F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Russell: Williams progress real but 'car still slowest'

Williams displayed a good performance level in pre-season testing, but George Russell still believes the British outfit is at the bottom of the field.

Contrary to last year, Williams executed a timely roll out of its 2020 contender in Barcelona and prepared well at the Circuit de Catalunya save for the issues it encountered with its Mercedes power unit.

Both Russell and rookie teammate Nicholas Latifi performed well behind the wheel of their new FW43.

Yet the former put a lid on his enthusiasm, insisting Williams still had the slowest car although progress is undeniable.

"No doubt we're in a better position," Russell said. "I think realistically, we are still the slowest car.

"We're not going to get carried away with ourselves, but we've definitely reduced the gap.

"That's all we could have hoped for over over the winter. We'll go into Melbourne and see, but don't expect to see us in Q2 or Q3. We've definitely improved, but expectations are all under control.

"Last year when we outperformed our car we were still qualifying 19th and finishing 19th. So I hope this year when people slip up and we perform well, that's when we can take the opportunities.

"I know where we’ve gained, but quantifying it versus the other teams is difficult."

Dave Robson, Williams' head of vehicle performance was happy overall with the team's winter preparations.

"Overall, we have had a good winter testing period and have made the most of the six days available in this newly compressed format," Robson said.

"We have completed in excess of 100 laps on all but one of the days, which has allowed us to complete almost everything that we intended."

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Michael Delaney

Recent Posts

Sebastian Montoya steps up to Formula 2 with Prema

Sebastian Montoya, the 19-year-old son of former Formula 1 star Juan Pablo Montoya, is set…

11 hours ago

Sauber finds its ‘Northern Star’ under Binotto’s leadership

When former Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto took on the role of Chief Operating Officer…

12 hours ago

Leclerc hails a season ‘without missed opportunities' in 2024

Charles Leclerc concluded the 2024 F1 season with a sense of satisfaction, the Ferrari driver…

13 hours ago

Coulthard sounds alarm over FIA president’s rift with F1 drivers

Former Formula 1 driver David Coulthard has voiced his dismay at FIA president Mohammed Ben…

15 hours ago

The rapid rise and fall of Super Aguri in F1

Super Aguri's application to join Formula 1 became a reality on this day in 2005,…

16 hours ago

Ferrari's 2024 Season: Marked improvement and a fight to the finish

Ferrari roared back into contention in 2024 to deliver their strongest season in years, thanks…

17 hours ago