Friday: Williams finishes the day with a bang

Williams is on the way to achieving another weekend full of performance. The four-week summer break hasn’t changed anything; Williams can hope for a podium this weekend. For now, the first practice sessions have gone very well. Like every team, the Grove team had a clear program with tire evaluation and searching for a good setup.

Kazuki Nakajima was the most consistent with a 7th place finish and then a 5th in the afternoon. Nico Rosberg needed a bit more time this morning as he was only 14th at midday. In the afternoon, he reclaimed his favorite spot, the 4th…

Nico Rosberg – 14th and 4th:

« I had a difficult start in the morning because there was graining on the tires. The afternoon went much better and we managed to have good tests. We now have a lot more information for this Sunday. We also made some adjustments to the car setup. Overall, everything is going well today. In terms of pace, we are not entirely satisfied and we need to conduct a deeper analysis before tomorrow, but it should help us improve. We’ll wait and see. »

Kazuki Nakajima – 7th and 5th:

« I think it was a good day for us. It seems that we have completed good long runs. The pace even on new tires was decent. The track was quite green at the beginning of the day, but improved throughout both sessions and will continue to do so for tomorrow’s qualifying, which I am looking forward to. »

Rod Nelson – Chief Operating Engineer:

« Valencia is a street circuit, we found that the grip level improved throughout the session, especially in the second session, when drivers started running with the new tires. As usual for a Friday, we focused on setting up the car with long race simulation runs but also evaluating the two types of tires. The circuit was quite good at the end of the session and the weather will remain very hot and humid throughout the weekend.