Felipe Massa believes that his chance of finishing on the podium at the Australian Grand Prix disappeared when he got stuck behind Daniel Ricciardo as he exited the pits. Massa was running in third place but emerged from his solitary stop behind the Red Bull driver, and when Sebastian Vettel pitted a lap late the German came out ahead of Massa, with their positions maintained until the end of the race. "The aim of today was start the season with a solid points haul and […]

Williams has confirmed that Valtteri Bottas will not participate in the Australian Grand Prix on medical grounds. Bottas complained of back pain after qualifying in sixth position and following a precautionary trip to a nearby hospital, Bottas returned to his hotel to recover. But on Sunday morning Bottas was ruled out of action, meaning that Williams will field just one car in Sunday's race. "It can be confirmed that the scans revealed that Valtteri had suffered has a very small tear in the annular part […]

Valtteri Bottas has been taken to hospital in Melbourne as a precaution after complaining of back pain during qualifying. Bottas was seen running wide at the final corner and after qualifying in sixth place he was checked by the FIA doctors before being taken to Alfred Hospital. Bottas' participation in the race will be determined by medics on Sunday morning. "It was great to finally start the season and to have a very tight qualifying session," said Bottas. "The car performed well and we were […]

Valtteri Bottas set the quickest time for Williams as Formula 1’s pre-season testing programme concluded at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Sunday. Bottas moved to the front of the pack with a 1:23.063 towards the end of the morning session and his time was not trumped as most of the drivers focused on race simulations after the lunch break. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel finished four-tenths of a second down on Bottas, with Sauber rookie Felipe Nasr in third. Max Verstappen lost time during the afternoon session […]

Williams test driver Susie Wolff will pilot the team's FW37 on the first day of the second pre-season test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya this week. Wolff will drive the car on Thursday at the home of the Spanish Grand Prix, before Felipe Massa takes over on Friday. Valtteri Bottas will run on Saturday, before regular drivers Bottas and Massa sample the car on the final day of running on Sunday. Wolff, who drove the FW37 during a filming day at Jerez earlier this month, […]

Valtteri Bottas has not denied he might be looking to take Kimi Raikkonen's place at Ferrari for 2016. Raikkonen, who struggled last year, remains under contract to the Maranello team for this season, with an 'option' still in place for 2016. When asked about that at the Jerez test, the Finn answered: "It's up to me and the team to do a good job this year. "If it goes badly and I don't sign it then I don't sign it." Fellow Finn Bottas, who is […]

Valtteri Bottas has played down reports linking his future outside of Williams. The Finn has progressed through the ranks with Williams and after a tricky debut season Bottas finished fourth in last year's championship, having racked up six podium places. Bottas' performances linked him to rival outfits, with Toto Wolff suggesting that the Finn is on Mercedes' radar, however Bottas has played down such moves. "I trust this team [Williams]", Bottas told MTV3. "I do not think there will be any serious negotiations this year. […]

Williams driver Valtteri Bottas topped the first day of post-season testing at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. Bottas, who finished on the podium in last weekend’s race, set a time of 1:43.396 in the Williams FW36, almost half a second quicker than compatriot Kimi Raikkonen. Nico Rosberg returned to his Mercedes W05 Hybrid after missing out on the 2014 title and set the third quickest time. He was also the most productive runner, having conducted 114 laps. Newly crowned GP2 Champion Jolyon Palmer […]

Valtteri Bottas insists that Williams' target for the final round of the year in Abu Dhabi remains securing third in the Constructors' Championship, ahead of Ferrari. Williams is currently 44 points ahead of rivals Ferrari but with double points on offer Bottas, who qualified for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in third place, says holding onto their current position remains the team's primary ambition. "It was a nice qualifying and the lap at the end, the car felt really good, it felt nice, [Felipe Massa] […]

Williams driver Valtteri Bottas has set his sights on overhauling Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso to finish in fourth place in the Drivers' Championship. Bottas has claimed five podium finishes in 2014 but slipped back to sixth in the standings after he placed only 10th in Brazil. Vettel holds fourth in the standings with 159 points, two ahead of Alonso and three in front of Bottas. "Abu Dhabi is going to be an exciting race and it could play out one of two ways," he […]

Williams driver Valtteri Bottas believes that the Option tyres are lasting better than in 2013 at Interlagos due to the newly laid surface at the track. Pirelli has brought the Soft and Medium tyres to Brazil - a change on their original allocation of Medium and Hards following protests by drivers - in order to deal with the newly resurfaced Interlagos circuit. Bottas was fifth fastest in the afternoon session, having sat out the first session for reserve driver Felipe Nasr. "It was an interesting […]

Felipe Massa says competing at his home race is 'great motivation' as he seeks a strong result in front of the Brazilian crowd. Massa won at Interlagos for Ferrari in 2006 and 2008 and has also claimed podium finishes at the circuit in 2007 and 2012. "The track is great, although it’s very small it’s also very technical," he said. "The Senna S is very difficult especially as the gradient changes so there is a specific way to drive this sector. "With two straights and […]