First, the good news about Valtteri Bottas -- he is no longer worried about his bad back. "It is not giving me any more trouble," the Finn said in Shanghai on Thursday. "With the new seat, I am using different muscles, because the legs are positioned differently."
A bigger problem for Bottas now is that, unlike the very end of 2014, he is no longer 'best of the rest' behind the two Mercedes. Ferrari has stepped up to that role, while Williams is some way behind in third place. In Malaysia, the problem for the FW37 was overheating rear tyres. "Our rear tyres were hotter than we expected," Bottas confirmed. "This has an effect on traction," he is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport.
As teammate Felipe Massa revealed to reporters in China, the team has some new parts on the car this weekend. "The tyre problem has priority," chief engineer Rob Smedley confirms. "We are doing everything that might help: aero balance, setup, brake temperatures, driveability." Bottas continued: "The car was actually designed to look after the rear tyres more, so the problems in Malaysia were surprising."
Luckily, high temperatures should not be a problem in chilly China. "We should be closer to Mercedes and Ferrari here," Bottas agreed. (GMM)
Williams working to prevent overheating of rear tyres
- Published on 10 Apr 2015 09:00
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- By: Rob Veenstra
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A. Antonelli
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Formula 1 Calendar - 2026
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Grand Prix
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Spain
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Formula 1 Calendar - 2026
Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
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Spain
Circuit de Catalunya
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Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
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Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
6 - Mar 8
Australia
Albert Park
13 - Mar 15
27 - Mar 29
Japan
Circuit Suzuka
10 - Apr 12
Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
17 - Apr 19
Saudi Arabia
Jeddah Street Circuit
1 - May 3
United States of America
Miami International Autodrome
22 - May 24
Canada
Gilles Villeneuve
5 - Jun 7
Monaco
Monte Carlo
12 - Jun 14
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Circuit de Catalunya
26 - Jun 28
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Red Bull Ring
3 - Jul 5
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Silverstone
17 - Jul 19
Belgium
Spa-Francorchamps
24 - Jul 26
Hungary
Hungaroring
21 - Aug 23
Netherlands
Circuit Zandvoort
Driver profile
- Team Cadillac F1
- Points 1,608
- Podiums 61
- Grand Prix 221
- Country FI
- Date of b. Aug 28 1989 (36)
- Place of b. Nastola, FI
- Weight 70 kg
- Length 1.73 m
- 135,081 comments on Cadillac F1
2 members have this team as their favourite
Tweets about Valtteri Bottas
Team profile
- Team name Mercedes
- Base Brackley, Germany
- Michael Schumacher 3
- Nico Rosberg 4
- Nico Rosberg 6
- Michael Schumacher 7
- Nico Rosberg 8
- Nico Rosberg 8
- Nico Rosberg 9
- Lewis Hamilton 10
- Andrea Kimi Antonelli 12
- Lewis Hamilton 44
- George Russell 63
- Valtteri Bottas 77
- 638,662 comments on Mercedes
- 59 members have this team as their favourite
- Tweets about Mercedes
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