“It was a shame that we were unable to beat the AlphaTauri cars” – Williams’ Robson

Dave Robson admits it was disappointing for the Williams Racing team to fall behind Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda during Sunday’s British Grand Prix, particularly as they had the beating of them during Friday and Saturday at Silverstone.

George Russell had finished ninth during Saturday’s Sprint Qualifying race at Silverstone but started the full-length British Grand Prix from twelfth after a three-place penalty was applied for causing a collision with Carlos Sainz Jr. on Saturday. 

He dropped to fourteenth at the start and although he was able to move up a couple of places, he was never again in contention for points as the two AlphaTauri drivers, Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda plus Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team’s Lance Stroll all moved forward.

Team-mate Nicholas Latifi started seventeenth and ended fourteenth, but Robson admits it was difficult to fight with those battling for the top ten even though tyre management was made easier by the early red flag at Silverstone to clear up Max Verstappen’s wrecked Red Bull Racing RB16B.

“We enjoyed a good fight with the midfield teams today and we raced hard in difficult and hot conditions,” said Robson, the Head of Vehicle Performance at Williams.  “The early safety car and race suspension made the one-stop race easier than it might otherwise have been, and the race became one of balancing attack and tyre management.

“It was a shame that we were unable to beat the AlphaTauri cars having outperformed them on Friday evening, but that is racing, and they are a strong team.

“We can take a lot of positives from this weekend and we enjoyed the different format.”

Robson says the team can take a lot of positives away from Silverstone as they prepare for the Hungarian Grand Prix, which is likely to run in hot conditions once again at the Hungaroring.

“Having raced in the heat here in Silverstone, we are well prepared for the next event in Budapest in two weeks’ time, which is also likely to be very hot,” said Robson.

“The nature of the Hungaroring is quite different to Silverstone, but aspects of the tyre behaviour will carry forward.”