After an exciting start to the 2022 FIA Formula One season in Bahrain, there is no respite for all ten teams as racing resumes just a week later in Jeddah for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
For the Williams Racing F1 team, partnered by Acronis, it was an encouraging if ultimately unrewarding opening as Alexander Albon and Nicholas Latifi finished 13th and 16th after entertaining battles with the Aston Martin and McLaren cars.
“The second race of the year is an opportunity to see the 2022 cars at a very different type of track,” commented Dave Robson, Head of Vehicle Performance. “The nature of the corners and the long straights in Jeddah will introduce some new challenges for the FW44 and whilst we have done a lot of preparation, it is likely that we will encounter something unexpected.
“This is simply the nature of taking a whole new car to such diverse tracks early in the season. We are looking forward to the challenge and to seeing how the new generation of cars tackle this high-speed street circuit.”
For new recruit Albon, the Jeddah circuit will be an entirely new experience. Yet After encouraging in pre-season testing and in the opening grand prix, he is looking forward to the next challenge.
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“The Jeddah Corniche Circuit is a new track for me and not an easy one to get up to speed with, so whilst I’m looking forward to that challenge, I know it’s going to be a tough one,” said Albon. “I think it’ll be a track that is a bit better suited to the characteristics of the FW44; it’s smoother with more medium and high-speed corners, so I’m hoping we go well there.
“The more running we do, the more we’ll understand this car and how we can work to maximise its performance, so I’m mostly just looking forward to getting back out on track.”
TEAM UP WITH ACRONIS
Prominent once again on the nose of the car and on the front wing endplates are the team’s official cyber protection partner Acronis. Williams Racing uses Acronis technology to add extra layers of protection to its IT infrastructure, protecting hundreds of servers and endpoint devices.
During the 2021 season, Acronis opened up an exciting #TeamUp Program, giving new and existing service providers the opportunity to support sports partnerships, join the sports ecosystem, attend races and enjoy amazing sports marketing benefits. To find out more, please visit https://www.acronis.com/en-us/lp/msp-sports/