Williams Racing
Felipe Massa says he thought Williams had a chance at claiming victory at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as he finished just a couple of seconds behind newly crowned champion Lewis Hamilton.
Massa leapt up to third at the start and inherited second place once Nico Rosberg's Mercedes developed an ERS problem.
Massa prolonged the life of his tyres during the second stint of the race and was able to stop late for a fresh set of Options.
He closed the gap to leader Hamilton from 11 seconds to just over two but ultimately fell short.
"I didn't expect that, to have that pace," he said. "We tried to catch up] but Lewis was just a little bit too far [ahead].
"When there were 10 laps to go I said if the tyres stay like that, I can win the race. But the tyres were degrading a little bit. In the last four laps, I didn't have [enough pace] compared to him to catch like I was catching him before.
"I wanted that victory so much, but we were close and I hope that's just the beginning for next year."
Team-mate Valtteri Bottas finished in third place to ensure that Williams secured third in the championship.
