Sam Michael, the Williams Technical Director, described Friday practice as ‘very busy’ for the team, but both he and the drivers are optimistic of a good performance in Bahrain.
Michael described how the team had lost track time due to an electrics problem in the garage and minor technical issues with the cars, although things got better in the second practice session. “We then had a much more productive afternoon looking at race set-ups and qualifying preparation. We have more work to do, but nothing that looks unachievable. It has been a marathon effort from everyone at Williams and Cosworth to get us to this stage and soon the hard work will start to pay off.”
Nico Hulkenberg is aiming for a point finish in his debut race, but still can’t say how fast he is in comparison to his rivals. “It's still very difficult to form a picture of where everyone is at competitively, but I am satisfied that we had a relatively good day today and managed to compete everything we set out to do. The ambition remains the same, to make sure we get through to Q3 and to finish the weekend with some points.”
Rubens Barrichello is confident that, despite today’s setbacks, the team will still be well prepared for qualifying. “Because we had some minor issues in the garage today, we didn't get as much track time as we wanted. We didn't manage to finish our programme, but I am confident tomorrow will be a better day and we will catch up on the lost time. There has been an enormous amount of work and effort from everyone at Williams to get this far, which deserves my thanks.”
