Williams heads to Barcelona ‘with a lot of confidence’

Williams performance chief Rob Smedley says his team enters this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix “with a lot of confidence” as the Grove-based squad looks to reel in Mercedes and Ferrari at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Coming off a strong 2014 campaign, Williams was tipped as Mercedes’ closest challenger at the start of this year only to be leapfrogged by a resurgent Scuderia.

The British outfit currently sits third in the Constructors’ standings, well ahead of fourth-placed Red Bull but equally far from Ferrari in front, with drivers Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas almost level on points (respectively 31 and 30).

Although Williams operates on a much smaller budget than the likes of Mercedes, Ferrari, and McLaren, Smedley has recently told F1i he holds higher ambitions for his team.

The British engineer hopes the three-week gap since Bahrain and this weekend’s planned upgrades will enable Williams to edge closer to the front.

“We're heading into the European season after a reasonably successful campaign that has put us a solid third position in the championship,” said Smedley. “Our aim now is to keep moving forward and close the gap to the teams in front.

“We are heading into the weekend with a lot of confidence but there will be a lot of work to do leading up to qualifying as we learn about the new updated package.”

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