Williams delighted with the reliability of their FW47

F1 Grand Prix, GP Qatar, Losail International Circuit

Having posted a series of eye-catching lap times across the three days of pre-season testing, the Williams F1 team sounded a positive note regarding the reliability of the FW47, but Alexander Albon confessed that the British squad will need to find some more pace.

Across 24 hours of track time, Williams clocked up 395 laps of the Bahrain International Circuit, covering 2,137km of valuable data. The Grove-based outfit is looking forward to the upcoming season with a new driver pairing, with Carlos Sainz joining Alexander Albon.

The Spanish driver made the switch from Ferrari to the Grove-based squad over the winter and headlined the second day of pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit, finishing top after a full day of running.

Commenting on his three-day pre-season testing, Albon stated: "Day three done with! It was a tricky day - I don’t know what it was like for the other drivers, but the morning was really difficult with the wind, and we didn’t really get much of a rhythm. We had a couple of issues on the car which delayed things as well, so we were struggling a little bit to get going.

"Finally, we got a good long run in and a decent lowish performance run style, ending the day with some more long runs. So all in all, I’m positive. I do think we need to look at some data with a couple of areas we need to focus on.

"The good thing is, we know where the lap time is and I don’t think it’s that hard to achieve, so we’ll do some work around that and get ready for Melbourne!"

Williams' chief engineer Dave Robson highlighted the reliability of the FW47 as its main strength, with only minor technical issues having hindered the team's on-track preparation for the upcoming season.

"Alex was back in the car for the final day of winter testing. Conditions were more challenging today with the strong gusts making testing more difficult.

"However, we were still able to complete some useful work across a range of fuel loads. In preparation for the season ahead, we scanned a range of car configurations and tyre compounds.

"Once again, the FW47 was mostly reliable with only a few minor issues affecting the programme. This puts us in a good place for the opening races of the season."