Williams, progress is showing
After a sluggish start to the season, Williams is showing some timid signs of recovery. The two points scored by Carlos Sainz in Shanghai boosted morale at the Grove team, which arrived at Suzuka in great form, achieving a top-10 in the second Japanese free practice session. It was Alex Albon who reached it, and the same Anglo-Thai driver says he is amazed by the performance of the FW48, plagued by weight issues of around 20 kg.
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Albon’s words
“I think today was a more positive day compared to the last two weekends. We have to be realistic: I think this result is better than what we will achieve tomorrow, but the car seems to be working better“, this is Albon’s comment. “We solved some problems and, also as far as the setup is concerned, we found something more interesting in FP2. We are going in the right direction“.
Sainz’s words
“Today it was difficult to fully exploit the car, but in the short FP2 sessions we showed good pace“, added Sainz, 17th in FP1 and 13th in the afternoon. “We seem more competitive on a single lap, but we have difficulties with race pace at high fuel. Tonight we will evaluate what changes to make to the setup to improve performance and we hope to make progress before qualifying“.
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For Albon, in FP1, also an unusual contact with Sergio Perez at the chicane before the finish line. An incident judged by the stewards as an involuntary misunderstanding between the two drivers, who were not penalized.
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