Dave Robson says Williams Racing took a big hit when it came to car parts following the disappointing weekend at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari two weeks ago, and he has praised everyone within the Grove-based outfit for the work they’ve put in to repair the cars for this weekend’s Portuguese Grand Prix.
Both George Russell and Nicholas Latifi crashed out at Imola, ending a promising weekend for the team, and Robson, the Head of Vehicle Performance at Williams, says they can take comfort from their performance prior to their retirements.
And Robson says they will be looking to carry forward their impressive form into this weekend’s race at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve.
“The result in Imola was disappointing and has required a big effort from the factory to recover our stock of parts,” said Robson. “Fortunately, there were a lot of good things from the weekend too and we are now in Portugal looking forward to building on the progress made last time out.
“Portimão is an excellent circuit, fast and flowing with a lot of elevation change. With the final corner being very quick, the straight is long and fast, especially with DRS. The circuit had been recently resurfaced when we were here last year and that made conditions difficult for the tyres.
“Pirelli have brought the same compounds as last year – the hardest of their range – but the maturing of the tarmac should improve the overall performance.”
Robson feels Williams had a relatively good weekend in Portimão last October, and he hopes the FW43B can work as well there this weekend as it did at Imola two weeks ago.
“Last year we had a reasonably successful weekend and both drivers enjoyed the challenge of the circuit,” said Robson. “We hope that the FW43B will work well here, allowing us to build on the performance that we showed in Imola.
“We have plenty of work to get through on Friday, primarily focussing on the tyres, but we are looking forward to the challenge.”
