Williams Racing brought home a stellar result at the British Grand Prix, with Alex Albon claiming points in eighth place and Logan Sargeant finishing just shy of the points positions in eleventh.
Williams Head of Vehicle Performance Dave Robson was pleased with the car’s performance, as the team’s recent upgrades continue to impress. FW45 proved to be handy around Silverstone, with both Albon and Sargeant pulling off strong campaigns around the high-speed circuit– though Sargeant will have to keep waiting for his first points in the series.
“The car worked well today and both drivers were excellent. Alex showed great skill in attack and defence whilst also managing his tyres very well.
“Logan too showed good race craft and was able to build on his race in Austria to deliver another impressive performance. It is frustrating for him to finish 11th, but his first Formula 1 Championship point is getting ever closer.”
The weather at the beginning of the race posed a difficult challenge for the drivers, Robson said, with low grip and relatively high tyre degradation evident. These conditions subsided as the race continued, revealing the true potential of FW45 at Silverstone Circuit.
“The start of the race was tricky with the showers passing to the west of the circuit leading to a few drops of rain and a gusty wind. Driving was difficult during this period and tyre degradation appeared high. However, once the weather calmed down, we were able to show good pace and measure the true tyre degradation.”
As both Albon and Sargeant started the race on the medium tyre, Robson said that the team were able to capitalise on the longevity of the two softer compounds with the preferred one stop strategy. He added that this played a role in Albon’s ability to showcase some excellent defending in the final stages of the race.
“The Pirellis held up very well such that a 1-stop race using Soft and Medium tyres was possible. The safety car further improved the competitiveness of this strategy and helped the drivers who chose to avoid the Hard tyre for their final stint.
“This allowed Alex to complete a brilliant pass on [Carlos] Sainz to take an excellent 8th place. Some characteristic defensive driving on the final lap ensured that he held the place against an attacking [Charles] Leclerc.”
Robson praised the efforts of the team back at the factory to bring such a competitive update across the last three races, which they will be looking to build upon and extract further performance from going into the Hungarian Grand Prix and beyond.
“The team has worked very hard to deliver an effective upgrade package to the car. The first parts of that package arrived in Canada and the new front wing debuted this weekend on Alex’s car. The points that we have scored over recent events is testament to that effort and expertise.”
With four points added to the tally in Silverstone, Williams is now tied with Haas F1 Team for seventh place in the Constructors’ Championship and will be looking to continue their promising upwards trajectory.
