The Italian Grand Prix weekend at the Formula 1’s fastest track, Monza, started with two free practice sessions on Friday. After experiencing a season full of mixed results, the Williams drivers, Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon, eventually recorded two very promising free practice runs.
While Carlos Sainz came third in both FP1 and FP2, his teammate Alex Albon finished seventh in both rounds as well. The early strong performance on Friday boosted the Williams duo’s confidence for the weekend ahead.
A good pace is a good base
The Spanish Formula 1 driver Carlos Sainz lapped within a tenth of a second of pace-setter Lando Norris of McLaren in FP2.
Although the Spaniard acknowledges that his quick performance has left him more optimistic about the Italian weekend, he is still not fully confident in his car, the FW47. This is Sainz’s first visit to Monza, the Temple of Speed, after leaving Ferrari to join Williams. Thus, the fresh Williams driver is in a process where he is still adapting to his new car on a track that used to be the home race for his previous team.
Nevertheless, Sainz continues to give his best to improve his results at Williams. He believes Friday will be a good base to build upon throughout the weekend.
“Honestly, in terms of lap time and performance, it looks like an encouraging day. I think we seemed to hit the ground running this morning with a good setup and a good balance that seemed to give us decent lap times.
“In terms of confidence, not quite up there. I’ve been struggling a bit in turn 11 and turn 7 to throw the car in and be at home. The car feels quite different to a Ferrari. Around here, it has some very good traits, some very difficult ones.
“But every lap I do, I’m trying to learn how to adapt and drive around it.
“But promising pace, as I said. Now, I just need to make sure I feel more comfortable on the first lap on softs when you put this first lap on the tyre, and also a bit in a couple of corners where I’m still lacking a bit.
“But all in all, with those things here and there good base.”
More comfort in the car can be achieved
In post-free practice interviews, Sainz was asked whether there would be more to come from him and his car this weekend. The Williams driver confessed that he wasn’t sure that would be the case in terms of FW47’s potential.
However, the Spaniard thinks he can be more comfortable driving his car if they can find a way to maximize his performance on soft tyres.
“I don’t know if it will come in terms of potential. But in terms of comfort, for sure.
“I feel we still need to work a bit on the setup and on the management of the outlap to extract more out of the soft. Because the lap time is good, but I did it on the second push on the soft. I wish I could do it on the first.
“Right now, the balance and the tyres don’t give me a feeling to do it on the first push. So, we still have a bit of work to do.
“As I said, the pace is there. We were quick on long runs. We were quick on the short runs.
“Balance feels in a decent window. But there are a couple of corners and the soft tyre that we need to sort out.
“We managed to sort it out, and I can get myself a bit more confident and comfortable in the car. Then hopefully there’s even more to come.”
Maintaining the pace over the weekend is the priority
Alex Albon agrees with his teammate Sainz about the car’s encouraging quick pace in both free practice sessions. However, he also noted that whether they can sustain their strong performances throughout the weekend will decide the final result in the Italian Grand Prix.
To do that, the Thai driver believes they need to sort out some things about the FW47, including tyres. Albon’s main priority at Monza will be extracting and then maintaining the best of his tyres over a single flying lap.
“Honestly, it has been a really tricky day in terms of just, we had a big run plan and we’ve just been trying to get through everything.
“But the car is quick, and we are in a good place. It’s more just, can we make it repetitive, and can we get the same car that we’ve got today for tomorrow?
“There’s a lot of work to be done. I think we have sweet spots, and we’ve seen it time and time again this year. Our outlaps and getting the tyres working in the right window are going to be tricky.
“So, we just need to make sure we can actually execute what we want to do.
“Maybe not quite the pace that I wanted to. I need to check how Carlos was. I did have a big runoff. So, I maybe damaged the floor a little bit. It was still good, still not too bad.”
The hunt for some good points is on
According to Albon, points entered the Williams’ radar zone at the Italian Grand Prix, considering their Friday free practice stats. Therefore, the hunt is on for both Williams’ drivers.
“Good points for sure. I think that we’ve always come here and focused on the top of the midfield. And I think we’ve actually got a reasonable race pace today, car pace. So, let’s see if it carries on.”
