2015 Season Review: Williams

This season saw the Williams team retain their third place in the Constructors Championship that they managed to achieve in the 2014 season which brought Williams back to the front of the grid once again.

In a season that saw nine podium finishes – the only team to beat Mercedes to pole position and third in the constructors' championship.

Many pundits (including myself) expected Williams to push on in 2015 and be Mercedes' nearest challengers race in race out. Heading into the season, Williams retained Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas With a driver line up of experience, youth and promise; many thought that Williams could challenge just like they did last season for the spoils but they did when they could and when they had the car underneath them.

Winter testing showed Williams were best placed with Ferrari to challenge Mercedes in 2015. The season opener in Australia showed Williams had a strong package but Ferrari and in particular, Sebastian Vettel looked to be a strong threat. Felipe Massa qualified third, but a poor strategy call by Williams meant the Brazilian finished fourth, behind him.

Meanwhile, Valtteri Bottas suffered a back injury in qualifying and thus was unable to start the season opener in Australia.

While Ferrari upped their game in Malaysia, Williams struggled in comparison and came home a distant fifth and sixth – Bottas passing Massa in the latter stages of the race.

Both cars consistently finished in the points until Monaco, like in 2014, Williams lacked downforce and mechanical grip and struggled on the streets of Monte Carlo. Canada was a stronger race for the team, Bottas scoring Williams' first podium of 2015 while Massa recovered to finish sixth after suffering an electrical problem in qualifying. Massa scored his first podium of the season at the Red Bull Ring; holding off Vettel in the closing stages brilliantly.

The British Grand Prix was the team's strongest performance of the season. Both drivers got ahead of Hamilton and Rosberg at the start and maintained their lead over the two Mercedes' until the first round of stops. Hamilton jumped Massa and Bottas and went on to win his home Grand Prix for a third occasion.

As the rain fell, Williams dropped like a stone – Massa eventually finished fourth behind Vettel while Bottas struggled in the rain, comparatively to his teammate and finished fifth.

After a poor race in Hungary and a lacklustre performance in Belgium after the summer break; Williams returned to form at Monza. Massa scoring his second podium of the season and moving into fourth in the drivers' championship ahead of Kimi Raikkonen and teammate Bottas.

From this stage, the rest of the season was disappointing for them with only one podium finish in the final six rounds of the championship. Overall, Williams will be reasonably with their 2015 season but will be hoping to close the gap to the Mercedes' and Ferrari's in 2016 and get back to the front of the grid where they belong.

Valtteri Bottas – 136 points (5th in the drivers' championship)

With the 2014 season being a breakthrough year for Bottas where he scored six podium finishes, many looked at him to be a potential future world champion. Bottas did outscore his team mate 15 points in the Championship and did out-qualify him eleven times to Massa's eight times; thereby showing his consistency as a driver.

But his season did not start well after missing Melbourne due to a back injury but he was back in Sepang and managed to score points with a fifth place finish which was then backed up with points finishes in Bahrain, China and Spain. Before the summer break, Bottas scored again in Canada with his best joint finish of the season with a podium finish and two fifth place finishes in Austria and Silverstone.

After the summer break, Bottas scored points from Belgium to Suzuka; showing that consistency does bring you rewards. After a retirement and a twelfth place finish, Bottas scored again in Mexico with another podium and Brazil, ending his year reasonably, but one that held much promise.

But overall, the 2015 season was a low-key season for the Finn. Up until Monza, Massa was the quicker of the two Williams' drivers. Maybe perhaps Bottas was distracted by the Ferrari rumours or his back injury was causing him some discomfort. However from Singapore onwards, he did manage to out-qualify Massa in every race and was consistently quicker than the Brazilian.

All I can say is that Bottas will need an outstanding 2016, or he may have to settle for second best and that would be unfair on him; especially given the fact that he has the talent, speed and attitude to get to the very top of the sport. And I really don't want him in the same position that Nico Hulkenberg finds himself in at Force India at this present moment in time.

Felipe Massa – 121 points (6th in the drivers' championship)

Massa once again has found himself out-performed by Bottas in the Championship by 15 points and out-qualified by eleven times but he has been more of a match for his team mate; with both scoring third places during the year but Massa having the upper hand with two podiums under his belt.

The start of the season started off well for Massa with a fourth place finish in Melbourne which was backed up with points finishes in Malaysia, China, Bahrain and Spain. Before the start of the summer break, Massa scored again at Canada, but was beaten by his team mate who secured a podium finish but Austria saw Massa pick up the first of his two podiums and a fourth place finish in Silverstone.

But after the summer break, Massa scored points in Belgium, his second podium finish in Monza and thereafter struggled to extract pace and performance out of the car. But he did manage to score points again in Russia, Mexico and Abu Dhabi showing that he can still deliver just as strongly as his team mate did this season.

For me, Massa's season was just like last year, when he had the car underneath him, he delivered just as well as anyone else on the grid. Personally, he would have been disappointed with his end of season form especially his shambolic performance on home turf in Brazil.

But Massa has missed opportunities through no fault of his own to show that he still has what it takes to achieve success in Formula One. But when he has the car underneath him, Massa can deliver just as well as any other driver on the grid and he needs to ensure that he does this as often as possible going into the 2016 season; even though many will be wondering if he will be retained after his contract ends with Williams at the end of next season.

In conclusion, the Williams team have had an reasonable season given where they finished in 2013; but not in the incredible style they achieved last season. It is clear that all the steps that Williams have undertaken in the past year or so alongside delivering a consistent, reliable and competitive car with a strong driver line up of Massa and Bottas, Williams deserve to retain their position; even if Red Bull mounted a challenge in the second half of the season.

Even though you could argue that Williams as a team and also especially Massa has not taken the opportunities they should have to claim their first win since the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix with their former driver Pastor Maldonado, the potential for them to improve and achieve a win in the sport is looking ever more bright for them.

This season we have seen the consistency of Bottas who is a young, talented and gifted driver consistently able to bring the car home in the points and I do believe that we could see him winning his first race in the sport next season if the chance presents itself.

Meanwhile, we have seen that Massa can also bring the car consistently home especially in the second half of the season but he needs to ensure that he does this regularly in 2015 and show that he still has what it takes to achieve success in the sport. I do believe that if Massa gets everything right in a weekend, he is capable of achieving just as much as Bottas.

Heading into 2016, Williams have a solid foundation under their belt to develop the car even further and build upon what they have achieved this season. With Bottas and Massa remaining with the team for next season.

I believe that both drivers have the potential to succeed on the track, both drivers have to take the opportunity and push with everything they have to show they have what it takes to take it that one step further (especially Bottas in my opinion) and both could win a Grand Prix; provided that everything comes together for them and I really hope that is the case and we see Williams winning a race or two in 2016; they deserve it without a shadow of a doubt.

Sarah Jones- @jonesy_laaa