Claire Williams says “there is almost a sense of disappointment” within her team despite finishing third in the Constructors’ championship for the second year in a row.
The British outfit approached the season as Mercedes’ closest rival in terms of raw pace but eventually slipped behind a resurgent Ferrari, while the gap to the world champions grew in the mean time.
Williams claimed four podiums when it had had nine in 2014. The Grove-based squad also picked up fewer points – 257 against 320 – though last year’s double podium finish in Abu Dhabi’s double points-paying season finale slightly distorts the final scores.
“I think everyone knows though that there is almost a sense of disappointment that we’re third at Williams,” said the deputy team principal. “We want to be winning races and fighting for that world championship.
A genuine powerhouse in the 1990s, Williams gradually faded away over the next decade, reaching its nadir in 2013 with only five points and ninth in the Constructors’ standings.
A clever switch to Mercedes power has allowed the historic team to get out of the doldrums in the 1.6-litre V6 turbocharged era, but Williams hopes there is more to come.
“We’ve worked hard over the past two years in order to turn this team around. We’ve made a lot of changes within the team and fortunately a lot of those changes are paying off.
“We’ve made some mistakes this year that have been fairly visible for people to see and we need to improve upon our operations to make sure we don’t make those mistakes next year and we can continue to improve in 2016.”
Williams needs to raise its game in all areas - Bottas
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