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Motor racing-Bottas on the brink of a breakthrough

By Alan Baldwin LONDON, March 5 (Reuters) - Valtteri Bottas could be on the brink of a breakthrough with Williams this season but do not write off Felipe Massa. So says the British Formula One team's engineering head Pat Symonds, an old hand who has worked with champions Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso and knows a thing or two about talent. Former champion Williams, winners of nine constructors' titles and seven drivers' championships between 1980 and 1997, are back and hungry for wins after clambering from ninth overall in 2013 to third last year. They go into the new season, which starts in Australia on March 15, tipped by many to be champions Mercedes' closest rivals. That could see Bottas, 25 and Finland's brightest hope since Kimi Raikkonen, step up as a winner and title contender after multiple podium appearances last season. "I think he's got huge talent and is very, very intelligent. And those are important things in a racing driver," Symonds told Reuters at the final pre-season test in Barcelona this month. "I think he's more than capable of being a champion and part of my ambition is that if he's going to be a champion, I want it to be in a Williams. That's really important. "I think if we can produce the equipment, why not? It is going to be a quite significant year for him." Bottas had two second places and four thirds last year on his way to finishing fourth overall. Williams, who have the same engine as Mercedes, have looked quick and reliable but there remains a big gap between them and the Silver Arrows of double champion Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. "I think to expect Valtteri to be challenging for the championship this year is asking rather a lot," said Symonds. "I think it's going to be quite a formative year for him, I expect him to improve more. I expect him to gain confidence. "And like all these guys, the most important win is the first one. If he can get that first one this year then it will make a big difference to him." Massa, 33, won 11 races for Ferrari and missed out on the 2008 title to Hamilton by a single point. However, the little Brazilian has not won since he suffered a severe head injury in Hungary in 2009. Williams have given him back his mojo and Symonds warned against under-estimating what he could do. "When Felipe joined the team (in 2014) I had to remind people it wasn't that long ago that he damn nearly won the world championship," he said. "Felipe is just rejuvenated. He's enjoying life again, he's enjoying racing again and that reflects in his performance. "I think a number of people did feel the accident (in Hungary) took the edge off him. I personally think it was his environment that took the edge off him and in a new environment he's right back there." Williams have not won since Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado's success in Spain in 2012 and Symonds said it still rankled that the three races last year that were not won by Mercedes all went to Red Bull's Australian Daniel Ricciardo. This year, the team are determined to do better. "While 2014 was a year that I really rate with my championship years (at Benetton and Renault) in terms of achievement...I still felt a little bit sore that we hadn't had a win," said Symonds. "The fact was that Mercedes tripped up three times and those happened to be three times when Red Bull were around to pick up the pieces. They could have been three different occasions when we'd have been around to pick up the pieces. "That's life. All things being equal this year, maybe we will be there. Because it does look like they (Mercedes) are still ahead. But getting a win this year is psychologically very important for the team." (Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Toby Davis)