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Australian GP: FP1 Williams Racing where you would expect


By Andrew Hooper
March 15 2019

The opening Friday practice session of the 2019 Australian GP for the ROKiT Williams racing team would see both drivers finish at the bottom of the times. Robert Kubica was 19th and George Russell 20th. Both drivers would set their times on the medium tyre while those in front were on the soft tyre. It was pretty much when you would expect them to be after their testing performances. But both drivers would continually improve during the session but the gap to the cars in front is still something that must come down. The only issue in the session was when George was told to stop before he left the pit lane seeing him having to be recovered by his mechanics. His issue has yet to be confirmed.

 
 ROKiT Williams Australian GP Friday 1st Practice
 
Kubica
 

Team Summary:
After a single installation lap both Williams drivers would return to their pits. The track would empty and it would not be until 20 minutes into the session that cars would start to return. The first lap would be a 1m:26.454 running on the medium tyre. This would become a 1m:24.679 with Verstappen second followed by Hamilton. Hamilton would move up to second while for Williams their first runs would see them 18th and 19th as they stopped for tyres and would come back out for a second run. But it would only be a single lap before they pitted again with the track empty with fifty minutes remaining.

The first set of tyres that the drivers had used would be returned to Pirelli. Under forty minutes remaining and drivers would start to return. A 1m:23.866 from Bottas on the soft tyre. But Hamilton would go quicker with a 1m:23.599 but Williams would suffer their first issue with George been told to stop his car as he tried to leave the pit lane been returned back to his pit. Now Ferrari would show some pace with Vettel and Leclerc second and third. The session would be red flagged with a Toro Rosso stuck in the middle of the track after an accident. Albon was able to get the car back to the pits under its own power.

The session would go green and both Williams cars would come out with George leading Robert both on the medium tyre. Both drivers wiuld go through with a series of improving laps but with the end of the session they would finish in 19th and 20th. But both drivers had set their quickest times on the medium tyre while those around them were on teh soft. Quickest would remain Hamilton from Vettel and Leclerc.

Robert Kubica:
Robert would be first out for the opening Friday session running on the white hard tyres. Robert would also come out for his first timed run also on the soft tyre. A 1m:30.334 from Robert on his first timed lap. Robert would go off track at Turn one but was only a trip across the grass seeing him continue. He would improve with a 1m:29.560 to be 13th. A further improvement with a 1m:28.843 to be 16th. A 1m:28.406 from Robert and he would pit after an eight lap run. He would return on a new set of soft tyres. But would put after a single lap. With 27 minutes remaining Robert would return this time on the medium tyre. With a yellow flag as a result of an accident Robert would pit. He would return still on the medium tyre. A 1m:27.973 from Robert but he would remain in 19th. A small improvement with a 1m:27.914 but still was 19th.

George Russell:
George would also come out but he was running on the yellow medium tyre. He would have flow viz on the rear wing of his Williams. George would return after a 20 minute stop coming back out on the red marked soft tyre. First lap time was a 1m:36.806 as he worked his way into the session. He would improve with a 1m:34.075. He would lower his time to a 1m:31.294 to be 16th in the times. This was followed up with a 1m:30.690 to be 17th. A 1m:29.587 from George and he would pit taking on a new set of soft tyres returning to the track. George would pit after a single lap. George was about to return but was told to stop the car seeing his mechanics come and put his car on the trolleys returning it to his pit. With just over 15 minutes remaining George would come back out running on the medium tyre. A 1m:29.040 from George on the harder tyre. He would follow this up with a 1m:28.839 but remained 20th. A small improvement with a 1m:28.740 but remained 20th.

 
Russell
 
Pos Driver Car Time Gap Laps
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m23.599s - 26
2 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1m23.637s 0.038s 18
3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1m23.673s 0.074s 18
4 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 1m23.792s 0.193s 22
5 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1m23.866s 0.267s 30
6 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1m24.816s 1.217s 18
7 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso/Honda 1m24.832s 1.233s 30
8 Pierre Gasly Red Bull/Honda 1m24.932s 1.333s 23
9 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1m24.934s 1.335s 24
10 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1m25.015s 1.416s 11
11 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1m25.166s 1.567s 23
12 Romain Grosjean Haas/Ferrari 1m25.224s 1.625s 18
13 Alexander Albon Toro Rosso/Honda 1m25.230s 1.631s 21
14 Carlos Sainz McLaren/Renault 1m25.285s 1.686s 19
15 Lance Stroll Racing Point/Mercedes 1m25.288s 1.689s 26
16 Sergio Perez Racing Point/Mercedes 1m25.498s 1.899s 21
17 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 1m25.634s 2.035s 16
18 Lando Norris McLaren/Renault 1m25.966s 2.367s 31
19 Robert Kubica Williams/Mercedes 1m27.914s 4.315s 25
20 George Russell Williams/Mercedes 1m28.740s 5.141s 25
 
Russell
 

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Australian GP: FP1 Williams Racing where you would expect
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