Formula 1

Williams Racing on the hunt for yet more points in Turkey

Motorsport Technology
06 Oct 2021
3 min read

The Williams Racing F1 team, partnered by Acronis, approach the Turkish Grand Prix weekend high on confidence after securing a fourth points finish in five races at the Russian Grand Prix.

George Russell’s tenth place finish in Sochi means that Williams have 23 points in the bag so far this season after also scoring in Hungary, Belgium and Italy.

And the Englishman is confident that the team can add to that tally when racing resumes at the challenging Istanbul Park circuit.

“I am really looking forward to Turkey,” commented Russell in his team’s race preview. “When we raced there in 2020 it was somewhat of an ice rink, which did offer a lot of opportunities! I don’t think it will be the same again this year, but we will be prepared for whatever the conditions have to throw at us.

“I’m hopeful we can take turn eight flat out as that will be a great experience in the current generation of cars. We’ve now scored points in four of the last five races so we’re going into this weekend full of confidence and hopefully can achieve yet another good result.”

The 5.338km Istanbul Park circuit provides a demanding test for both car and driver, in particular the multi-apex turn eight, whilst its anti-clockwise layout also adds to the challenge.

“The layout of the Istanbul Park circuit is one of the best of the modern Formula One tracks, however, last year, the conditions, tyres and newly laid surface conspired to negate the exciting layout and make the event extremely difficult,” explains Dave Robson, Head of Vehicle Performance.

“This year, the weather forecast is reasonable, the surface has matured and has been treated, and Pirelli bring a softer range of compounds. All of this should significantly improve the performance of the cars, increase the drivers’ confidence and lead to an exciting race.

“Although turn eight is the signature corner of the circuit, it is the earlier sequence of quick undulating corners that really provide the challenge. They demand a lot of the cars as well as bravery and commitment from the drivers. The mix of corners and some well-placed straights should aid overtaking and increase the strategy options on Sunday.

“Having dealt well with the mixed conditions in Russia, we now must refocus on maximising the dry performance of the FW43B. We are keen to check that the tyres are working well on the treated surface. Once we are satisfied that this is the case then we can start to tune the car set-up and understand how we can get ourselves into the best possible position on Sunday.”

 

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