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Williams technical chief Pat Symonds says he is "proud" of the criticism levelled at the team for what many feel was not a strong start to the Formula 1 season.

The team finished third in the F1 constructors' championship last season and ended the year with the second-fastest car.

Although Williams has scored 30 more points than at the same stage in 2014, it has dropped behind Ferrari on pure pace, with Mercedes clear at the front.

However, Symonds told AUTOSPORT: "I think it's quite interesting there was a bit of perception at the start of the season that Williams wasn't having as a good a year as people had expected.

"I think that shows where the expectations now were.

"I was quite proud of that because there we were, third in championship again and in a much more solid place than we were last year and people were saying, 'oh you can do better'.

"You think, 'well, actually, with what we've got in terms of budget and headcount, we're not doing too badly'."

Symonds said this season remains a "consolidation" year to give Williams the foundation to become a consistent frontrunner.

"This season is an important year for Williams, because 2014 had been a year when we had to make a comeback," he said.

"We managed to do it and I think third place was just reward for a lot of hard work and lot of brave decisions made within the management group.

"If it had been a one-off year and we faded to midfield again, it wouldn't have achieved what we wanted to achieve.

"So in 2015 it was important to consolidate our position, both competitively on race track and as a business, and I think thus far we have managed to do that."

Williams cannot compete with the likes of Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull in terms of budget, and while Symonds concedes that makes life harder, he does not believe that it will stop the team winning.

"It's easy to say they're spending two-and-half times what we're spending and that's all it will take - but that is not true on a number of levels," said Symonds.

"I do not believe you need that amount to win. If you can do it with a smaller, tighter-knit team that is just thinking a bit better, it is still possible to win.

"I hope over the next few years we can gradually build. That sort of measured building of capability is what will make us win."