During the 2014 Formula One season, Williams were excellent at preserving their tires, which in turn translated into longer stints and better grip. This year, they’ve really struggled with that.
Last week in China, Williams didn’t run the soft option tire for the second stint in the race because their data showed that the compound wouldn’t last long enough. Unfortunately for them, Mercedes and Ferrari didn’t have that problem.
This meant that both Massa and Bottas had to switch over to the slower medium tire for the middle stint (which was also the longest), which led to slower times on the track. They couldn’t get anywhere close to Ferrari.
“The standout point was that the two teams in front of us in the championship were able to run the option in the second stint,” said Chief Rob Smedley. “If you look at our degradation towards the end of the first stint, it was high enough to ward us off that tyre.”
The team also struggled with the prime tire, which means they have to rethink the way in which they run the cars, but according to Smedley, all of the teams struggled with that particular compound.
“I think overheating the medium is a bit of a feature of that tyre. If you look at our pace towards the end of the race with Ferrari when we were both on primes, it was actually more similar.”
Be that as it may, if they’re not able to make the option tire last longer and run it for two stints instead of one, odds are they’re not going to keep up with Mercedes and Ferrari during the race.
Story references: autosport
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