2017 Williams Martini Racing Team - Mercedes

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[marmer]

to be a fly on that wall

[Sevach]

The subject is believed to be the Renault hiring of Marcin Budkowski (used to work for the FIA).

[LookBackTime]

MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX PRACTICE
29 SEP 2017



FP1
Weather: Humid and wet
Air & Track Temperatures: 24-27°C / 27-31°C
F. Massa, FW40-04, Mercedes-AMG F1 M08 EQ Power+, 1: N/A
L. Stroll, FW40-03, Mercedes-AMG F1 M08 EQ Power+, 1:52.295 (8th)
Quickest time: M. Verstappen 1:48.962

FP2
Weather: Humid and dry
Air & Track Temperatures: 29-31°C / 39-44°C
F. Massa, FW40-04, Mercedes-AMG F1 M08 EQ Power+, 1:33.394 (12th)
L. Stroll, FW40-03, Mercedes-AMG F1 M08 EQ Power+, 1:33.818 (14th)
Quickest time: S. Vettel 1:31.261

Paddy Lowe, Chief Technical Officer: It was quite a mixed day, and unusually for Malaysia it was rainy this morning, which meant that the first practice session was all wet with us eventually running on the intermediate tyre with Lance. Unfortunately Felipe had a hydraulics problem so he didn’t get much track time, but we got some good feedback from Lance and showed reasonable pace in the wet. This afternoon’s session was dry so we chose to run two sets of supersofts with both cars. The pace was reasonable on low fuel and the drivers were relatively happy with the car. On high fuel runs, Felipe only managed a few laps and Lance had only just started before the session was red flagged. We need to do some more work this evening and see where we can position ourselves ready for qualifying tomorrow.

Felipe Massa: It wasn’t a great session this morning in the wet because of a hydraulic issue with the car. And then this afternoon we didn’t get a lot of track time either because I did two runs, but as I was starting my long run the session was red flagged. I’m glad that Grosjean wasn’t harmed in the incident; I was right behind him so saw it happen. It’s difficult to say where we are at the moment because we lost a lot of laps today. There are so many teams fighting within a small window so we’ll have to see how we go tomorrow.

Lance Stroll: The track has a great flow to it. I really enjoy driving here and the car feels like it comes alive under you. It was a lot of fun to drive in both the wet and dry. It was a good day and I felt pretty good in the wet this morning, but it is not perfect yet. The strong point from today was in the wet it was pretty promising, but the weak point was I locked up in the last corner on my best lap in FP2, which was looking like a good lap. What happens tomorrow will depend on the weather.

[Stalker1]

The subject is believed to be the Renault hiring of Marcin Budkowski (used to work for the FIA).

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/13208 ... ng-renault

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High resolution!

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MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING
30 SEP 2017

Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia
5.543 km / 3.445 miles

Weather: Humid and dry
Temperature: Air: 30-31°C Track: 43-47°C

Q1
F. Massa 1:32.267 (5th)
L. Stroll 1:33.000 (14th)

Q2
F. Massa 1:32.034 (11th)
L. Stroll 1:32.307 (13th)

Q3
F. Massa -
L. Stroll -

Qualifying Notes
- Felipe Massa qualified 11th and Lance Stroll 13th for the Malaysian Grand Prix
- Both drivers progressed into the second qualifying session, with Felipe fifth and Lance 14th in Q1
- Felipe showed good pace, but was just pushed out of the running for Q3 in the closing stages of the session
- Lance improved on every run ending Q2 just 0.273 seconds adrift of Felipe

Paddy Lowe, Chief Technical Officer: We had a trouble-free session, but overall it was a bit of a disappointing result for us as I think we had the possibility of getting at least one car into Q3 today. The pace certainly seemed to be there in the earlier sessions, but we didn’t quite make the same progress as other teams with each set of tyres, so ultimately just missed the cut. On the positive side, the car worked well. Both drivers were happy with the balance and extracted the maximum they were able to from the car. We’re still in reasonably good positions to score some points in the race, so we’re looking forward to tomorrow.

Felipe Massa: I’m a little bit disappointed not to be in Q3. I was happy with the car and the balance. I had a great Q1 but I didn't have a perfect Q2, to be honest. On the first try I had a little bit of traffic on the high speed laps, which meant I lost a bit of time. And on the second try, the car was bouncing a bit on corner two so I lost a little bit of traction. All of these little problems were enough to lose position.

Lance Stroll: I think it was all right, and all in all it was a good effort from the team. It could have been a bit better in the first sector on my push lap, as on the out-lap the tyres were a bit cold, but overall it was a decent effort and at least we are in Q2. If it is wet tomorrow we would have a bit of an opportunity starting where we are starting, and so be able to capitalise on that. However, even in the dry it could be up to strategy and I think the rear tyres could be a big factor round here. It is always an interesting first corner here, so now we just have to concentrate on the job we have to do and try to get some points, and I do expect a long and hot race.

[SchuMassa]

It's a pity that Felipe missed out on Q3, but if it's dry, at least he can start with a new set of supersofts.

It'd be crucial to score points with both cars. Rain might stir things up a bit tomorrow.

[Stalker1]

Williams staff who "understand racing" want me to stay - Massa

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/will ... ontent=www

.

Interesting! Not long ago, Lowe said that the engineers and designers want a driver who could challenge them!

[adrianjordan]

https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/912697545574330368

Looks like a great piece of tech, but I don't see any NHS ambulance service trusts buying them. Too bulky to store on a vehicle for starters, but more relevant is that they are probably too expensive.

[LookBackTime]

MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX
01 OCT 2017
Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia
5.543 km, 3.445 miles

Race Notes:

- Lance Stroll finished eighth and Felipe Massa ninth in the final Malaysian Grand Prix
- Lance and Felipe both started on the supersoft tyre
- Both drivers had strong starts, gaining a number of positions on the opening lap. Contact with Ocon at Turn 2 pushed Felipe back to 10th, whilst Lance moved up to eighth
- By Lap 12, Felipe had moved up to eighth before coming into the pits for a set of soft compound tyres
- Lance pitted the following lap for softs, exiting the pitlane just behind his teammate before retaking the position. This left Lance and Felipe in 11th and 12th, respectively
- The relatively early stop worked out well for both drivers, to claim a double-points finish for WILLIAMS MARTINI RACING
- Felipe is 11th in the Drivers’ Championship, ahead of Lance in 12th. The team also holds position in 5th in the Constructors’ Championship with 65 points


Paddy Lowe, Chief Technical Officer: We had some rain just before the race but it had almost completely dried by the time we got to the start. Both drivers made very good starts and were in good shape to make up some places by Turn 1. Unfortunately, Felipe, having got as far as fifth position, got squeezed by the two Force Indias and lost some of those gains, dropping behind Lance. He damaged part of the floor on the left hand side so there will have been some performance loss. Once the race had settled, Hulkenberg stopped very early so we felt obliged to cover him to save position, first with Felipe and then with Lance. Since Lance, who previously had the lead, ended up behind Felipe after the pitstops we felt it was correct to swap the places. We also knew Felipe’s car was carrying some damage. Unfortunately, in the execution of that we lost a potential position to Vandoorne coming out of the pits. It was a very long second stint for Lance and Felipe, but the tyres lasted well and we held position to finish with good points in eighth and ninth, so congratulations to both drivers for a strong weekend and a double-points finish for the team.

Lance Stroll: It was hot and now I know what everyone was talking about what it is like racing here in Malaysia. I am very happy with the end result, which was fantastic, coming eighth from 13th, having great pace throughout the race, having a good fight all through the race, managing my tyres, and eighth and ninth being a great result for the team. Then at the end I was on the in lap, on my normal line, picking up rubber, doing all my switch changes, shutting down the car and Sebastian came flying by me, pushing round the outside like the race was still on.

Felipe Massa: I had a fantastic start, and overtook many cars, so I was really disappointed about the incident at Turn 2, where I got pushed out by Ocon. I lost a lot of places and damaged the floor of the car. I feel like I could have got higher up if it hadn’t happened. But overall the result was positive for the team. We scored points whilst Renault and Toro Rosso didn’t, so that helps us in the Constructors’ Championship.

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