Felipe Massa is hoping that Williams can take the fight to Mercedes at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and compete for a race win.

The Oxfordshire-based team have enjoyed a much-improved season and are set to finish ahead of Ferrari in the constructors' championship.

However, a victory has eluded the team since the surprise triumph for Pastor Maldonado at Barcelona in 2012, but Massa appears to scent an opportunity this weekend.

He told reporters: "If [Lewis] Hamilton doesn't have a fantastic start, maybe we can be there. Maybe he is also feeling a little bit of pressure, which is not a surprise looking at what happened to him every time he was fighting for the championship.

"So we will see. If it is possible to be there, we will be. I have less risk, they have more risk, so for sure they need to think twice compared to what we need to think about."

Massa will start from the second row of the grid, alongside teammate Valtteri Bottas, on Sunday.