Williams performance chief Rob Smedley says his team is ‘confident’ entering this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix despite coming off its worst performance of the season during the previous round at Monaco.
Both Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas struggled all weekend in the Principality and eventually finished a lowly 14th and 15th respectively, the first time they failed to score any points this year.
While Williams is scheduled to have a major upgrade on its 2015 challenger in Austria, the British squad will already bring some updates at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, a track that should play to the FW37’s strengths according to Smedley.
“Regardless of the result in Monaco, Canada should very much suit the Williams car, especially in race trim,” he said. “We are confident heading into the weekend that we can get some good points.
“It’s a great track, with medium/high efficiency and a strong trend towards low drag and high power, which are two areas that we are fairly well off in. We need to get the car set-up and tyre management under control early on in the race weekend, which will then give us the opportunity to then tweak and hone our package to maximise our points haul.”
Currently holding fifth place in the Drivers’ standings, Bottas thinks the planned updates will allow him to return to the points-paying positions in Canada.
“You need a good power unit and efficient aerodynamics from the car to be quick here, as well as good traction out of the slow chicanes and hairpins,” said the Finn.
“With the improvements to the car that we are taking to Montreal, I think we will be able to fight for a strong points finish.”
Team-mate Massa is equally confident Williams’s poor Monaco showing was just a one-off and expects the Grove-based outfit to resume its upward course and challenge its nearest rivals ahead.
“The Montreal circuit is completely different to the last race and we fully expect our performance levels to be back to where they were at the start of the season,” said the ex-Ferrari racer.
“We should be able to start getting closer to Ferrari and have a real battle with them and the other teams around us.”
Click here for a look back at Robert Kubica's only Formula One victory in Canada
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