10 finishes before a more challenging race in Monaco, finishing in twelfth place. He climbed onto his sole personal podium of the season in Montreal, which was also the only one for Williams. The Finn established himself as the team leader, as he significantly outperformed his Brazilian teammate both in qualifying sessions and on race Sundays. The difference was particularly stark in qualifying laps, with a decisive score of 17-4, making it the most unbalanced pair on the grid.

Despite a second half of the season made more difficult by a less competitive car, he ultimately secured eighth place in the overall driver standings with 85 points. Discreet, the driver marked with the number 77 showed a tendency to have clean and effective races, relying on the fastest pit crew in the field. It is therefore more than ever as the team’s number one that he ends.

Meanwhile, Felipe Massa first made headlines in Monza with the announcement of his (so-called?) retirement. A symbolic location, land of Ferrari; his second family, but also a place where Michael Schumacher announced his first retirement exactly 10 years ago; to leave his seat open for the Brazilian while Kimi Räikkönen was already signed up for the following year.

On the track, the Brazilian started his season properly with a series of six point-finishing races. He retired in Canada due to a mechanical problem while his teammate climbed onto the only podium for Williams. After that, things went downhill for the Paulista as he only scored points once in Baku, and not at all until the break!

At the resumption, Force India had definitively taken the upper hand over its team. Struggling in Qualifying, Massa slightly rectified the situation in the race against Bottas, without impressing, with a meager seventh place in Austin as his best performance at the end of the season.

But, obviously, the second significant moment of this end of the campaign will be the South American’s retirement at the pit entrance in the rain at his home in Interlagos. A painful event that will nonetheless earn him emotional applause from the Mercedes, Williams, and Ferrari mechanics to honor his fine career. In the overall standings, the 2008 runner-up placed 11th among drivers, with 53 points. This disappointing season cannot, however, overshadow his experience and his fine-tuning skills.

His general baggage did not escape the attention of his last employer. Rosberg’s retirement at Mercedes prompted Toto Wolff to make a strong push to recruit Bottas for the seat of the world champion car. An offer that was carefully considered by Claire Williams, but ultimately about to be accepted. And who else to replace Bottas, but Massa himself?

The Brazilian is said to have given his agreement to return and assist Williams for one final year!

An eventful off-season!

Williams’ prospects for 2017 are starting to take shape. Rosberg’s departure triggered a chain reaction that will impact the English team. The team needs an experienced driver alongside the new Canadian prodigy, Lance Stroll, who will become the youngest driver on the grid, having been born in October 1998!

We will therefore closely monitor the level of the Quebecois who will start in the discipline after a year of domination in F3. His arrival, however, was facilitated by the fortune of his father, Lawrence Stroll, a prominent figure in the fashion industry who spent nearly 70 million euros to train his offspring. Moreover, he placed young Lance in the cockpit of the Prema team in Formula 3—after buying it—and notably financed a successful private testing campaign around several circuits on the F1 calendar, including Austin, Silverstone, and Sochi, in a 2014 Williams.

Once on the track, Lance Stroll will only be able to rely on himself and his relatively limited experience in true Grand Prix weekend conditions. That’s why it’s important for Williams to pair him with a seasoned teammate. Bottas was that man, but his move to Mercedes seems confirmed. Therefore, Massa represents the most interesting, practical, and one of the most cost-effective alternatives! Pascal Wehrlein was considered at one point, but with just a single season at Manor, his name remains uncertain…

Especially since a new regulation is coming. A change of scenery where aerodynamics will be paramount. A field that nevertheless represents the Achilles’ heel of Williams, which may raise concerns about a further deterioration in the team’s results.

In all this, the question mark concerns the timing in the season when Williams chose to shift its resources to the 2017 car. The team’s drop in performance at the end of the season can perhaps be explained by a desire to be well-prepared for this new era of Formula 1. A new era that will proceed without Pat Symonds, the team’s technical director who has just retired. However, a big fish seems to have been hooked to replace him: none other than Paddy Lowe, currently holding the same position at Mercedes! A former Williams member and at the end of his contract, the Briton is said to be ready to take on this new challenge after having dealt with a grueling end of the season between Rosberg and Hamilton.

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