Williams’ Dave Robson: Latifi “raced hard until the end and put up a strong fight against faster cars”

Williams Racing’s Nicholas Latifi finished twelfth place at the British Grand Prix, while Alex Albon retired after an intense multi-car crash on the first lap. 

Williams Head of Vehicle Performance Dave Robson said he was glad that none of the drivers were injured as a result of the incident, and that it was a “shame” to see Albon out of the race so early. 

“Following the incident at the start of the race, we are grateful that nobody was seriously hurt. It was a shame that Alex suffered contact as a result of the crash ahead of him, and that this put him out of the race after just a few corners and before we had a chance to see how the new upgrades were working.” 

Robson praised Latifi’s efforts to bring home points after his season-best qualifying result of tenth place, but said that the car lacked the pace to secure a top ten– due in part to the damage done to the floor mid-race.  

“However, Nicholas backed-up his strong drive yesterday with a very good race today. He showed good pace and took advantage of opportunities that came his way, including the late safety car. 

“Unfortunately, he didn’t quite have the pace at the end to challenge for the final points position, but he raced hard until the end and put up a strong fight against faster cars. When he ran wide at T9, he did some damage to the floor, which harmed his pace in the crucial period after his first pit stop.”

Looking ahead to the Austrian Grand Prix, Robson said that the team will continue working to optimize the upgrades brought to Albon’s car in Silverstone. 

“We will get Alex’s car repaired and then we’ll head to Austria with some useful momentum and a plan to further exploit the new package. The Red Bull Ring has some similar characteristics to Silverstone and probably similar weather too and so we should be able to pick-up where we left off this weekend.”