(Williams Martini Racing Team)
The Williams Martini Racing Team head into this weekend's final race of the 2014 Formula One season at the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi having scored points in every Grand Prix of the season following their switch from Renault to Mercedes over the Winter of 2013. The Grove based outfit also brought in a new title sponsor in Martini and and another big sponsor in Petrobas.
The Williams Martini Racing Team are currently in third place in the championship on 254 points, 44 ahead of Ferrari and with double points on offer this weekend they will be hoping for anther strong performance following Felipe Massa's third place finish at his home Grand Prix last time out in Brazil.
Valtteri Bottas heads into the final race of the season in sixth place in the championship on 156 points just one point behind Ferrari's Fernando Alonso having had a fantastic season for the Williams team have scored five podiums this season. Speaking ahead of Sunday's race the Finn stated:
'Abu Dhabi is going to be an exciting race and it could play out one of two ways. The double points could be interesting and we will try and play it to our advantage.
We have been trying to secure our position in the championship and so continue to focus on this, but I can still finish fourth in the Drivers’ Championship I will focus on this as well.
It’s a nice place to go to, the temperature is warm, the people are friendly and the facilities good so I am looking forward to the race.'
Felipe Massa heads into the final race of the season having picked up his second podium finish of the season in Brazil and having secured the teams first pole position since the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix at the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring earlier this season.
The Brazilian led a Williams Martini Racing Team front row lock out for the first time since the 2003 German Grand Prix. Massa is currently in 8th place in the championship on 98 points so will be hoping for a strong result in Abu Dhabi. Speaking ahead of the race, Massa stated:
'The track is like a street-circuit in one sector with slow corners and barriers quite close, and then a traditional circuit in the other with very long straights and flowing corners.
We race in the evening but practice during the heat of the day, so to adapt the car towards cooler conditions is important, it can save a lot of time if you get this right. Being the final race of the season and with double points it is a very important race to finish in the top ten.'
Speaking ahead of the race on Sunday, Williams Martini Racing Team's Head of Performance Engineering Rob Smedley stated:
'Abu Dhabi has a great mix of long straights with high straight-line speed, big braking and a tight twisty section at the end of the lap.
Our main focus is going to be on the third sector and getting the balance right there, which is always difficult due to the changes throughout the weekend with the temperature. You get a large variation in temperature throughout the sessions.
It’s important to focus on the dusk to early evening track as that is the time the race will take place. The track has great facilities and you always get a really good crowd, who will hopefully be behind us. Our ambitions remain the same, to finish with a decent haul of points and finish third in the championship.'
© Ben Johnston 2014
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