Watching Williams on the track during last year’s Formula 1 season, two things were immediately obvious, their superior straight-line speed and excellent fuel management. This season, according to Felipe Massa, they’re both gone.
Even though it’s been just one race, those of us who predicted Williams to finish 2nd behind Mercedes at the end of the year are feeling a bit silly right now. Ferrari is showing great form and the pressure is now on Williams in trying to find more downforce, since the engine isn’t compensating anymore.
Massa admitted that Ferrari have a “much better system, much better engine compared to last year. Last year we had a car that we were losing in the corners, we had less downforce than Ferrari, but we were gaining on the straights.”
Same goes for fuel conservation, where the British team is now faced with having to come up with new strategies for the race.
“For sure we had to save a little bit of fuel during the race, so we are still working to get the best in terms of consumption as well. There is a lot to improve on that as well,” added Massa.
Luckily, their cars are still looking great in terms of reliability as they’ve managed to do more laps during winter testing + regular season practice sessions combined, than most of their rivals.
If Williams does find more downforce, they might be able to edge out Ferrari by the end of the year. If not, well, better luck in 2016.
story references: autosport
PHOTOS
