Williams expects its car to struggle at the Hungaroring

Formula One's Grove-based outfit Williams expects a difficult weekend at the Hungarian Grand Prix, fearing that the high-downforce demands of the Hungaroring will highlight the weakness of its FW46.

Williams have had a difficult time so far this year. The Grove-based outfit has only scored two times so far - courtesy of Alexander Albon on both occasions.

As the F1 field is gearing up its preparation for this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix, Williams' Sporting Director Sven Smeets fears that the team's FW46 will suffer in high-downforce configuration as it has done in recent years.

"Budapest is a great place to come to and the Hungaroring is a circuit loved by many drivers. This weekend we'll use the soft range of tyres, and with track temperatures being very high, tyre management will be key to good results in the race.

"It’s a track that we tend to struggle with as a team, but we’ve brought some good learnings from Barcelona, so we hope make progress in the right direction this weekend.

Alex Albon has not enjoyed a successful time in Hungary in recent years. The London-born driver joined the British outfit in 2022 when he crossed the finish line in P17. Last year saw the Thai driver make a step forward, but a 10th place finish meant that he left Budapest without any championship points.

"As we head to Hungary, The Hungaroring circuit is a track that I’ve always loved to drive and it’s always great seeing how passionate the fans are in Budapest.

"Coming off the back of a strong weekend in Silverstone but a more challenging triple header, we’ll take the learnings we’ve gathered over the past weeks and try to apply these in Hungary. Traditionally it’s a track that doesn’t suit our car very well and with the hot temperatures, we’ll have to take opportunities where we can.

His team-mate Logan Sargeant is eager to improve his performance from last year when he finished down in P18. The American driver has nice memories of the Hungaroring from his F3 career, having finished in P3 in the sprint race in 2021.

"I’m excited to be back in Hungary this week! It’s a fun track to drive with twisty corners and a fast, flowing second sector that makes it super satisfying when you put it all together.

"We’ll be aiming to build on the good momentum from Silverstone to get a positive result on Sunday," concluded the Miami-born racer.