(Williams Martini Racing Team)
The Williams Martini Racing Team head into this weekend’s
Bahrain night race hoping to continue their sports scoring run after Felipe
Massa and Valtteri Bottas finished the race in fifth and sixth place
respectively.
The Grove based outfit have now scored points in 22 Grand
Prix in a row. The team are currently in third place on 48 points, 31 points
behind Scuderia Ferrari in second place. The outfit will be hoping to close the
gap to the Maranello based outfit as they appear to taken a step backwards over
the winter.
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s race, Felipe Massa stated:
‘Bahrain is the first night race of the
season and is a spectacular place to watch a race. I always have fond memories
of tracks where I have won before and I have managed to step onto the top step
of the podium twice in Bahrain. I hope our car can show its true pace and
utilise its straight line speed on the long straights. The track and facilities
are always excellent in Bahrain, which is an added bonus when going to any race.’
Valtteri Bottas, taking part in only his second race this
season in China last weekend is currently in 6th place in the
championship on 18 points. Speaking about this weekend’s race the Finn stated:
‘Last year was a good race in Bahrain. The
circuit offers the opportunity to overtake but it doesn’t make it easy so the
drivers fight for every position. The track surface is quite rough which has a
huge effect on the tyres, so looking after them becomes a priority. This can
lead to quicker cars being bunched up and we have to take every chance that is
on offer to overtake. I really like the Middle East; the facilities are always
fantastic so I am looking forward to heading back there.’
Rob Smedley, Williams Martini Racing Team’s Head of
Performance Engineering commented on this weekend’s race saying:
‘After a milder weekend in China, we are
back to a hot weekend in Bahrain. The circuit is fantastic with very high
traction demand making it tough for the engineers to ensure the car is good in
qualifying, but looks after its rear tyres in race conditions. The importance
of controlling the temperatures in the rears is paramount. At the start of the
weekend the track is quite dirty leading to increased tyre wear but this
settles down and improves throughout the race. The fans come from all over the
Middle East and really enjoy their motorsport, so we are looking forward to
this years’ Bahrain Grand Prix.’
© Ben Johnston 2015
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