Williams set for “powerful” F1 upgrade at Silverstone

Williams is set to hand both its Formula 1 drivers a “powerful” upgrade at the British Grand Prix after carrying out extensive evaluations of the package.

The British outfit has been alternating the update across its cars at the opening three rounds of the season, with George Russell using the developments on his car during last weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix.

Russell starred in qualifying and was able to put his Williams 12th on the grid, ahead of Red Bull’s Alex Albon, before both Williams drivers faded in the race amid its continued race-pace struggles.

Speaking about Williams’ performance in Hungary, the team’s head of vehicle performance Dave Robson expanded on the development plan, though he did not disclose exactly which area of the car it related to.

"The cars are a little bit different - and with the media not being here or the photographers not being here, not everyone has picked it up," Robson explained.

"We've had an upgrade that has been alternating on one car and then the other for the last couple of races, as we've only had one set.

"George has got that this week and I think that probably played the part.

"It is quite powerful here, so probably Nicholas was always going to find it a little bit harder here relative to George.

"That is why he felt the need to really go for broke in a Q2 lap, but it didn't quite pay off.”

While Robson did not put an exact number on how much performance the upgrade will provide, he confirmed Williams is planning to run the developments on both cars at the upcoming double-header at Silverstone.

"They have been alternating it,” he said. “We had wet qualifying [in Austria] so it is hard to say, but I think that having both experienced it on and off, they are very convinced that it is a clear advantage.

"So they will both be furnished with it in the next race at Silverstone. But I couldn't put a number on it."