Williams Martini Racing have today announced the appointment of Dave Redding to the position of Team Manager. Dave will be responsible for the overall management of the operational and sporting aspects of the Williams racing team.
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This race was absolutely unlucky. One Force India retired and the other one was 7th or something like that. If Massa wouldn't retired he could have won the race or finish 2nd at least. Absolutely unlucky
- Lance Stroll finished third at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix to become the youngest rookie to secure a Formula One podium, and the first Canadian to do so since 2001
- Felipe Massa retired, while running third, with suspension issues
- Both drivers had a clean start to the race, despite a frenetic opening few corners. Felipe was able to gain three places and move into P6, with Lance maintaining position in P8
- Felipe pitted under the safety car on lap 12, with Lance doing so on lap 13. They emerged in P5 and P7
- Another safety car period ensued shortly after. On the restart Felipe was able to pass Raikkonen into Turn 1 for P4. Another safety car period followed
- On the second restart of the race Felipe was able to move up to P3, while Lance jumped up to P4 as a result of the Force India’s colliding with each other. Due to large amounts of debris around the track the red flag was soon waved on lap 22
- When the race resumed Lance passed Felipe, but Ricciardo was able to squeeze past them both, which put Lance in P4 and Felipe in P5
- Felipe, however, was suffering with suspension issues and began to fall down the order rapidly. The issue was unable to be resolved and he was forced to retire
- Lance remained in P4 until Hamilton pitted on lap 31 to replace his loose headrest, which moved Lance up to P3
- By lap 34 Lance was up to P2 as Vettel was handed a 10-second penalty
- Lance maintained P2 right until the very last second of the race, when Bottas, with the help of DRS, was able to beat Lance across the line by a tenth of a second
- Felipe remains 10th in the Drivers’ Championship, while Lance moves up to 12th. The team moves up to fifth in the Constructors’ Championship with 37 points
Paddy Lowe, Chief Technical Officer: Who would have expected that podium at the beginning of today? It’s a terrific result for Lance to become the youngest rookie in history to score a podium. He’s had a brilliant weekend. He’s been faultless in every session, he’s stayed out of trouble, didn’t have any incidents and that carried into the race. He kept it clean, had good pace and managed the car and the tyres well. It was good battle at the end and we were very unfortunate to lose second place. The critical moment was that Valtteri got DRS on the last lap, that lost Lance second place. But we’re very happy with third. However, the day was far from perfect. We got both cars in under the early safety car, and the red flag set us up well for what looked like a double podium, as we predicted there would be fallout from the Hamilton and Vettel incident. So we were feeling good at the red flag. But, Felipe had an internal suspension failure that emerged just after, which I’m very upset about. Without that issue we really believe that Felipe could have won the race today and we could even have had a double podium. Felipe’s had a fantastic season so far and he’s been a great support to Lance, so it’s a shame that he can’t celebrate with us today. But, we’ll build on this and come back stronger next time.
Lance Stroll: I’m just lost for words right now. It was such a hectic race and so much happened, but the team kept me cool on the radio, the pace was good, we took it to the end and stayed out of trouble. I can’t quite believe what’s just happened. We just lost out to Valtteri at the end there in one of the closest finishes of all time going side-by-side across the finish line. Coming into this weekend I never thought I would be standing on the podium. It’s an amazing feeling and, for me, a dream come true. However, what happened today was a team effort and I can’t thank everyone enough for making this happen. I am just so sorry that I could not celebrate with Felipe, as that would have been the icing on the cake. I am sure without his problems he would have been up there with me.
Felipe Massa: I’m so disappointed about the result today. The race was going perfectly. I was overtaking cars and I had really good pace. On the restart the car just started shaking on the straight and I didn’t have the speed, other cars were passing me so easily. I also couldn’t do the corners because it was shaking so badly. Today we had the opportunity to have both cars on the podium, and maybe even a victory. I do want to say a massive congratulations to Lance. I’m so happy for him getting his first ever podium in Formula One.
I really do think Felipe's broken suspension cost a shot at victory, his speed was compromised down the straight and Lance was a bit hesitant to pass, then Riccardo launched up the inside of both of them to take what would turn out to be the lead but didn't really pull away, pace was there that Williams would have had a decent chance keeping him at bay.
No point dwelling on what could have been I guess, it was a chaotic race.
Phenomenal drive by Stroll though, more than happy to be proven wrong about him belonging in F1.
No, as good as Massa was, and as unlucky as he was, he was no match for Ricciardo either way. I also think he still had to pit at certain point but i could be wrong there.
But nevertheless, sad to see such great stuff end so sad.
Seriously impressed with Stroll the last 2 races. It's like he's suddenly breaking out of his shell and becoming a real F1 driver. Too bad he got overtaken on the last meters, that was just heartbreaking. Cool to see Williams at the podium. Curious to see what goes from here.
I fancy a good fight between Force India and Williams. that looks like more fun and excitment than Mercedes, Ferrari and Redbull actually.
"Explain the ending to F1 in football terms"
"Hamilton was beating Verstappen 7-0, then the ref decided F%$& rules, next goal wins
while also sending off 4 Hamilton players to make it more interesting"
Oh yes Daddy Stroll, of cause Daddy Stroll, anything you say Daddy Stroll...
Yeah I'll take his word for it over Paddy Lowe. NOT. Yes it was booked 9 months ago, but that has nothing to do with whether he got anything out of it or not.
As Paddy said in another interview, Lance had to go back to Massas setup and started feeling comfortable with the car and how it responded as the setup direction he was going was not helping.
And I also agree with Manoah2u, I doubt Ricciardo was pushing that Red Bull too hard with Lance following. The gap seemed very static once Ricciardo got 5sec clear.
Offcourse Stroll benefitted from that test, how could he not, that's where those tests are for, big deal, good to him.
Every driver benefits from more experience and more time driving, especially 'rookies'. Driving different material also broads your view and experience.
It also helps finding the limits better.
That doesn't mean the test was the defining factor, and in that, i agree with his dad. If you have no talent, no amount of tests changes anything.
Just look at that wreck of an f1 driver called Palmer.
Also, Stroll didn't get P3 on his own merit, and his dad is aware of that too offcourse. They were lucky, but despite all that luck, they had to capatilize on the opportunity,
and they absolutely did that and Stroll kept his head cool, and therefor 'deserving' of that podium finish.
If Mercedes had not seen Bottas' first lap incident, if Ferrari did not have Raikkonen's incident, and if Vettel didn't screw things up, and if Hamilton did not have the headrest issue,
and if Verstappens car did not break down (Max would have won this race if his car didnt get a DNF), then Stroll would have been 4 places down either way - and that goes also for
Perez' DNF and probably Ocon's issues too. On driving and car capacity alone, stroll should have ended atleast 4 places down, and more likely 5 or even 6 down, finishing 8th or 9th,
like in Canada. which would have been fine and consistant.
But nobody is confused about that Stroll got there on won merit, he didn't. So yeah, his dad has a point for saying the test didn't aid stroll's podium charge, as the podium charge had
nothing to do with that, but purely with other driver's (huge) mistakes, errors.
"Explain the ending to F1 in football terms"
"Hamilton was beating Verstappen 7-0, then the ref decided F%$& rules, next goal wins
while also sending off 4 Hamilton players to make it more interesting"
... Today, Aston Martin also confirm that they partnered with Williams Advanced Engineering, the tech division of the Williams Formula 1 team, to make the vehicle.
Paul McNamara, Technical Director at Williams Advanced Engineering said:
“Williams Advanced Engineering has always endeavoured to work collaboratively with its customers to meet their sustainability challenges and find energy efficient solutions. For today’s car manufacturers, this is particularly important as legislation demands more energy efficient vehicles. This project with Aston Martin will draw on the extensive battery and EV experience we have accumulated and we are extremely pleased to be supporting this prestigious British company with their future electrification strategy.”
The company had the battery supply contract for the first few seasons of Formula E and they recently announced a $125 million investment to build an EV battery factory in the UK.
...
Williams - Aston Martin as of 2018? with rebadged Mercedes' engines?
don't think RedBull would be into that though.
"Explain the ending to F1 in football terms"
"Hamilton was beating Verstappen 7-0, then the ref decided F%$& rules, next goal wins
while also sending off 4 Hamilton players to make it more interesting"
