Felipe Massa believes Williams are Mercedes’ closest competitor, despite having not finished the race, whilst team-mate Valtteri Bottas came fifth.
However their true form wasn’t seen in Australia after Massa was taken out by Kamui Kobayashi at the first corner and Bottas dropped down the field after hitting the wall, putting a halt to his charge which would likely have seen him on the podium had the contact been avoided.
Going by Sunday’s result, McLaren look like the second most competitive outfit after their double podium finish. Massa though reckons Williams would have been right there too.
“Looking at McLaren they definitely did a good race,” he said. “They finished both cars in good points and they are leading the championship.
“I would say Australia was a race where we could finish both cars there and a similar position as McLaren, so maybe we were going to be first in the [constructors’] championship.
“Looking how we are compared to the others, I would say for the moment Mercedes is too quick compared to us, but after Mercedes everything is open and we can be there.”
