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The 2014 Formula 1 drivers' championship will be decided next weekend in Abu Dhabi. However, the entire Williams team to be looking at scoring more points in what is its best campaign in over a decade.
Last year, Williams ranked 9th in the constructors' championship with just 5 points. This year, it lies in third place with an impressive total of 254.
“If you had said to any of us this time last year that we would be in P3 at this time next year, I don't think we would have believed it,” said deputy team principal Claire Williams.
“But the team has done a fantastic job to effect this turnaround and I am so proud of everybody involved. It is the reward of all our hard work. But as Frank [Williams] always says, 'It is P3 - we have got to win!' So it would be wonderful to end this year with a race win”.
Williams switched engine partners last winter, going from Renault to Mercedes. But that change alone cannot explain everything.
“I think it was Pat Symonds coming in last year that was the real key ingredient to our success,” Claire Williams told Formula 1.com.
“He is a great engineer - everybody knows that - but he is also a great man-manager as well. He has organised and restructured every area of our team. Then we've brought in a new level of senior management to work with Pat across each area. But it is not just about the management level - it's about the 520 other people at Williams who have stayed with us and made this turnaround possible. It is a real team effort,” she explained.
Finland's Valtteri Bottas finished five times on the podium so far this season. Some people claim he is a future F1 world champion. What makes him really special?
“His work ethic. Last year - when he didn't have the equipment that he needed - he was still delivering,” Claire Williams continued.
“He was still extracting more from the car than perhaps he should have done. It was his consistency as well. And he is extremely calm - he will never repeat a mistake. He does everything that you need him to do - and on top of that he is a really lovely guy”.
The British team has announced its 2015 driver line-up quite early, keeping Bottas and the vastly experienced Felipe Massa who finished third in Brazil last Sunday.
“Both drivers have worked together so well - there are no egos between Valtteri and Felipe. And this is how we are as a team: the constructors' [championship] is the most important thing, and both drivers understand that. That is why the driver pairing works so perfectly for us,” she explained.
Constructors' championship (before Abu Dhabi)
1- Mercedes 651 points
2- Red Bull Racing 373
3- Williams 254
4- Ferrari 210
Last year, Williams ranked 9th in the constructors' championship with just 5 points. This year, it lies in third place with an impressive total of 254.
“If you had said to any of us this time last year that we would be in P3 at this time next year, I don't think we would have believed it,” said deputy team principal Claire Williams.
“But the team has done a fantastic job to effect this turnaround and I am so proud of everybody involved. It is the reward of all our hard work. But as Frank [Williams] always says, 'It is P3 - we have got to win!' So it would be wonderful to end this year with a race win”.
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| Photo: Williams Martini Racing |
Williams switched engine partners last winter, going from Renault to Mercedes. But that change alone cannot explain everything.
“I think it was Pat Symonds coming in last year that was the real key ingredient to our success,” Claire Williams told Formula 1.com.
“He is a great engineer - everybody knows that - but he is also a great man-manager as well. He has organised and restructured every area of our team. Then we've brought in a new level of senior management to work with Pat across each area. But it is not just about the management level - it's about the 520 other people at Williams who have stayed with us and made this turnaround possible. It is a real team effort,” she explained.
Finland's Valtteri Bottas finished five times on the podium so far this season. Some people claim he is a future F1 world champion. What makes him really special?
“His work ethic. Last year - when he didn't have the equipment that he needed - he was still delivering,” Claire Williams continued.
“He was still extracting more from the car than perhaps he should have done. It was his consistency as well. And he is extremely calm - he will never repeat a mistake. He does everything that you need him to do - and on top of that he is a really lovely guy”.
The British team has announced its 2015 driver line-up quite early, keeping Bottas and the vastly experienced Felipe Massa who finished third in Brazil last Sunday.
“Both drivers have worked together so well - there are no egos between Valtteri and Felipe. And this is how we are as a team: the constructors' [championship] is the most important thing, and both drivers understand that. That is why the driver pairing works so perfectly for us,” she explained.
Constructors' championship (before Abu Dhabi)
1- Mercedes 651 points
2- Red Bull Racing 373
3- Williams 254
4- Ferrari 210