In the round-up: Nicholas Latifi says last weekend’s race in Spain shows Williams have a fundamental lack of downforce compared to their rivals.
In brief
Catalunya spotlighted Williams’ deficit – Latifi
The first day of practice at the Spanish Grand Prix was “the worst Friday we’ve had in three years”, said Latifi.
“This track just relies so much on maximum downforce, so although the balance is not perfect, this track has exposed we’re just missing so much,” he explained.
While his team mate Alexander Albon has delivered some points finishes for the team this year, the Circuit de Catalunya proved their weakest track so far.
“This track is the reference track for everyone,” said Latifi, “you just put the downforce you have. And we’re still one of the quickest on the straights by far – so that shows we need a bit more – and we’re very, very slow in the corners, especially the high speed, compared to everyone else.
“It just makes managing the tyres so much more difficult. You’re just constantly sliding around. So it definitely gives, I think, some good info for the guys back in the factory.”
Alfa Romeo working hard on reliability after double retirement – Zhou
After suffering retirements in both Miami and Barcelona, Zhou Guanyu is confident Alfa Romeo have resolved the reliability problems on his car.
The 2022 rookie said Monaco was a track it was especially important to trust your car at. “It’s a place where you need to respect the track and finding the right feeling in the practice sessions will be very important, but I know the team is behind me and I can rely on them to make the most of the weekend.
“We have all been working very hard to make sure reliability issues don’t get in the way of our work anymore and I’m confident we can show again how competitive we can be. I have some very good memories from Monaco, where I won last year [in Formula 2] and I am keen to make more now that I am in F1.”