Analysis: Will Williams slip back the Formula 1 order in Hungary?

By out-qualifying Ferrari and leading the first half of the recent British GP, Williams showed a return to the sort of 'best-of-the-rest' form it managed consistently during the 2014 F1 season.

But Valtteri Bottas spoke after the race of concerns his team might be less competitive on the twists of the Hungaroring this weekend, after enjoying a largely fruitful run - when it remained dry at least - through the high-speed sweeps of Silverstone.

"Budapest will be a bit more difficult for us, but we should still go there trying to fight for good positions," said the Finn.

"This [Silverstone] is one of the very good tracks for us, like we saw last year, but we have improved the downforce on the car, which could help us in Budapest.

"It's very difficult to say in detail how it could be, but we are going forwards all the time."

THE SPECTRE OF MONACO

With this season's FW37, Williams has sensibly built on the solid foundations it laid last year, but has looked largely out-manoeuvred by a resurgent Scuderia during the first portion of this campaign.

When one of its drivers can run ahead of one of the red cars late in a race, as Bottas managed in Bahrain, Spain and Austria, the Williams has enough traction and straightline speed to stay there, but over a single lap and a race distance the SF15-T has generally looked the stronger bet.

Williams' poor form at Monaco, where Felipe Massa qualified 14th, Bottas dropped out in Q1 and neither driver finished anywhere near the points, is also concerning given where F1 is headed next, though the Hungaroring is a far more conventional circuit than Monte Carlo, which will mitigate many of the difficulties Williams suffered there.

Performance chief Rob Smedley described his team's poor form at Monaco as a "one-off" and so far (on circuits that are far more demanding of engine performance) he has been proved correct.

But the FW37 has shown a tendency to understeer heavily at low speed. If this remains the case in Hungary, things could get a bit tougher again for the team.

A TEST OF DEVELOPMENT

The key, perhaps, will be how well recent updates to the FW37, introduced in Austria, continue to perform.

Felipe Massa said Williams didn't really get that update package, which included a new rear wing and significant revisions to the car's floor and brake ducts, working fully around the Red Bull Ring.

But results were far more encouraging at Silverstone, though that is a circuit with a small proportion of low-speed corners that better suits Williams' low-drag philosophy anyway.

So the true picture of the team's progress is still unclear. The Hungaroring features a greater ratio of low-speed corners than Silverstone, and places far greater emphasis on pure downforce, hence greater optimism for the likes of Red Bull and McLaren-Honda, who are suffering large power deficits, and some uncertainty in the Williams camp.

If the FW37 goes well, and maintains its Silverstone standing behind Mercedes, then Smedley and his team can reflect on a real breakthrough in its aerodynamic development and car set-up.

If not, then more head scratching may be required from a team that is still finding its way back to the light, after spending so long in the dark.