Valtteri Bottas says he was a ‘little surprised’ with teammate Felipe Massa’s pace at Williams.
Massa joined Williams after spending eight seasons at Ferrari. During this time, he won 11 Grand Prix and 15 pole positions. Post his accident in 2009, Massa was comprehensively beaten by teammate Fernando Alonso which severely damaged his reputation.
The Brazilian has had a resurgence at Williams, scoring his first pole position in six years at the Austrian Grand Prix last year. Since joining Williams at the start of 2014, Massa has finished on the podium on five occasions.
More often than not, Massa and Bottas have been evenly matched.
“I was a little surprised to see how fast he is,” Bottas admits to Brazil’s UOL Esporte.
“Of course you never quite know what to expect when someone goes somewhere [else], but he has proved to be very good.”
Despite Massa’s strong speed, the duo’s relationship is very good according to Bottas.
“He’s a nice guy and I like working with him,” he said. “He’s also a guy who likes to compete so he doesn’t like to be slower than me and is always trying.
“This is a good thing because we are always very close to each other and this forces each other to push even more. He’s a good teammate.”
The Williams duo are currently in a fight with Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen for fourth in the drivers’ championship.
