ROKiT Williams Racing rookie George Russell has said it was a ‘huge relief’ for the team to complete their day-one testing plan after their torrid start last week.
The British marque have swiftly moved on from their delayed start to testing, with the reigning Formula Two champion completing 119 laps, more than double his tally from the whole of week one.
Russell clocked the ninth fastest time of the day, a lap of 1:19.662, on Pirelli‘s C5 tyre, the softest compound available.
“It was a good day,” said Russell. “Our plan was to get as many laps on the board, make sure we had no issues and that’s exactly what we did.
“We have learnt so much about the car on lower fuel and higher fuel which gives us a good indication moving forward into the next few days.”
The team’s solid start to the week is a stark comparison to the first test, where they missed the opening two days of running because the car simply wasn’t ready.
“I think everybody’s happy with today’s performance – not in terms of lap times but in terms of no issues,” the 21-year-old told Autosport. “All in all, it was a huge relief to have a day like today and we completed our test plan as intended.”
