2017 Williams Martini Racing Team - Mercedes

[Steven]

A number of posts were moved to the Italian GP thread.
Please post you race comments there, and be respectful to drivers and fellow members.

[LookBackTime]

ITALIAN GRAND PRIX
03 SEP 2017

Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Italy
5.793 km, 3.599 miles

Race Notes:

- Lance Stroll finished seventh with Felipe Massa eighth in the Italian Grand Prix
- Both drivers started on the supersoft tyre with Lance dropping back to P3 on lap one whilst Felipe maintained position in P7
- Lance pitted from P5 for a set of soft tyres on lap 17 but suffered a slow pitstop
- Felipe pitted on lap 21 from P7 for a set of soft tyres
- Lance and Felipe pushed hard in P7 and P8, but were unable to find a way past the Force India of Ocon in P6
- Felipe is now 11th in the Drivers’ Championship, ahead of Lance in 12th. The team remains fifth in the Constructors’ Championship with 55 points

Paddy Lowe, Chief Technical Officer: From the start, it was a very different day than yesterday. The sun was shining and there was a big Italian crowd, so you could feel we were building up to a good race. It was quite a special feeling to be on the front row looking down the long straight into the first corner. Both drivers got good starts, but unfortunately Lance lost a position to Ocon, and the race settled down from there. I think we had slightly stronger pace than Force India today. We could have potentially got back ahead of Ocon but uncharacteristically, we had a small problem with Lance’s pitstop. Lance pushed hard but wasn’t able to get ahead, so in the end he finished seventh with Felipe right behind him on track in eighth. It’s a valuable 10 points that we really need at this stage in the championship, so congratulations to the team who have done a great job back at the factory and at the circuit this weekend, and well done to the drivers who drove very consistent races to bring home the points for us.

Lance Stroll: I am very happy with the race and I think it was a good one. I really enjoyed myself. It was a bit of a shame at the start, as we lost position to Ocon, as Hamilton had a bad start and defended, so I had to back off. We were in P3 and then both Ferraris and the Mercedes of Bottas overtook. I then had a big flat spot at the end of the race, so started to lose time to Ocon and then was defending from Felipe. All in all, the race was very positive. I finished in P7, which was what we were expecting.

Felipe Massa: I think it was definitely a good result for the team. It’s always good to score points with both cars. Today we scored 10 points with both cars. I was happy with the race and with the fights. I just had a little touch at the end with Lance but fortunately nothing happened and we managed to finish well. I’m happy with the performance and the race. It was a good Sunday for the team.

[Mr Brooksy]

I'm surprised this story hasn't been posted yet.

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/will ... ng-948524/

Even though Williams clearly did well on Saturday in the wet, this article does concern me. Williams seem to not understand their car more often then I hear other teams talk about their anomalies. Mercedes were saying that they were trying to understand their car early in the season and by the Euro season they had made huge steps forward. Williams on the other hand seem to still be in the dark about their car...

I guess that is the inherent issue when they are running a car based on the concept of 2 key people who left in December. Still concerning though.

Others thoughts?

[Squid]

A lot of people saying that this is a good problem to have. I disagree entirely. How would they replicate and improve on their car if they can't understand why it's good? If they don't know what's making their car fast, they will either have to run the same car in 2018 and lose out on development or take a shot in the dark and probably make it worse.

[Mr Brooksy]

I agree Squid that's it's not a good problem to have. But it does sound awfully like the next car will be quite different to the Somerville/Symonds designs. So inherent issue could be avoided. My concern though is that if they still can't understand the issues they have had since 14, then no amount of new concept is going to help their CAPACITY to understand any more.

[LookBackTime]

https://twitter.com/RacingLines/status/ ... 3395821568

[TAG]

I heard something over the Monza weekend that Williams asked Villeneuve to no longer come to their hospitality suite (as their champions representative) because of his constant beratement towards Lance Stroll.

My opinion of him wasn't great to begin with but if this is true...

[Schuttelberg]

I heard something over the Monza weekend that Williams asked Villeneuve to no longer come to their hospitality suite (as their champions representative) because of his constant beratement towards Lance Stroll.

My opinion of him wasn't great to begin with but if this is true...

Jacques is someone I've never ever liked. I've garnered respect for him and his achievement with time and age, but he really does test a fan's patience. He tests mine at least. I think his latest comments about RK make me feel like completely disregarding him and his opinion. I felt his comments on Lance and a lot of other drivers also are a bit too much.

It's good to be vocal about your views, I even like people like that, but sometimes you need to step outside your little world and take a broader outlook. Even if you can't manage to look at someone else in a positive light, a little bit of subtlety when rendering your opinion never hurt. But, I guess this bluntness is also a reason as to why JV simply let the success of 97' get to his head and then completely veer off course with his career path.

[LookBackTime]

https://twitter.com/thef1formbook/statu ... 4375026691

[TAG]

This is terribly bittersweet news from the Williams family.

Sir Frank Williams is doing well, according to the F1 team founder’s daughter Claire.

Indeed, Sir Frank recently underwent a long hospitalisation for illness, but according to Claire is now “fine”.

“He is obsessed with motor sport,” Claire Williams told the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag. “His whole life always was and still is formula one.

“It is a pity he can no longer travel, but he still loves it as much as he did on the first day,” she added.

However, there will be no representatives of the Williams family at the races for the rest of the season, as 41-year-old Claire is about to give birth to a baby boy.

[LookBackTime]

AMuS:

[LookBackTime]

After Alonso saga we have a new one


Kubica needs “further work on fitness” for Williams 2018 drive
Sep 13, 2017 Kahran Vohra

http://www.f1hub.net/index.php/f1-2017/ ... ive/13321/

Robert Kubica’s long-run performance during his Formula 1 test at Budapest in the 2017 Renault Formula 1 car left “question marks” in regards to the Pole’s level of fitness, Motor Sport Magazine’s Mark Hughes has revealed.
Hughes, a respected Formula 1 journalist and pundit, wrote that Kubica was able to show convincing performance in the Renault RS17 before the summer break in Budapest, however given absence from the sport of over six years, the Pole reportedly showed an inconsistency in long-runs during his test.
F1 Hub understands that Renault have agreed terms with Carlos Sainz for the 2018 season, and potentially could drive from the Malaysian Grand Prix in 2017, as the team will axe Jolyon Palmer’s involvement in the team, who is yet to score a point this year.
With the eminent news of the Sainz-Renault signing, Robert Kubica asked has been released from his short-term contract with the Renault Formula 1 team, which was initially put into place to evaluate his performance for a potential race seat for 2018. Mark Hughes writes that Renault has released Kubica from his contract.
Williams is one team who are now demonstrating key interest in Robert Kubica for 2018, should the team decide to cut strings with Felipe Massa – who came out of retirement following the shock departure of 2016 Formula 1 world champion Nico Rosberg – however it is understood that Kubica will need to show improved fitness to be considered as a candidate for the Williams 2018 drive. This can be later confirmed this year by a Williams test with Kubica.
“We understand he has been released from the short-term contract he has been on with Renault since beginning his comeback programme in May – at his request, in order that he might follow up on interest elsewhere for his services (understood to be Williams and Sauber),” Hughes writes.
“His performance in the Hungaroring test in the current Renault, whilst good, still left question marks about his fitness level, evident in an inconsistency during the long runs.
“A certain inconsistency suggested that he needed further work on fitness after almost seven years out of an F1 car. With questions still to be answered therefore, it was felt not to be in his interests to put him in a car at a Grand Prix meeting where the spotlight would be so much more intense. The gathering commercial momentum of the Toro Rosso negotiations and how they brought Sainz – long a Renault target – into the equation then further sidelined Kubica’s Renault prospects.
“If Kubica can answer those remaining questions after further training time (and only a test at the appropriate time could really do that), he would be the perfect fit for Williams’ requirements; an A-grade ace who will call it exactly how it is.”

[LookBackTime]

SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX PREVIEW
15 - 17 SEP
ROUND 14 OF 20

http://www.williamsf1.com/racing/news/s ... ix-preview

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[LookBackTime]

should be a hint of a new sponsor in the future?

https://twitter.com/WilliamsRacing/stat ... 7863926784

[LookBackTime]

https://twitter.com/WilliamsRacing/stat ... 4202353665