Third Bonn: Williams as in the best of times

This idea was almost reminiscent of the old Williams days. Alexander Albon finished third in both practice sessions for the English GP. Accordingly satisfied, the Thais later spoke into microphones. “It was a good day for training. Anyway, we can’t be unhappy when we look at the schedule.” A teammate also delivered. Logan Sargeant finished the first practice session in 17th and moved up to 5th in the second. Two Williams’s in the top five. Only Red Bull can do that.

Silverstone is as much a home race for Williams as it is for six other teams. The race course has often been good with the traditional racing team from Grove. The first of 114 Grand Prix victories to date was celebrated here in 1979. In 1997, with the 100th victory at Silverstone of all places, the triple-digit range was reached. Other than that, only Red Bull, Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari have been able to do this so far.

Fewer gases than opponents

The fact that things are going well for a ninth World Cup this time around is a slim feeling. Even if it’s just training on Friday. Even if Williams has already defeated more than his opponents. Ten kilograms means between 0.35 and 0.4 seconds on the high-speed track. “We mainly did qualifying rides,” revealed team boss James Fowles. Until now. This look is encouraging.

“We realize we’ll be back tomorrow, but we’re now in a position with our car to be able to fight,” Fowles added. It doesn’t even look like points have been left out. Long distances also seem to be appropriate. We’ll have to wait and see what the weather does though. Rain is expected for Saturday. He was not disqualified from the race on Sunday.

It wasn’t an easy day for the teams. The racetrack was still slippery at the start, and the wind made life difficult for the drivers. The braking points change depending on whether they are blowing in their direction or pushing in from behind. The balance changes. Under these complex circumstances, Williams was doing well. The overall tweaks made a couple of races ago in Canada seem to be working better and better.

Williams gained downforce and continued to speed down the straights. On paper, Silverstone is not a track for show. But full lanes help. For nearly 80 percent of the laps, the drivers are fully committed to the 5.891-kilometre circuit. Vowles praised the Flyers, and rookie rookie Sargent in particular. “He’s doing well. Austria and Silverstone are two rings he knows. It helps him.”

New front spoiler on Albon

Williams didn’t just use the training in the qualifying rounds. It was also about building a better understanding of the new Pirelli tyres. You also brought new parts yourself. Albon drove a new front spoiler, which the engineers consider profitable. He would remain with the No. 23 car for the remainder of the weekend, as his teammate’s car was fitted with a practically new rear spoiler – a development in the latter part of the season.

Opponents in midfield brought some significant upgrades, but they were behind Williams. In the case of Lando Norris, McLaren’s race car balance and confidence suffered in the higher temperatures of the afternoon. Alfa Sauber and Alpha Tauri fell in the second half of the table. Tenor at Sauber: It was about understanding the new parts and testing different settings. Guanyu Zhou, 11th-placed Alfa-Sauber, sees a particular need for improvement in terms of balance.

Alpha Tauri were the slowest cars in the field on Friday. Once again, Red Bull’s sister team converted half of the race car. Development contrary to A-Team. So far, Red Bull has only refined the details. On paper, the new parts for Alpha Tauri promise a time gain of one-tenth and a half of a second. In practice, they didn’t look like they arrived from Silverstone on Friday. “We need time to understand the many new parts,” said Yuki Tsunoda. Nico Hulkenberg was worried about Williams’ era: “They look fast and they’re one of our direct opponents. If we want to beat them, we have to step up.”

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