1 Racing Mind's 2017 Formula 1 Summer Break Report Card: Williams Martini Racing

Photo Credit: Glenn Dunbar/LAT Images

Team Grade: C

Driver Grades
Felipe Massa: B-
Lance Stroll: C+

Williams Martini Racing’s 2017 plans were thrown for a loop in only the first month of the year. Unable to resist the opportunity to take over the hotly desirable seat vacated by the retired Nico Rosberg at Mercedes AMG, Valtteri Bottas sought and was granted a release from the team. Brazilian Formula 1 veteran Felipe Massa, who originally intended to hang up his helmet after the 2016 season, was recalled to drive a Williams-Mercedes alongside 18-year-old Canadian rookie Lance Stroll.

The 40th anniversary season for the Williams Formula 1 team, 2017 has been short in celebration on the track. Felipe Massa started the season off reasonably with sixth place finishes at the Australian Grand Prix and Bahrain Grand Prix. While Massa has been a consistent for the organization with point-scoring finishes in 6 of the 11 races currently completed, Williams’ best effort of the 2017 Formula 1 season was obtained by the first year driver. Lance Stroll scored a third place result at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and was running in second place in the late part of the event before former Williams driver Valtteri Bottas. Stroll became the youngest Formula 1 driver to finish on the podium in Formula 1 competition and the first Canadian no named Villeneuve to achieve a three-top result in a grand prix.

While the podium sandwiched by two other point scoring finishes has been a respectable run for Lance Stroll, his rookie has been unstable overall. Stroll’s Formula 1 career started with three consecutive retirements consisting of a brake issue in Australia as well as two collisions in China and Bahrain.

In the first two years of Formula 1's implementation of the current gasoline/electric hybrid powertrain rules, Williams opting for Mercedes-Benz power was almost a winning decision existing as a podium threat for many 2014 and 2015 events. Since 2016, the team’s performance appears to have slipped. While the FW40 race car has rarely appeared in the top half of the point scoring spots, the Williams machines have been fairly reliable with several retirements being due to collisions rather than mechanical issues.

Thoughts of Team for Remainder of 2017:

The current Williams race car has shown much of its strength on slower tracks in 2017 leaving the Singapore Grand Prix as a potential opportunity looking forward through the final nine events.

While Felipe Massa has put in a steady effort with Williams with the exception of his withdraw from the Hungarian Grand Prix due to health reasons, Lance Stroll’s performance has areas requiring growth. Stroll’s qualifying results in the first 11 events have been most atrocious. Cracking Q3 on only two occasions, Stroll’s Williams-Mercedes has most often been seen mired back in last three rows of the grid. Better starting spots would inevitably help the Canadian find point-scoring consistency through the remaining portion of 2017.

Canadian Stroll Joining 2017 Formula 1 Campaign With Williams

Photo Credit: Williams Martini Racing

Among some of the great young Canadian drivers emerging in recent years, many Canadian eyes were focus roughly halfway across the world at a young Montreal-born talent. Having just turned 18 years old on October 29th, Lance Stroll rose to become a globally-recognized prospect in the motorsport world after he was recruited by the Ferrari Driver Academy in 2013. Just a mere 3 years later, Stroll has risen to the big time with an announcement by the Williams Martini Racing team that he will become a Formula 1 competitor for the 2017 season.

Joining established Williams competitor Valtteri Bottas, Lance Stroll will join the premier series of open wheel auto racing as a 2017 rookie following a year spend as a test driver for the team. Recently earning the 2016 Formula 3 championship with Prema Powerteam, Lance Stroll demonstrated a remarkable ability to mount front-running performances. Winning 14 of the 30 races in the 2016 campaign, his successes have also included the 2014 Italian Formula 4 title and a championship in the New Zealand-based 2015 Toyota Racing Series. Lance Stroll's elevation to Formula 1 was widely expected when veteran Williams driver Felipe Massa expressed he would retire at this season's end.

“To be racing in Formula One in 2017 is incredible, I can’t thank Williams enough for showing faith in my ability. Racing in F1 was something I dreamt about as a young kid. When I began karting seriously, F1 was then the ultimate goal and especially when I started racing cars in 2014." said Lance Stroll after being named to the Williams Martini Racing team.

Lance Stroll's rise to Formula 1 was almost predicted immediately after his addition to the Ferrari Driver Academy. At one time, it was widely rumoured that Lance Stroll's billionaire businessman father Lawrence Stroll was looking to buy the Sauber F1 Team in order to secure an eventual ride for his son. Despite a father's affiliation to Ferrari, the now 18-year-old driver joined Williams Martini Racing's Young Driver Development Program late last year seeing a more direct path to a top Formula 1 outfit with the Mercedes-Benz powered team.

Next year will mark the 40th year for the current incarnation of the Williams Martini Racing organization. Having earned 9 constructors' championships and 7 drivers' championships with 114 race wins, Bottas and Stroll will be fighting to add to those tallies in 2017 after what may be four winless seasons if the 2016 season ends without a victory.

1 Racing Mind 2014 Formula 1 Mid-Season Report: Martini Williams Racing

Photo Credit: Pirelli Photo Service

Martini Williams Racing

Team Score: B

Felipe Massa: B-

Valtteri Bottas: A-

Not only has the Martini Williams Racing team emerged considerably better than last year's team, the organization was a podium contender for several races. 2013 was a complete disaster for the nine-time constructors' title winner capturing only five points in 19 races. This year, Martini Williams Racing holds 121 point and is found in third place in the team standings. The abandonment of Renault for Mercedes-Benz power was likely a contributing factor to success. Although the engines received by Williams' are not quite at the zenith of performance as those powering the Mercedes AMG cars, the powerplant has nonetheless provided potency to the team's FW36 chassis.
 

The driver line-up for Martini Williams Racing reflect an experienced Brazilian pro with Felipe Massa and the budding sophomore talent of Finnish Valtteri Bottas. Both Massa and Bottas have been fast with the Williams-Mercedes but the younger driver has shown the best endurance for surviving grand prix races. Currently fifth in the Formula 1 Drivers' points, Bottas has qualified in the top-four three times in the past four grand prix events. Most impressively is Valtteri Bottas' current podium streak. Collecting his first-ever top-three finish in a Formula 1 race in Austria, Bottas has collected two runner-up spots at Silverstone and the Hockenheimring. Felipe Massa has also shown flashes of brilliance in 2014 but have been hindered by crashes including a scary one at the Canadian Grand Prix.

Ingredients for Second-Half of 2014: Martini Williams Racing can possibility exit the 2014 Formula 1 season with a victory if they can catch the Mercedes AMG team on a bad outing. Bottas and Massa must remain solid in qualifying as well as race scenarios. It is also pivotal that Williams continues to develop their FW36 chassis in a positive manner.