In the first leg of the season in Bahrain, the Williams earned a point courtesy of Alex Albon’s tenth-place finish. The team does not make any predictions for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, but emphasizes that the characteristics of the Jeddah circuit should in theory better suit their FW45 car.
Dave RobsonChief Engineer: “We are returning to Jeddah for the second race of the 2023 season. Compared to last year, the circuit has undergone some significant changes, but it has retained its character and is very different from the Sakhir circuit.
The team had a productive few weeks in Bahrain and saw many positives during the race weekend. Now we need to quickly adapt the car to Jeddah, where the cars are more sensitive to air resistance than in Bahrain.
There are several difficult corners on the track, which are a serious test for the car and the drivers. The lap is over four miles long, so drivers don’t have many opportunities to practice these corners before qualifying.
As in the previous stage, the key sessions of the weekend will take place in the evening and we must take into account the change in wind direction and temperature after sunset. The asphalt is smoother than in Bahrain, so Pirelli will bring softer compounds for this stage. We are looking forward to getting out on the tough city circuit to get a better feel for the FW45.”
Alex Albon: “Jeddah has an interesting urban circuit and I am looking forward to the podium. This is one of those circuits where it is very important to build confidence gradually over the course of the weekend.
In theory, Jeddah fits our car better than Sakhir, but we’ll soon see if that’s the case. The team continues to understand the characteristics of the car – it’s interesting what new things we will learn on a completely different track.
Logan Sargent: “I am looking forward to the second leg in Saudi Arabia. In Bahrain we have laid an excellent foundation for further work. I hope the team continues to improve.
The track in Jeddah is very difficult, so we have to prepare well for the weekend to finish it with a positive result.”
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
