Williams Racing duo George Russell and Nicholas Latifi are excited to get back to the Nürburgring, a track neither of them have raced at since 2015.
Russell goes into this weekend still being undefeated by his team-mate in the qualifying battle. He out-qualified Robert Kubica in every race in 2019 and has an unblemished ten-nil record over Latifi so far this season.
The British driver has also reached Q2 six times, an impressive feat in an underachieving Williams car. He’ll be hoping to replicate this at Nürburgring, a track he considers one of his favourites.
“I am really excited to go to the Nürburgring. The last time I drove there was five years ago, and it was one of my favourite circuits as it has a lot of character. It is going to be a new challenge for everybody, which gives opportunity and with these very cold and potentially rainy conditions on the horizon we have a lot to look forward to.” said Russell.
Latifi is expecting this weekend to be a challenge for him with the weather looking very cold and wet, a contrast to how all the previous races have been.
Latifi said: “I am excited to get back racing and revisit the Nürburgring after quite a few years since I last drove there in 2015 with Formula Renault 3.5. It will be cool to rediscover the old school style track, that has a lot of character with not a lot of run off, gravel traps and unique curbs. The weather looks very cold and very wet, so I am excited for that challenge. It will be different to what we have been used to racing in this year so hopefully we can go well there, and capitalise on any opportunities.“
Dave Robson, Head of Vehicle Performance, said the team has spent a lot of time reviewing the data from the Russian Grand Prix. The team have recently had really strong qualifying sessions but the race pace just do not compare and the team what to get down to the reason why.
“After a seven-year gap, we return to the Nürburgring for the Eifel Grand Prix. The circuit, set in the Eifel Mountains, offers an interesting mix of corner types, and although none of the straights are especially long, they are numerous. We are looking forward to visiting another ‘new’ venue having enjoyed a good weekend in Mugello.” Said Robson.
“Holding the Grand Prix in early October means that the weather could be a major contributor to how the weekend unfolds. It is likely to be cold and windy with a reasonable chance of rain. Pirelli are bringing their middle range of compounds and understanding how these will work if the conditions are cold will be our first objective.
“At the last race in Russia, we continued our good progress in qualifying with George again reaching Q2. However, our race performance was a little disappointing and we need to understand how we can do a better job on Sunday. We have spent a lot of time reviewing the data from Russia and as a result we have a few items to looks at this Friday, which we think will help our overall weekend performance.“
