Williams Racing senior race engineer Dave Robson has said that he thinks the the team still have work to do following a poor result last time out at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Drivers George Russell and Robert Kubica started fifteenth and nineteenth respectively, both running the hard tyre. Russell finished in sixteenth, while Kubica crossed the line where he had started in nineteenth.
Both ran a one-stop strategy, with Russell pitting on lap 17 for a new set of hard tyres, and Kubica on lap 20, also for a fresh set of the hard tyres.
Robson admitted that their lack of pace was in part due to the fact they had not completed any low fuel running earlier in the weekend, and the warmer track conditions, adding there wasn’t much to separate the strategies of the other teams.
“The lack of high fuel running earlier in the weekend, and the warmer conditions today meant that the optimum strategy wasn’t completely clear. Indeed, the battle at the front between Max and Lewis shows how close the strategies were.” he said.
Robson said they opted for the one-stop strategy as they hoped it would give them the chance to undercut the Alfa Romeo Racing drivers.
“We opted to complete an aggressive one-stop strategy, pitting George to cover the Alfa Romeo and allowing him to race Stroll to the end.
“Robert had a slightly shorter final stint but had to contend with multiple blue flags. Both drivers managed their tyres well, with George able to hold Stroll off on much newer tyres.”
He concluded that the team still have work to do to ensure they have consistent pace, although they have seen some improvements in Hungary, and so can enjoy the summer break ready to tackle the challenges presented by Spa-Francorchamps and Monza.
“We still need to work on the car pace, but we have seen some improvements this weekend and we can now enjoy the shutdown period before returning to tackle the very different challenges offered by Spa and Monza.”
