Ferrari and Williams F1 in battle and confident ahead of the Japanese GP
Before the Japanese Grand Prix, Ferrari and Williams, vying for third place in the Constructors' Championship, are showing their optimism, with Fernando Alonso and Rob Smedley leading the way.
The end of the 2014 season will be marked, aside from the fight for the drivers’ title, by the battle between Williams and Ferrari to finish in third place in the Constructors’ Championship. Currently, the British team is in this position, with 187 points, 9 points ahead of the Scuderia.
Ferrari confident before the end of the season
According to Fernando Alonso, there is no doubt that the team from Maranello will manage to get the upper hand over its direct competitor: “We are Ferrari, we are much more than a normal team. So we just need to keep working and no matter the performance of the car, no matter our advantage or disadvantage against Williams, we will fight until the last lap of the last race because there are many points on the table,” he explained to *Autosport*.
For the double World Champion, the last race, with double points, will be crucial in deciding the outcome of this battle: « There is Abu Dhabi with double points and there are many opportunities we have to close this gap. I am confident that by the end of the championship, we will beat Williams. »
The Spaniard claims that the Scuderia has already gone through the toughest part of the season on tracks where Mercedes engines had the advantage: « We have passed Spa and Monza, which were difficult tracks for us, we knew that. Williams managed to maximize those points and they did a good job. »
Aerodynamic innovations for Williams
On the Williams side, optimism is in order. In Suzuka, indeed, the Grove team will present with a significant aerodynamic upgrade, after Felipe Massa, by scoring 10 points in Singapore, saved the day on a circuit that, a priori, does not suit the FW36’s qualities. Rob Smedley, the head of performance, explains why confidence prevails: « We are really, really at our best in tire management. I think tire management in Singapore helped us enormously. You saw a significant example of this with Felipe and Valtteri – even with a defective car [the Finn suffered from a power steering issue at the end of the race, ed.] – who were able to manage the tires. »
« The way we were able to extract probably more than the car’s performance in qualifying through the tire management we have, personally, I am immensely proud of all the science and experience we have put into it, » he continued for Autosport.
« In Japan, it will put us in a good position. In Russia, I think the compounds are quite conservative; I think it will really suit us well. We will also go to tracks where power has a greater effect, where there is greater sensitivity to aerodynamic drag, so we are really, really optimistic, » he explained.
