British GP: Williams Racing Grand Prix Preview

We head to Silverstone this week, and the home of British motor racing for round four of the 2020 Formula
One World Championship. The British Grand Prix marks the start of the next block of back-to-back races, with the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix following a week later, before the triple-header concludes at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain. Whilst the incredible British fans will be missed, the team is still looking forward to spending two weeks racing on home soil.

Despite numerous layout changes over the years, Silverstone has always maintained its essential character
as one of the fastest tracks on the calendar. Historic corners like Maggotts, Becketts and Copse provide some of the biggest challenges for racing drivers anywhere in the world. With all this in mind, it is no surprise that Silverstone remains one of the most enjoyable circuits on the calendar and provides an exciting challenge for drivers and engineers alike.

Dave Robson, Senior Race Engineer:
Having enjoyed a weekend at home, we are all now keen to resume racing at Silverstone. Back-to-back races at one of the most iconic circuits on the calendar is a rare treat and, with the weather forecast looking good for both weekends, it is set to be a memorable period of the 2020 calendar. Racing at our home venue without the crowd will be strange, but we are still looking forward to racing hard and continuing to push the FW43 to its limits. The unique nature of Silverstone presents a very different set of challenges to the Red Bull Ring and the Hungaroring, and it will be a tremendous test of the car and the drivers.

Pirelli are providing their hardest three tyre compounds for the first weekend at Silverstone, but for the second weekend they will lower the stiffness one step. This could change the racing a little and place different demands on the chassis and driver.

We made good progress with the car during the opening three rounds of the season and were able to achieve
some good qualifying performances at both venues. We are now in a good position to push the performance
of the FW43 harder on race day as we look to score our first points of the season. Silverstone will be a difficult challenge, but with some new parts becoming available following testing in Austria and Hungary, we are looking to maintain our early season momentum and continuing to close the gap to the leading teams.

Nicholas Latifi:
I am extremely excited to get back racing and hit the track at Silverstone. It has always been one of my favourite tracks to visit and especially in these Formula One cars it is the perfect combination of super-fast flowing track, high grippy corners and high-performance downforce cars. It is going to be a lot of fun, and I’m really looking forward to getting to try it out. The break we have had from the last triple header to now has been good and given me time to analyse the first few races, where I did well and more importantly where I can improve. I’m looking forward to keeping the momentum going and seeing where we can improve altogether as a team.

George Russell:
It is going to be a strange feeling going to Silverstone for my home Grand Prix without any fans. I am incredibly excited to go driving again at one of the best circuits of the year though, as it is always a joy to drive around Silverstone and I will be giving it everything I have got.It will be nice to have two races in the UK this year; I will be staying on site in a motorhome which will be a nice experience for me and something a bit different to usual. I think our pace won’t be quite as strong as we saw in Budapest. In Hungary we well and truly exceeded expectations, and things were working really well for us in qualifying. I expect us to go back to our reality which is probably a more similar pace to what we saw in the first week of Austria. Nevertheless, myself and the team will be giving it all we have got.