Williams ended the first day of practice in Bahrain at the bottom of the times sheets but the team’s drivers suspect their problems are amplified by the circuit’s characteristics.
Alexander Albon, who ended the day slowest of all, said the team has made progress with its FW44 since testing at the track a week ago.
“Positively, the car is in a better place than it was last week, so we’re making the right steps forward,” he said. “We know historically this track doesn’t really suit our car that well. It felt better in Barcelona, but we’re getting it there.”
Albon said the team are on “a bit of a learning curve” to improve the car’s handling in the many low-speed corners at the Bahrain circuit.
“When it is tricky it definitely has a certain driving style,” he explained. “There is one driving style in the car and it’s just about kind of learning that, avoiding the front locking more than anything else.”
“If you look at the comparisons, nine and 10 is our…