Williams faced a tough Sprint qualifying for the Formula 1 Dutch GP, with both Alexander Albon and Carlos Sainz failing to advance from SQ1.
Both drivers had their renewals announced this week. And if the hope was that Zandvoort would show a turnaround start for the British team, that was not quite what happened.
The Anglo-Thai will line up only from 16th position on the grid in the Sprint race. “Overall, it wasn’t a bad Friday, especially considering our pace in FP1. There is still a lot of lap time to be gained and areas to improve. We know we won’t be fighting for the top eight positions tomorrow, but that’s not really our focus at the moment.”
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“It’s more about making sure we are extracting the maximum possible from the car we have this weekend, until the updates arrive. The weather forecast can also change the scenario, with the possibility of a wet track tomorrow and dry on Sunday. For us, that creates some chaos, and it is in chaos that we can find opportunities to fight for points,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Spaniard will start from the third-last row, in 18th. “A difficult day. In FP1, I had problems with balance and suffered floor damage when going through the gravel at turn 13. I couldn’t draw many conclusions from that session from then on and had to change some parts before the Sprint qualifying. The competition was very tight and I couldn’t find the ideal feeling with the car, which ended up resulting in not qualifying for SQ2. Now, the focus is on what we can achieve tomorrow,” he said.
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