Williams summer upgrade package boosts team's outlook

Williams deputy team principal Claire Williams says a major upgrade planned for this summer should deliver 'significant performance' to the beleaguered British outfit.

So far, it's been a challenging 2018 season for Williams which started with production delays, continued with management changes following the departure of tech boss Paddy Lowe and the sustained under-performance of the team's FW42.

However, at the team's factory at Grove, Williams' engineers have spared no effort to try and improve the team's performance, although the fruit of their labour won't be seen until next month

• Russell 'pushed the limits' in Monaco, believed in points

"There's definitely a lot of good work going on back at the factory that people may not necessarily be seeing yet," explained Williams last weekend in Monaco.

"The aero team are doing a great job finding performance in the tunnel and we're going to be bringing that to races over the coming weeks and months with a package coming midway through the season that we hope will bring some significant performance to us.

"There are definitely signs of improvement."

Last week's Monaco Grand Prix saw Williams drivers George Russell and Robert Kubica finish respectively 15th and 18th, with both drivers performing to the best of their ability in the Principality's challenging environment.

It's unlikely the pair will fair any better in the upcoming races, leading to the question as to whether Williams would not be better off writing off its FW42 altogether and switching its focus to next year's car.

"No, nothing is a write-off at Williams, ever. It never has been and it never would be, regardless of where we are," Williams told Motorsport.com.

"It's just not our mindset a Williams. We don't write a season off just because we aren't doing well.

"For us, at the moment, we're really looking at '19 and '20 very much as almost two seasons [combined].

"It's just evolution and development and we've just got to keep bringing performance at each and every race.

"We've definitely seen that we've done that, we're closing the gap to the ninth-placed team and we've got to keep doing that as the season progresses."

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