Williams drivers lagging behind in the rain in Malaysia
The Williams drivers were the only team capable of occasionally rivaling the Mercedes in 2014, but at the start of this season, it's not the same, as evidenced by a poorer than expected performance in the rain during qualifying in Malaysia.
The Williams drivers hope to continue being the second force on the grid, but at the start of this season, things aren’t going as planned. The latest setback occurred during the Sepang qualifying session, where the Williams drivers recorded the 7th and 9th fastest times.
Felipe Massa managed to secure the 7th position on the grid, but he knows that his Williams is not yet as good in the rain as it is on the dry. He is optimistic for the race though: « It wasn’t the easiest day today, I think we can be in the top 5 on the dry. We still have some problems in the wet like last year, hopefully we can resolve some of them. »
Valtteri Bottas, who set the 9th fastest time but will start 8th due to Grosjean’s penalty, is disappointed with his performance, as the Williams is not as strong in the rain as on the dry: « I’m a bit disappointed with the way my day went. I felt I had done a good lap, so I was a little surprised to be 9th. I wanted to be the last car to cross the line, so I was happy to be, we just need to work on our performance in the rain. »
Rob Smedley, head of track engineering, acknowledges that things have been complicated for the two drivers of the Grove team and an analysis is necessary to understand the issues faced today: « The changing conditions made the session complicated. We were on the right tires at the right time and tried to cross the line last knowing that the track was improving with each lap. We need to see why our performance was not up to par in the wet. »
