Williams Racing F1 Bahrain test day 1 review 23.02.2023: Aramco Bahrain pre-season test Sakhir, Bahrain, day 1 Thursday, February 23rd 2023 Fastest Lap Laps A. Albon 1:33.671 74 L. Sargeant 1:34.324 75

Aramco Bahrain pre-season test
Sakhir, Bahrain, day 1
Thursday, February 23rd 2023


 
     Fastest Lap    Laps
A. Albon    1:33.671    74
L. Sargeant    1:34.324    75



Dave Robson, Head of Vehicle Performance: We had a productive day of testing and completed everything that we planned. The drivers shared the workload and each now has one full day of testing before the opening race of the season. Both drove well today and quickly found a rhythm and confidence with the car.



The FW45 ran reliably all day and we found no major issues. With only three days of pre-season testing, this is very important.



Conditions today were a little tricky, with the wind gusts affecting the car’s behaviour, and the tyre performance changing as the track temperature varied. But this is typical for Bahrain and almost certainly representative of what we will face next weekend.


We got a lot done today and our challenge now is to complete the analysis in time to influence the setup and run programme for tomorrow.



Thanks to the hard work of everyone here and in Grove, we’ve had a strong start to the new season but there is a long way yet to go. And this starts tomorrow.



Alex Albon: We got some good mileage in today which is a positive. So far, the FW45 is going okay and it’s been really useful to get some good laps in. In terms of pace, it’s really hard to say, especially in that mid-field section. We have a lot of work to do but I think these conditions are more representative of what we’re going to experience during the year, with the heat and the wind, compared to our rollout at Silverstone.



It’s only day one of testing but it’s already been important for us to compare where we are year on year, seeing if we’ve improved in the right areas, and continuing to fine tune the car further and get into a sweet spot.

Logan Sargeant: It was nice to finally get the chance to get comfortable in the car. We got through a really busy run plan between Alex and myself which is great work from the team. I think it was relatively tricky as grip seemed quite low. There a few things to work on going into the next two days but we're moving in the right direction. I'm hoping to make another good step forward tomorrow with a full day of driving.
 
 

 



Rebecca Banks, photos Williams