Claire Williams takes stock of the season for Williams F1 Team

Very satisfied with this season, with a jump from 9th place last season to the provisional 4th place in the standings this season, Claire Williams is delighted with her team’s current situation.

« It’s an incredible turnaround, it’s true, but we are also aware that we are still fragile. There are four areas where the team has improved. To begin with, the Mercedes power unit was an important factor for the new group led by Pat Symonds. Having recruited Felipe Massa is also an advantage; he’s a very strong driver, not only from the car’s point of view but also inspiring. He is a true source of inspiration for everyone in the team to have someone of this caliber. It’s a very strong message that we want to offer to the team and to the world that we are a very serious team about our goals. The team is working very well around the two great drivers we have.»

Far from simply recruiting a driver like Felipe Massa, the Williams team experienced the arrival of a new title sponsor: « The final element is the commercial aspect, the partnership with Martini has really dusted off and refreshed our image. The double points rule at the end of the season could work in our favor. »

Interviewed by Formula1.com, the Englishwoman talks about her father’s view on the current season: « He loves what’s happening right now, he’s completely different when he goes to the paddock and knows the team can compete with the best and score points. It’s fantastic for him to see his team with such a renewal »

Claire Williams also comments on her driver tandem: « Felipe lives up to our hopes, he brings his experience to the team. He does a tremendous job with the engineering department to develop the car. As for Valtteri, he does an incredible job, it is only his second year, he has finished 3 times on the podium. Felipe and Valtteri are doing a great job together. » If the Brazilian is not at the same level as his teammate in terms of results, Sir Frank Williams’ daughter knows that it is not entirely the Brazilian’s fault: « Felipe is doing an excellent job but he is just unlucky. However, he is mature enough and has enough experience in this sport to realize that sometimes things don’t go the right way. He is not depressed because of it. We couldn’t be happier » she stated on the official F1 website.

For the first time since the Monaco Grand Prix, the Brazilian scored more points in the race than his teammate in Budapest. However, Bottas achieved three consecutive podiums in Austria, Great Britain, and Germany. He is in 5th position in the World Drivers’ Championship with 95 points, and Massa is 9th with 40 points.

The FW36 is inferior to the Mercedes W05 Hybrid, which dominates the start of the season, having only let the Canadian and Hungarian Grand Prix slip away this weekend. Claire Williams, however, expresses her confidence that the team will maintain the same development pace for the second half of the season. « There is no reason why we cannot. We have always been a team that has developed our cars throughout the season. We have in-house resources. So there is no reason why we should not continue to do what we are doing now. »