Williams confident of stronger pace at Sepang

The Grove team headed into the season-opening race in Australia as the favourite to challenge Mercedes, but rival Ferrari proved faster, with Sebastian Vettel finishing third behind Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

But Williams' head of vehicle performance Rob Smedley is optimistic the Mercedes-powered FW37 will be faster this weekend.

"We are heading to Malaysia after a good start to the season, very much in a position to be finishing with both cars scoring good points," said Smedley in a team preview.

"We have been working hard on all areas of performance and to close up any margins we had in Australia.

The ambient conditions always play quite a big part in the weekend and the drivers have to be ready for those challenges. The circuit itself starts off with quite a lot of front graining and finishes being rear limited during the race.

"As it is a purpose built circuit we should be able to see more of the strengths of the FW37 and it should suit us a bit better."

Bottas ready

Finn Valtteri Bottas, who was forced to miss the first race of 2015 because of a back injury, says he has taken all the necessary measures to return to action this weekend.

"I trained a lot over the winter to prepare for these physically difficult conditions," said Bottas.

"After such a frustrating Sunday in Australia, I have taken the necessary measures to make sure I arrive in Malaysia fit to race and ready to bring the results home."