Williams Racing primed for another points assault on Sochi

Fresh from yet another encouraging points scoring finish last time out in Monza, the Williams Racing team is hopeful of continuing that run in at the Sochi Autodrom in Russia.

With a double points finish in Hungary followed by a superb front row qualifying from George Russell that led to second in Belgium, the Englishman scored yet again with a ninth place at the Italian Grand Prix.

“I feel rested and recovered after the recent triple-header and ready to go back racing once again in Russia,” commented Russell in his team’s press release. “Following some strong results in recent races, including three points finishes in the last four races, we will be pushing hard as a team to carry that momentum into this weekend.”

Looking towards the weekend 🇷🇺 pic.twitter.com/8mXxloJcyp

— Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) September 20, 2021

Technically, the Sochi Autodrom is very different to the low downforce Monza circuit that came before it. Its intriguing mixture of medium and low speed sections means that finding a good set-up in Friday’s free practice will be all important to the weekend, as Head of Vehicle Performance Dave Robson explains.

“The Sochi Autodrom is a tricky circuit, with the final sector in particular being very demanding, especially if the tyres have had a hard time earlier in the lap. The track surface has been evolving continuously since we first came here but is now stabilising and provides a good base for the Pirelli tyres. Like last year we have the softest compounds of the Pirelli range here and these should form a good combination for qualifying and the race. The weather is forecast to be cooler than 12 months ago, and this will require a slightly different approach to the tyres, but this should be manageable.

“With the majority of Sector Two consisting of medium-speed corners and the low-speed nature of Sector Three, achieving a good overall set-up is difficult. Our experience on Friday will be important for judging how the tyres will perform over a full race stint and therefore what the best compromises are for trading qualifying and race pace.”

Staying on the technical theme, the Williams team will be carrying the Pax8 logo on the nose of its FW43B, a valued Cyber Security delivery partner of Acronis.