"The biggest challenge of the weekend" - Williams expecting 2022 F1 Miami GP to be punishing for their cars

Williams F1 believes the forthcoming 2022 F1 Miami GP could be a grueling punishment for their cars this weekend.

Williams F1's head of vehicle performance, Dave Robson, feels the new track around Miami's Hard Rock Stadium and the unpredictable weather in the region could pose a stiff challenge for them.

Speaking in an interview ahead of the race weekend, Robson said:

“The weather looks likely to be hot and sunny with a small chance of thundery showers, and with the key sessions taking place in the mid to late afternoon, it could be quite punishing for the cars, tyres and drivers."

He went on to add:

"Pirelli have provided compounds from the middle of their range, which is the same as in Imola. These are expected to suit the circuit layout quite well, although the exact tyre behaviour will depend on the track temperature and the chosen setup. It is this interaction between setup and tyre behaviour that will provide the drivers and engineers the biggest challenge of the weekend.

"Although the drivers will learn the circuit very quickly, the behaviour of the tyres, the initial ageing of the asphalt and the local conditions will ensure that there is a lot for the engineers to optimise throughout the weekend.”

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"We can get more points" - Alex Albon confident of improvement once Williams add upgrades to their car

Williams driver Alex Albon is certain he can challenge for more points once he gets more upgrades on his car.

Speaking to the media after his P11 finish at the 2022 F1 Imola GP, the Thai-British driver said:

“It feels very good. I think we’re not quite there on car pace, but we seem to be making the most of our opportunities. If we can find an extra few tenths, I see us scoring points on a regular basis.. We’re in a good position; I feel we’ve done the best we can do. Hopefully once updates get on the car, we can get more points."

Albon further added:

"It feels good. I feel like the race went just as well as Melbourne to some extent. We didn’t have the tyre advantage or the pace advantage that we did over there, but we still made the most of our opportunities and we got the undercut, we overtook a couple of cars on track, and I felt like... if we'd had DRS available a bit earlier, we could have made a few more steps forward.”

Williams is currently at the bottom of the 2022 F1 World Constructors Championship standings with one point, courtesy of Alex Albon's P10 finish in Melbourne.