F1 | Williams, Robson: “George had good pace in Sochi”

Williams scored a point in the Russian Grand Prix. Excellent performance by the Grove team, even if there was some disappointment given how qualifying went, with Russell able to conquer the second row and maintain third position in the race for several laps. After the pit stop the car's pace obviously proved to be lower than that of McLaren, Aston and above all Mercedes, but with the right call to the pits and a bit of suffering, tenth place was achieved in the end. Bad Latifi, blocked in the final stages and subsequently forced to retire.

“We hoped to hold on up front, but I knew that the cars behind would make our race difficult – said Dave Robson, Williams' head of performance. Good start but we weren't able to take first position at the second corner, that's what we hoped would happen. However, George had a good pace and maintained third position without the first two getting away too much. On the hard surfaces he did another fantastic job, and in the dry we were ready to cross the finish line in the points. However, the rain presented an opportunity for George and we decided to go on the intermediates. Unfortunately, however, we only had used tires and therefore we struggled to keep tenth place."

“We still managed to get into the points, it's the right reward for what the team has done: it's a shame for Nicholas' retirement caused by an accident on a slippery track. Up to that point he was going very well and the pace was excellent. His grid penalty prevented him from fighting for the points. It's always challenging to race in Sochi, we're happy with what we did on a weekend where we should have suffered. The team worked well and the two drivers showed excellent pace. This point brings us closer to Aston Martin and limits the damage in our battle with Alfa Romeo."