The update fitted to the Williams of Alex Albon for this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix is hoped to bring the team back into the midfield fight.
Williams has a single point to its credit this season, courtesy of Albon finishing 10th in the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Since then, 12th in Azerbaijan has been his best result, the Thai-licensed driver trailing home in 16th in Spain two weeks ago.
Williams fitted a revised front wing and engine cover to its cars in Barcelona, both circuit-specific updates.
In Monaco too there were event-specific updates, while the cooling changes introduced in Miami were designed for the extremes of that particular event.
The last update not tailored to an event was a revision to the underside of the nosebox, designed to improve the flow quality and load of the front wing that debuted in Azerbaijan.
Meanwhile, others have brought significant updates, with Mercedes having debuted what almost equates to a B-spec car in Monaco.
That goes some way to explaining why Williams has not featured inside the top 10 since Bahrain.
According to Albon, the new parts this weekend are not revolutionary but increase the car’s overall downforce based on what he’s experienced in the team’s simulator.
“Nothing too big actually balance-wise, so it feels quite similar; it’s more just a general downforce difference,” he explained.
“I think we’ve done a good job. I do think it’s going to put us more into the fight with the midfield, something which we’ve been falling away a little bit from the last few races.
“Hopefully, it can just get us back into the fighting area for points.”
Competition for those will be tough, with the leading four teams having arguably been joined by Alpine in recent races.
With points only available for the top 10 finishers, Albon’s chances of points, therefore, rely on a combination of maximising his package and performance while others suffer misfortune.
With rain forecast this weekend and the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve unusually punishing for a permanent venue, the latter at least has an increased probability.
“I kind of like these kinds of circuits,” Albon said.
“I do feel there’s a little bit more in terms of the ride, maybe not so much just pure downforce on the car, there’s a bit more to it.”
Discussion about this post