Williams is bringing a package of upgrades to the FW45 for this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix, though they will only appear on Alexander Albon’s car.
The team’s head of vehicle performance Dave Robson said they expect the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, which has several long straights, should be a good venue for the FW45 which has been competitive in the speed traps so far this year.
“The track in Montreal should play slightly more to the strengths of the FW45 than Monaco and Barcelona did,” said Robson. “Furthermore, we have several upgraded components available this week, which will run on Alex’s car only.
“We expect to be more competitive, but we will take our time on Friday to understand if the new package is delivering as expected.”
Albon’s team mate Logan Sargeant will continue to drive the car in its standard specification.
“This is Logan’s first visit to Montreal, and it is a circuit that is more technical than is initially apparent,” said Robson. “His preparation in the simulator will be key to getting him up to speed and from there he will quickly understand the nuances of the track.
“Tyre and brake management whilst negotiating the walls and the kerbs is tricky, but there is some time on the straights to take a breath before the next sequence starts.”
Albon said “it should be interesting to see how [the upgrade] performs”, and praised the work of the factory team for doing a “huge job to get this upgrade ready for the weekend.”
It is not the first time that the team has chosen to split its upgrade strategy, having used Albon’s car to evaluate new parts at last year’s British Grand Prix while his previous team mate Nicholas Latifi had to wait. It remains to be seen whether Sargeant will receive the same upgrades at the Austrian Grand Prix two weeks after the Canadian round.
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