Williams Racing‘s Senior Race Engineer Dave Robson gives us the lowdown on the 2019 Bahrain Grand Prix as Williams look to lift themselves off the back row of the grid.
“Following the opening race of the 2019 season at Melbourne’s Grand Prix Circuit, we head to a more conventional track for round two,” says Robson.
“The circuit at Sakhir is a challenging combination of four evenly spaced straights and demanding corner sequences, including the high-speed chicane at turns five, six and seven, and the downhill hairpin at turn eight.
“Qualifying and the race take place in cooler conditions, despite the circuit being traditionally very tough on the rear tyres, with a constant threat of overheating. For 2019, Pirelli take the hardest of their available compounds which will offer additional challenges for the drivers and engineers alike.”
Williams suffered a poor start to the 2019 season as drivers George Russell and Robert Kubica started from the back row and finished the race as the last two runners.
Robson remains confident that Williams will learn from its current struggles as the team looks to develop the car and work their way toward the mid-field.
“We look to build on our learning from Australia as we aim to maximise the performance of the current car whilst also continuing to investigate the most fruitful areas for future car development.
“Both drivers are familiar with the Bahrain International Circuit, with Robert racing there in 2010 and scoring a podium finish in 2008. George raced there last year in the opening race of his Championship-winning FIA Formula 2 season.”
