Williams duo eyeing podium fight in Canada

Williams drivers Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas hope they can challenge for their first podium finish of the season at this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix.

The British outfit delivered a quiet performance in Monaco last time out, but Williams technical director Pat Symonds and performance chief Rob Smedley are both confident of a much stronger showing at power-sensitive Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Massa, whose best result in Canada remains the fourth place he picked up while driving for Sauber in 2005, looks to challenge for a top-three finish on Sunday.

“It is a track where you need to have good speed because you have that long straight,” said the Brazilian, who is the only driver to have scored in all six races held so far this year.

“I would say in the last two years we’ve done really well in Canada. I think we’ve had a competitive car so I really hope we can repeat that performance again this year.

“It’s a place I really enjoy going. I hope we can have a competitive race there and maybe even fight for the podium.”

Team-mate Bottas already has a podium to his name in Montreal, having beaten Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen to third in last year’s Canadian Grand Prix.

“Canada is one of my favourite races,” the 26-year-old said. “The track is pretty fast and it’s really enjoyable to drive. We finished on the podium there last year so I have some very good memories.

“Hopefully we can have a strong result.”

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