Williams’ Rob Smedley says he is pleased with Valtteri Bottas’ progression as a driver so far with the team.
Smedley joined Williams at the start of last season and has been able to gauge Bottas against team-mate Felipe Massa having worked with the Brazilian for a number of years at Ferrari. While Bottas missed the season-opening Australian Grand Prix with a back injury, he returned to finish fifth in Malaysia - overtaking Massa late on - and Smedley says he is impressed with how the Finn is improving.
“He’s doing a great job,” Smedley said. “I think his rate of progression has been unfaltering, really. He hasn’t really stopped developing.
“I think all racers to a certain extent are developing all the time. If I look at the Felipe from the end of 2013 to the Felipe we have now, he’s developed as well and that’s a driver with ten years’ experience or something like that. He’s still developing, they’re both developing, I don’t think we have any issues with our drivers whatsoever.
“We have two extremely competent drivers and if you’d put them in a Mercedes or a Ferrari [in Malaysia] they would have won the race.”
Click here for a more lighthearted look at some of the scenes from the Malaysian Grand Prix
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