Dave Robson admitted it was a ‘difficult’ and ‘frustrating’ São Paulo Grand Prix for the Williams Racing team, with Alexander Albon and Nicholas Latifi finishing only fifteenth and sixteenth in Sunday’s race.
Both drivers struggled for pace during the race at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, and they were not helped by the timing of the second safety car. Albon was compromised by pitting just before it was deployed, meaning his rivals were given a free stop afterwards, while Latifi was unable to catch the back of the pack before the race resumed after being allowed to unlap himself by the stewards.
Robson, the Head of Vehicle Performance at Williams, says it was a disappointing result for the team in Brazil, and the only real highlight was the fact that his two drivers were able to battle each other over the closing laps.
“Another difficult day and we struggled for pace throughout the race,” said Robson. “With the early safety car, we were able to switch Alex to an effective two-stop race using only Medium tyres.
“With the second safety car coming shortly after Alex had made his final stop, most of the tyre advantage we were accruing for the final stint was lost. At the restart Alex suffered with a loss of power, which took us a couple of laps to recover and he was unable to make any further progress.
“Nicholas ran a short stint on the Hard compound, but this was a poor tyre today and, coupled with a slow pit-stop, dropped him off the back of the pack. The second safety car gave him a chance to recover and to race Alex over the final laps, but it was otherwise a frustrating day.”