Bahrain Grand Prix: Preview – Williams

Dave Robson, Head of Automobile Efficiency: Having had three days to work on the FW46 final week, we now return to Bahrain for the opening race of the season.

We did not have the smoothest pre-season take a look at, however we had been capable of deal with the problems that we uncovered and by the ultimate day the automobile was operating effectively. Regardless of restricted mileage on day 1, we had been nonetheless capable of acquire quite a lot of knowledge and we have now spent the previous couple of days analysing that knowledge, understanding the correlation to the simulations, and evolving the construct and setup of the automobile to maximise its efficiency.

Each drivers loved some good operating through the take a look at and had been capable of full efficiency and race operating. Each considerably developed their understanding of the FW46 and while there may be nonetheless extra to come back, they’re in a superb place to refine their setups and get extra out of the automobile.

FP1 will likely be comparatively scorching and never very consultant of the qualifying and race situations. Due to this fact, we’ll look to finish some barely totally different assessments in FP1 and return to the setup that we used on the take a look at for the cooler FP2 situations.

Tyres for this occasion are the toughest that Pirelli supply, and they are going to be effectively suited to the abrasive observe floor in Sakhir. As at all times, tyre administration will likely be essential within the race, and that is one thing that we are going to be refining through the weekend.

Alex Albon: We did not have the simplest take a look at however made progress all through. There’s nonetheless work to do to maximise the automobile we have now, these few days in between the take a look at and race have been spent understanding the package deal and particularly the areas we have to work on. We’ll go into FP1 with some new concepts and attempt to maximise the weekend as a lot as attainable.

Logan Sargeant: Since testing, I have been itching to get again within the FW46 and at last go racing for the primary time this season. After all, everybody would’ve preferred extra days of testing, however as a crew we maximised the three days one of the best we might, making progress in the precise course. We’ll be seeking to construct on what we realized through the take a look at and get the automobile in a superb window forward of Qualifying. Hopefully we will begin the season with a constructive weekend for the crew.