Latifi and Albon eager to hit the track with new FW44

Williams chargers Nicholas Latifi and Alex Albon are counting down the days until they hit the track in Barcelona next week onboard their all-new 2022 mount, the FW44.

Although Williams has yet to present its new-spec car which was designed to F1's radical new technical regulations, the team unveiled on Tuesday a showcar sporting the team's new livery.

Both Latifi and Albon have driven their 2022 contender in the simulator, but rolling out of their pit box and on to the pitlane at the Circuit de Catalunya is a moment that came come too soon for the Williams duo.

"I’m super excited for testing in Barcelona, to get back behind the wheel, push and see what the car can do," commented Latifi who heads into his third campaign with Williams in F1.

"Pre-season always feels like quite a long time, but it’s been really busy and there’s been a nice build-up at the factory with lots of hard work from everyone.

"The new regulations should allow for much better racing so I’m excited for the challenge and we will aim to gather some good data from testing, to take us into the first few races."

• Read also: Williams unveils striking new 2022 livery for FW44

“It feels really good, he said on Tuesday at Williams livery launch. "It feels, you know, I spent a while away from the race seat, and to get back into it, get back into the thing that I’ve wanted to do my whole life feels amazing.

"The team’s been super nice. They clearly know what they’re doing and on my side, it was going to a team where, yes, you can tell there’s trust there straight away – they believe in me – and on my side I’m trying to bring as much knowledge, as much experience as I can to them."

And like his teammate, Albon is eager to get back on track and acquainted with Williams' FW44.

The upcoming Barcelona track session will be about making sure we’re efficient with our time to best ensure we have a competitive package heading into the season," he said.

"We don’t have many days before our first race and so we quickly need to understand which areas of the car are strong and where we need to make improvements.

"I’m sure it will be a little bit of a learning curve as we all try to learn how to get the most out of the new regulations, but the objectives and the way that we focus on this car is very much the same as in previous years.

"Ultimately, we’re all still trying to get a racing car around a track as quickly as possible."

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