Williams: Tyres mean 'crucial' set-up compromise for Aussie GP

Williams head of vehicle performance Dave Robson says Pirelli's decision to skip a step in its compound selection for Melbourne implies a crucial set-up compromise for race day.

Pirelli as opted to experiment at next weekend's Australian Grand Prix by nominating its C2 and C3 rubber but skipping its C4 and assigning instead its soft C5 compound to teams.

The tyre supplier's unusual range coupled with Albert Park's track revisions means that teams will be facing a few interesting challenges next weekend upon their return to Melbourne after a three-year hiatus.

But Williams has vowed to remain "open-minded and pragmatic" regarding its approach to the event Down Under.

"With the removal of the old Turn 9/Turn 10, there is one fewer chicane in the layout, but nonetheless, changes of direction at low and high speed still dominate the circuit," Robson explained.

"Braking stability, kerb riding and car agility therefore remain critical to the car setup.

"The much faster section between Turn 8 and Turn 11 will alter the trade of downforce and drag, but with driver confidence also at a premium, taking off too much downforce could be detrimental, and we can expect to see all teams experimenting on Friday.

• Read also: Pirelli explain step in compounds for Australian GP

"Adding to the complexity of the weekend is a courageous compound choice from Pirelli, with the C2 and C3 compounds being the Prime and Option as they were in Jeddah, but C5 being the Qualifying compound here in Melbourne.

"This may place significantly different demands on the car setup for qualifying and the race, but with no opportunity to change the setup on Saturday night, this compromise could be crucial."

Williams drivers, along with their colleagues from Aston Martin, have yet to points on the board this season, having endured a pair of scruffy races in Bahrain and in Saudi Arabia.

"Following our difficult weekend in Jeddah, we are looking forward to a clean event as we look to extract a little more potential from the FW44," said Robson.

"The challenges here are different to Bahrain and Saudi Arabia and so we will be open-minded and pragmatic with our approach."

"I know the whole team will be hoping to bounce back after a tricky event in Jeddah," added Alex Albon. "So we'll be pushing hard to maximise performance and do the best we can."

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