United States GP: Massa and Williams finish just off the podium
While the Williams F1 team drivers were aiming for the podium in Austin, they ultimately had to settle for 4th and 5th places. However, this result allows the British team to further solidify their 3rd place in the Constructors' Championship, which is positive with two races remaining in the season.
After placing its two cars on the second row of the starting grid for the United States Grand Prix, the objective of the Williams F1 team was clear: to finish on the podium behind the two untouchable Mercedes. But the goal was not achieved, as Massa and Bottas were pipped at the post by Daniel Ricciardo’s Red Bull.
The Brazilian finishes the race in 4th place but believes that without a slightly slow stop in the middle of the race, things could have been different: « I had a very good start to be in 3rd place and we showed good pace throughout the race, but unfortunately, a stop slower than usual [3.7 seconds, Ed.] allowed Ricciardo to pass me and that might have cost us a possible podium. »
But the Brazilian knows that the most important thing may lie elsewhere, on the constructors’ championship side, where Williams has further increased its lead over Scuderia Ferrari: « Overall, we have to see this as a positive weekend because we scored more points than our rivals in the constructors’ championship and we have good momentum for the end of the season. »
Same sentiment from Rob Smedley, head of performance at the Grove team, who is pleased with the overall result that allows the Williams team to now have a 42-point lead over its Maranello rival with two events left in the season: « We are a bit disappointed to have lost our starting positions, but in the end, Ricciardo was faster than us and had a very good race. We need to analyze our strategy because our choice for the pit stops allowed Red Bull to pass us for the podium. We are focused on consolidating our 3rd place in the constructors’ championship and we must be satisfied with the fact that we have increased our lead over Ferrari, so congratulations to everyone in the team for this new good performance. »
Fifth at the checkered flag, Valtteri Bottas hoped to secure his 6th podium of the year in Austin, but that was not the case. The Finn is nevertheless pleased with the good performance achieved by the Williams team in the land of Uncle Sam: « Overall, we managed to score significant points and increase our lead over Ferrari for 3rd place in the Constructors’ Championship, but there are a number of things that can be learned from today’s race. […] At this point in the season, we’re trying to maximize our points, and this was a solid result that puts us in a good position for Brazil. »
