Ferrari may be only mover from end-of-2014 formbook, reckons Claire Williams
Williams "there or thereabouts" compared to 2014; Team target wins in new season; Williams confident Bottas won't look to leave
Wednesday 11 February 2015 16:23, UK
Claire Williams suspects Ferrari may be the only team who have made a move in F1’s pecking order, on the evidence of the first pre-season test.
It was the Scuderia who set the pace on three of the four days of testing in Jerez with their new SF15-T, prompting suggestions that the team may have made a bigger step forward than expected over the winter.
F1 Development Special
Although testing timesheets are notoriously unreliable indicators of form – Mercedes, for instance, didn’t set the pace at all at Jerez last year but when all to dominate the season – Williams reckons not much has otherwise changed from the end of 2014.
“From the times that we’ve seen, we’re probably there or thereabouts from where we ended the season last year,” the Williams deputy team principal told Sky Sports News HQ.
“The formbook hasn’t really changed – every team seems to be in a similar position. Ferrari may have caught up a little bit, but we’re pretty happy with the progress we’ve made.”
Williams ended last season as the form team behind all-conquering Mercedes with their run of podiums after the summer break enough to secure third place in the Constructors’ Championship ahead of Ferrari.
Although they were the only team other than the world champions to claim a pole in 2014, it was Red Bull who won the three races that Mercedes didn’t, with the Grove team’s best results second places in Britain, Germany and Abu Dhabi.
Williams, whose sole victory since in the last decade came at the 2012 Spanish GP, are now aiming to take the next step in 2015.
“I like to hope rather than expect. But that [winning races]’s got to be our goal,” Williams added.
“We finished third in the championship last year which was such a major achievement for us, but our goals this year are to improve on that. We want those wins this year and Felipe and Valtteri on the top step of the podium.”
It was Bottas who claimed the majority of Williams’ nine podium appearances last year with the Finn’s form likely courting admiring glances from rival teams. Indeed, Mercedes chief Toto Wolff went on record to say that Bottas would be their second alternative to Lewis Hamilton were they not to agree a new deal with the world champion.
However, despite Bottas saying in a recent interview "I want to be in the quickest car available” for 2016, Williams’ deputy team principal doesn’t believe the 25-year-old has a desire to move elsewhere.
“Valtteri has been with us for a long time. We were the team that brought him into Formula 1 and he feels hugely comfortable within our team. He’s forged a really strong bond,” Williams said.
“Of course, he’s a racing driver and wants to have the fastest car. I think those comments were taken out of context. At the moment we’re providing him with a competitive race car that finished the season probably the closest to the Mercedes on the grid, so why wouldn’t he want to stay with us?
“I spend a lot of time with him and I talk to him a lot and I know that where he wants to be at the moment is Williams.”
The Sky Sports F1 Online team will be providing live commentary from all four days of both Barcelona tests. Sky Sports News HQ will also have live updates from trackside.
