A good base of work for Williams F1 in Brazil
The Williams F1 team approaches the Brazilian Grand Prix rather confidently because the FW36 seems competitive on the Interlagos track. But the Grove team knows they will need to be wary of the weather, which is very often unpredictable in Sao Paulo.
At the foot of the podium in Austin, the Williams drivers are eager to do better this weekend at Interlagos for the Brazilian Grand Prix, and things are starting off quite well.
Indeed, Valtteri Bottas was optimistic at the end of his only practice session of the day, even though tire management will need to be monitored: « It was an interesting day; the track seemed different with the new surface, but there already appears to be a good level of grip, and it was cleaning up quickly. There was still a bit of graining with the softs, but nothing major, and they seem to hold up better than last year because the track is smoother. We still have work to do with the balance, but the initial feeling is quite good. »
Same observation from Felipe Massa, for whom learning the resurfaced track was not easy: « Today, it was mainly about understanding the car and its balance with the new asphalt. The grip was actually quite good and seemed better than in recent years, but because it’s new, quite dirty, and temperatures were high, it was difficult to have a real understanding of the car’s balance on long runs. The car seemed good so we start with a good base. »
Felipe Nasr replaced Bottas during FP1 for his final practice session of the year with Williams before joining Sauber in 2015, and he believes his team will be competitive: « I think the car looks good on this circuit, so the team should be optimistic about having a good weekend. »
Rob Smedley, head of performance at the Grove team, remains cautious as he knows the weather can be tricky in Sao Paulo: “We expect the weather to be very different this weekend, so we need to take into account what we’ve learned but we must be fully prepared for a very different track tomorrow.”
