Williams has admitted it will struggle to quickly recover its position as the first force behind title favourite Mercedes. The Grove team finished last season as clearly the fastest team behind the title winners, but the fabled Italian giant Ferrari has sped past in 2015.
"After the first four races you can already see the balance of power," chief engineer Rob Smedley said after the Bahrain grand prix. "We are preparing a series of upgrades for Barcelona, but catching up with Ferrari will be very difficult."
Team driver Felipe Massa acknowledged in Bahrain that Williams' much smaller budget against the might of Ferrari is beginning to show. "Third isn't anything to be ashamed of," Williams deputy Claire Williams told Britain's Sky.
She agreed with Massa that competing against Ferrari's spending is difficult. "I've always said it's about working harder and smarter than the others," said Williams. "The likes of McLaren and Ferrari have always had bigger budgets than us and we have won sixteen championships against them."
"I heard that Ferrari are ploughing in another 100 million to their development on top of what they had already allocated -- and that's our whole budget! To be honest, I'd love to be able to win against them," she smiled, "with a third of their budget."
But from an engineering perspective, Smedley acknowledged how hard it will be for Williams to fend off his and Massa's red-clad former employer. "We have already extracted good potential from our cars," he said, "and this work continues, but we do not expect to be able to rapidly increase our pace."
"Also, we can't forget that behind us there are teams like Red Bull, which is a huge organisation, well equipped and with a very considerable resource. When they sort out their problems," said Smedley, "they will be doing much better than they are doing now. Generally, all of our main rivals are very strong." (GMM)
Williams: "Third isn't anything to be ashamed of"
- Published on 21 Apr 2015 16:43
-
0
- By: Rob Veenstra
.
Trending news
-
Montoya sees Newey's influence taking shape at Aston MartinJuan Pablo Montoya expects Aston Martin to take a significant step forward after the summer break, crediting Adrian N...
14 Aug 2026 14:09 -
Waché admits Red Bull still not at desired level despite recoveryRed Bull technical director Pierre Waché has acknowledged clear progress with the RB22, but insists the team i...
14 Aug 2026 16:04 -
Cadillac appoints Marcin Budkowski as new team boss with Ferrari pedigreeCadillac has appointed Marcin Budkowski as its new team principal, bringing in a senior figure who witnessed Ferrari&...
14 Aug 2026 15:06 -
Hamilton Echoes Verstappen Criticism of F1 OvertakingLewis Hamilton has become the latest high-profile voice to question the quality of overtaking in the current Formula ...
14 Aug 2026 13:08 -
George Russell reveals sports psychologist has been key to Mercedes performance since 2020George Russell has confirmed he has worked with the same sports psychologist since 2020, using mental coaching not as...
14 Aug 2026 12:14
Dutch Grand Prix
Local time
-
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Dutch Grand Prix
Local time
-
Friday
-
Saturday
-
Sunday
-
Friday
-
Saturday
-
Sunday
Test calendar
Circuit de Catalunya - Winter testing
-
Jan 26
I. Hadjar
- 1:18.159
-
-
-
Jan 27
M. Verstappen
- 1:19.578
-
-
-
Jan 28
A. Antonelli
- 1:17.362
-
-
-
Jan 29
G. Russell
- 1:16.445
-
-
-
Jan 30
L. Hamilton
- 1:16.348
-
-
Bahrain International Circuit - Winter testing
-
Feb 11
L. Norris
- 1:34.669
-
-
-
Feb 12
C. Leclerc
- 1:34.273
-
-
-
Feb 13
A. Antonelli
- 1:33.669
-
-
Bahrain International Circuit - Winter testing
-
Feb 18
G. Russell
- 1:33.459
-
-
Feb 19
A. Antonelli
- 1:32.803
-
-
Feb 20
C. Leclerc
- 1:31.992
-
-
World Championship standings 2026
Pos
Driver
Team
Points
Pos
Team
Points
Related news
Give your opinion!
Formula 1 Calendar - 2026
Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
-
Spain
-
Bahrain
-
Bahrain
Formula 1 Calendar - 2026
Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
-
Spain
Circuit de Catalunya
-
Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
-
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
Spain
Circuit de Catalunya
26 - Jun 28
Austria
Red Bull Ring
3 - Jul 5
United Kingdom
Silverstone
17 - Jul 19
Belgium
Spa-Francorchamps
24 - Jul 26
Hungary
Hungaroring
21 - Aug 23
Netherlands
Circuit Zandvoort
Driver profile
- Team -
- Points -
- Podiums -
- Grand Prix -
- Country Brazil
- Date of b. Apr 21 1981 (45)
- Place of b. Sao Paulo, Brazil
- Weight 59 kg
- Length 1.66 m
4 members have this team as their favourite
Tweets about Felipe Massa
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
Replies (0)
Login to reply