Photo credit: Williams
While you can’t read much into a shakedown, Alex Albon has given a positive early verdict of Williams’ new FW45 as it hit the track for the first time.
The Grove-based squad released pictures of its 2023 challenger being driven around Silverstone after revealing its livery on a show car at a launch event last Monday.
Albon had the first run in the FW45 before handing over to new team-mate Logan Sargeant.
Speaking about his first few laps, Albon said the car “feels really good” but acknowledged that he has not experienced the car in the development spec it will start the season in.
He told the Williams website: “Sometimes you drive the car for the first time and it’s like, ‘OK, we’ve got some work to do’.
“Today was more, ‘You know what, this is a good baseline, we actually have a well-balanced car’.
“There’s always going to be a bit of a ‘what if’ until you drive the real car, I don’t want to speak too soon, maybe we’re not as good as we think we are.
“But we’re going in the right direction, that’s the main thing. We’ve got a good baseline, a good platform now to go to Bahrain with and start adding some downforce.”
Williams will be looking to move up the order in 2023 after finishing at the bottom of the standings last year.
In a boost for the team, Albon felt that the shakedown had been more smoother procedurally than the start of 2022 had been.
He added: “We have no issues right now.
“It’s the second year with these cars, so everything’s so much more seamless and efficient right now. We’re just rattling through it.”