2017 Williams Martini Racing Team - Mercedes

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JAPANESE GRAND PRIX PRACTICE
06 OCT 2017

FP1
Weather: Overcast
Air & Track Temperatures: 18-20°C / 22-24°C
L. Stroll, FW40-03, Mercedes-AMG F1 M08 EQ Power+, 1:31.602 (14th)
F. Massa, FW40-04, Mercedes-AMG F1 M08 EQ Power+, 1:31.902 (16th)
Quickest time: S. Vettel 1:29.166

FP2
Weather: Wet
Air & Track Temperatures: 15°C / 17-18°C
L. Stroll, FW40-03, Mercedes-AMG F1 M08 EQ Power+, 1:52.343 (5th)
F. Massa, FW40-04, Mercedes-AMG F1 M08 EQ Power+, 1:52.146 (4th)
Quickest time: L. Hamilton 1:48.719


Paddy Lowe, Chief Technical Officer: We had dry conditions in FP1, almost throughout, just a spot here and there and some rain towards the end. We got in some good running with the time available. The pace on the soft tyre is looking reasonably encouraging. Unfortunately for both of our cars, their supersoft runs were interrupted by the red flag of Sainz, so we didn’t get the best out of those. We got some good data from various experiments we were doing as well, so overall it was a good session. FP2 was almost a complete washout, although we managed to get a lap or two with each car on the full wet tyre, again conducting some relevant experiments and getting some useful data. I feel sorry for the fans, who are incredibly enthusiastic, that they didn’t get any spectacle this afternoon, but hopefully the rest of the weekend will be dry.

Lance Stroll: It was a good day. FP1 was very positive, the car felt good and I really enjoyed driving on the circuit, as it is a lot of fun and very special. Then, in FP2, there wasn't a lot of running with the rain, which was not easy as you never know where the limit is in such conditions. I just did one proper push lap and that was about it. It was not much of an afternoon, but all in all a good day.

Felipe Massa: It was not a very interesting day, to be honest. The first impression of the car here is that it is alright, but it’s difficult to say where we are compared to the others. It was interesting to see how the car will behave, but in the rain I only did one lap. There was a lot of aquaplaning and standing water, so there wasn’t much we could do, this was mostly a day of waiting. The forecast I just saw says it will rain this evening and stop for tomorrow, so maybe we will be driving in the dry. I hope that we can have a good day tomorrow.

[LookBackTime]

Ryan Wood | MotorsportWeek 6 October 2017
Williams confirms it will evaluate Robert Kubica and Paul di Resta during test

Williams chief technical officer Paddy Lowe has confirmed the Grove outfit will test Robert Kubica and Paul di Resta "in the next few weeks", following speculation that both are being considered as team-mates to Lance Stroll.
Kubica has been out of the sport for more than six years following a rally accident in which he sustained a serious injury to his arm, however the Pole has been targeting a comeback and completed three tests for Renault before the French team opted to sign Carlos Sainz instead.
Meanwhile Di Resta stood in for an unwell Felipe Massa at the Hungarian Grand Prix earlier this year, but prior to that hasn't raced in F1 since 2013, holding the position of Williams reserve since then whilst competing in the DTM series.
Both will be evaluated by Williams in October or early November, confirmed Lowe.
"You're correct, we will test those two drivers," he replied when pushed on the subject.
"We won't give away any information around what we do within those tests – that's a private matter for us."
Lowe insists other drivers are being considered, with Massa and Pascal Wehrlein thought to be in the mix.
"I would stress that that doesn't mean they are the only drivers under consideration; we're considering quite a large range, of which they are only two possibilities."

[LookBackTime]

I have watched on SKY F1 a short interview with Massa.

Massa said the team should/has to treat him with RESPECT.
Translation: Williams should pay him the full retainer from the last years!

They are interested to keep him but not for 6 mil. euro.

And because is about money I am quite sure Williams will give him the boot!

my two cents!

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[media]https://twitter.com/F1/status/916260602552639488[/media]

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[media]https://twitter.com/pirellisport/status ... 0602558464[/media]

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[media]https://twitter.com/WilliamsRacing/stat ... 1240080384[/media]

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Williams confirm Robert Kubica-Paul Di Resta test but not ruling out Felipe Massa for 2018
Lance Stroll to stay on - and Felipe Massa could be retained too

By Pete Gill
Last Updated: 06/10/17 1:16pm


Williams have confirmed they will test both Robert Kubica and Paul di Resta in order to evaluate both drivers for a potential 2018 race seat.

But the team have stressed that while Lance Stroll will continue to drive for them next season, the youngster could yet be part of an unchanged line-up alongside Felipe Massa.

It's believed that Kubica, out of F1 since 2011 when he suffered career-changing arm injuries, and Di Resta, Williams' current reserve driver, will run on consecutive days at the Hungaroring later this month in a 2014 car.

"We will test those two drivers," said Williams technical chief Paddy Lowe. "We won't give away any information around what we do within those tests, that's a private matter for us and I would stress that doesn't mean that they're the only drivers under consideration."

Lowe also clarified that Massa, who has publicly questioned the value of the Di Resta-Kubica test, was still in contention to stay on for a fifth season at Grove.

"Felipe is very much in the frame, very high on our list of possibilities but we owe it to ourselves to take a look around and see what could be the best option for the team going forwards," Lowe said. "That will be a partner to Lance.

"All options are under consideration. You've probably seen a number of names that are floating around that we're looking at but honestly the range is almost unlimited. We will consider all ideas. We're not in a super hurry to do so and we'll just make sure we land the best line-up we can."

Pascal Wehrlein of Sauber is also understood to be a contender for any vacancy which emerges although the German youngster's age may count against him due to the requirements of Williams' principal sponsors, Martini.

"We're always ambitious to move forwards, as all teams are, and I think we recognise that the driver or drivers are a very key element in the team," Lowe added.

"Clearly you need a quick car as well, but the driver is probably the single most important factor in the end to take the package forward and score the points and indeed win races. I've seen that in the past, what a difference drivers can make to the race proposition, so it's a very important decision."

[kptaylor]

I don't get the Wehrlein interest. He really hasn't performed well or shown much when compared to teammates or in-car development. Couple that with the reports that circulated with the Force India test and I don't see it other than his young age and potential for reduced cost engines from Merc. Almost seems like DiResta 2.0 (DTM star but lackluster F1 driver). Does Williams really need/want another "pay" driver. (In this case it's reduced cost engines.)

[Sevach]

I don't get the Wehrlein interest. He really hasn't performed well or shown much when compared to teammates or in-car development. Couple that with the reports that circulated with the Force India test and I don't see it other than his young age and potential for reduced cost engines from Merc. Almost seems like DiResta 2.0 (DTM star but lackluster F1 driver). Does Williams really need/want another "pay" driver. (In this case it's reduced cost engines.)

Paddy used to be at Mercedes, maybe he saw something interesting in Wehrlein.

It's difficult to judge him because his car is so far back, Ericsson is usually regarded as crap so anything other than complete destruction is regarded as bad too, but he was competitive (and even outright superior at times) compared to Nasr who was somewhat well regarded.

Also Williams when you remember is seriously giving consideration to Di Resta 1.0... i'd rather have the 2.0 version to be honest.

[ringo]

Pascal is a higher calibre than any of the options right now. He is very fast no doubt and he has scored points in cars that arent supposed to be scoring points.
I think it's a nobrainer to pit him against Stroll. The only chink in the armour for Williams using both young drivers is setup and development direction. But Paul can do that donkey work.

As for Felipe...his 5 minutes of fame are over. He is done.. Stroll has shown to be more handy now. Bye bye Felipe!

[LookBackTime]

Nico Rosberg on Sky F1 TV

Robert Kubica- no fitness problems from his side

Robert - Williams test are more to see how Robert will fit inside the team.
Simple put: they are testing if chemistry is there!

One more thing: Renault - Robert deal : just bad timing! The whole engine deals screw his chance to get the drive for Renault.

[Restomaniac]

Nico Rosberg on Sky F1 TV

Robert Kubica- no fitness problems from his side

Robert - Williams test are more to see how Robert will fit inside the team.
Simple put: they are testing if chemistry is there!

One more thing: Renault - Robert deal : just bad timing! The whole engine deals screw his chance to get the drive for Renault.

True but would you expect the agent of Kubica to say anything else?

[adrianjordan]

Pascal is a higher calibre than any of the options right now. He is very fast no doubt and he has scored points in cars that arent supposed to be scoring points.
I think it's a nobrainer to pit him against Stroll. The only chink in the armour for Williams using both young drivers is setup and development direction. But Paul can do that donkey work.

As for Felipe...his 5 minutes of fame are over. He is done.. Stroll has shown to be more handy now. Bye bye Felipe!

Higher calibre than Kubica?

Truth is we simply don't know as Robert has been out of F1 for too long, but that doesn't mean he's lost that racing instinct or hunger to win. The only way we'll truly know is if a team gives him a race seat.

[SchuMassa]

As for Felipe...his 5 minutes of fame are over. He is done.. Stroll has shown to be more handy now. Bye bye Felipe!

Felipe MASSA: 1:30.352
Lance STROLL: 1:31.409 (+1.057)

It was a similar margin in FP3. And you are still whining about Felipe's qualities... But I'm not expecting any explanation. For you, facts must be quite hard to deal with.

[LookBackTime]

JAPANESE GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING
07 OCT 2017

Suzuka Circuit, Japan
5.807 km / 3.609 miles

Weather: Warm and dry
Temperature: Air: 22-23°C Track: 25-27°C

Q1
F. Massa 1:30.352 (9th)
L. Stroll 1:31.409 (18th)

Q2
F. Massa 1:29.687 (9th)

Q3
F. Massa 1:29.480 (9th)

Qualifying Notes
- Felipe Massa qualified ninth and Lance Stroll 18th for the Japanese Grand Prix
- Lance was unfortunate to be eliminated from Q1. He was blocked by traffic at the chicane at the end of both laps on his first run. He then had to abort his second run when Romain Grosjean crashed his Haas and brought an early end to the session
- Felipe made it safely through into Q3, with ninth place in both Q1 and Q2. He improved his time again in Q3 to retain ninth position again
- Both drivers will be promoted up the starting grid for the race, Felipe to eighth due to a penalty for Kimi Raikkonen, and Lance to 15th, due to penalties for Fernando Alonso, Carlos Sainz and Jolyon Palmer

Paddy Lowe, Chief Technical Officer: There was one good story, and one not so good story today, unfortunately. It was a great job by Felipe, he drove some terrific laps throughout the three sessions to put the car in P9. We weren’t as quick as any of the cars ahead, so we couldn’t have expected anything better than that, so well done to him. On Lance’s side, the real damage was done by the red flag which prevented him from doing a second run, where I’m sure he could have showed much stronger pace than he did on his first set of tyres. It’s the third session this weekend both cars have been foiled at the start of their fast laps by red flags, so it’s just one of those things. With the various grid adjustments, we will end up further forward for tomorrow. Even from Lance’s starting position, points are possible, so we will see what we can do with both drivers.

Felipe Massa: I’m so happy with my qualifying. Q1 was a good lap, Q2 was a great lap, and Q3 was just a perfect lap, so I’m really happy with my result. We’re starting in a great position and you never know what can happen tomorrow in the race. We’ll try to get the best we can in terms of points. My lap time today was similar to when I was on pole in 2006, just the perfect lap, which gives you a lot of pleasure, so I’m happy with that.

Lance Stroll: That was not a good session. I didn't get a lap time as I was blocked on both my push laps, by Perez and Gasly in the last chicane, and then we got the red flag, so I never got a time and there was no chance to make Q2. But that is how it goes and there is nothing I can do about it now, we were just unlucky with the traffic. The car felt good all weekend, so it is frustrating, but tomorrow is another day and with the penalties we will make up a couple of places. But that is not how we want to gain places, we want to show the potential of the car which we didn't do in that session.