Robson: Logan needs a few laps to adjust

The Williams team is preparing for the Japanese race weekend, hoping that the characteristics of the Suzuka circuit will suit the FW45 car well.

Dave Robson, chief race engineer: “Suzuka is one of the best circuits we will visit this season, and the high-speed configuration should suit our car well. The circuit is very technical and places high demands on the drivers, and the tires there work under heavy loads.

The behavior of the tires depends on the temperature of the asphalt and this can be very high on weekends. At this stage we will have to work with the hardest rubber compounds, and on Friday we will test prototypes of Medium tires.

There may be a chance of rain on Friday which will disrupt tire testing programmes, but the rest of the weekend is expected to be dry and hot. Weather permitting, we will test the effectiveness of a number of components during Friday practice, but our main focus will be on preparing the drivers and cars for what awaits them on this challenging circuit.

Logan will be competing in Suzuka for the first time and he will need a certain number of laps to adapt and understand what compromises need to be made in the settings to achieve good results throughout the round.”

Alex Albon: “I love going to Japan and Suzuka is one of my favorites. I love Japanese food and culture, so I’m always happy to spend time in this country.

Suzuka is one of those tracks where everything should work out well for us, because it suits our car better than some previous tracks, rather than Singapore. I hope we can cope well with the challenges ahead.”

Logan Sargent: “I am preparing for the coming weekend with interest as it will be my first time racing at Suzuka. This is a legendary circuit and I want to get behind the wheel as soon as possible. We hope this weekend will be more successful for us, and I’m already looking forward to it.”