Williams Racing come into the Spanish Grand Prix on the back of a mixed Miami Grand Prix, after Alex Albon scored yet more points, whereas Nicholas Latifi continued to disappoint.
Williams have enjoyed some strong results over the recent Grand Prix’s, largely thanks to Albon. This weekend though at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, will see Nyck de Vries behind the wheel of Albon’s FW44 for Free Practice 1.
Williams Head of Vehicle Performance Dave Robson, is excited to have someone of De Vries calibre behind-the-wheel, as it gives the whole team a new insight into where they can improve. Robson also discussed how much the car has changed in just a few months.
“The contrast between the new circuit in Miami and the familiarity of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya couldn’t be starker. The drivers and engineers know the quirks and subtleties of this track very well and, whilst the car balance and tyre behaviour will be different to February, we have a good idea of what to expect and the areas that we will need to work on.
“The car has changed quite a lot since February and the much hotter track conditions will present very different problems. We showed some encouraging race pace at the last few events and our efforts are now focused on bringing the same level of performance to Qualifying. If we can do this successfully then we will be in a much stronger position going forwards.
“We are looking forward to having Nyck de Vries in the car for FP1 as it is always good to work with a new driver and get a fresh opinion on the car’s strengths and weaknesses. Nyck’s experience and professionalism will be crucial on Friday as he will complete some of the key engineering tests in FP1 before he hands the car back to Alex for FP2.”
