Williams takes to the track in a very sensitive car

The Williams car for 2021 drove its first metres on the Bahrain circuit last weekend with George Russell at the wheel. Russell set a strong time of 1:30.117, just a tenth of a second slower than champion Lewis Hamilton. Williams has no illusions that they can compete at the front, but with the new tactics they don't see a last place coming up. At least, that is what is hoped for by Russell who told Auto und Motorsport a bit about his test laps.

"We had no technical problems. That's a good basis. In Austria last year at the start of the season eleven cars crossed the finish line. If something like that happens again, there's a good chance we'll be there."

Russell wants to start scoring points for Williams

The Englishman's trouble-free test rounds mean he has high hopes for the season ahead. He too doesn't see a first place finish in his near future, but has a very different goal: scoring points for Williams. Whether he will succeed in doing so remains to be seen, considering the driver may face a challenge at tracks other than Bahrain.

"We have traded downforce for sensitivity. Every team has a philosophy. Basically, there are two options. A flat map with more even contact pressure across the corner with less deflection up and down. Or more downforce at the top, making the car more extreme in certain conditions."

The Williams car has received some pretty major tweaks for the upcoming season. The downforce of the car has been increased, but to achieve this, other elements had to be compromised. As a result the car is much more sensitive to wind from the wrong direction. So Russell could be in for a tough ride if the weather gods are against him. Russell has already noticed during testing that this will play a major role in Williams' success in 2021.