Williams confident its slump is over
Williams believes a return to high downforce circuits and a host of developments will bring it back into top six contention after its Spa and Monza slump
Lead driver Nico Rosberg finished in the top six at every race from Monaco to Valencia, but the team only took a single point from Belgium and Italy - with Monza proving particularly difficult. Kazuki Nakajima and Rosberg only qualified 17th and 18th in Italy, and finished 10th and 16th.
The team's chief operations engineer Rod Nelson says the results were not a surprise as Williams had anticipated that its low downforce package would not be competitive, but he does not believe that Monza has set a trend for the rest of the season.
"I think we had the expectation it was going to be fairly difficult," said Nelson in an interview for Williams's official podcast. "Spa's the first medium to low downforce circuit we've come to this year. Then looking ahead to Monza, which is the only low downforce circuit, we expected even bigger problems with our low downforce package - and I think that's what we got.
"Happily we move on to Singapore, and not only are we back to a high downforce circuit, but we've also got some significant aero upgrades, so we're pretty hopefully that we're going to pull ourselves out and get back on an even keel again.
"We expect to get one, hopefully both, cars in Q3 [in Singapore], and I see no reason why that shouldn't be [the case] for the remaining rounds of the championship."
Last year's Singapore Grand Prix was the high point of Williams's 2008 season, as Rosberg recovered from a penalty to take second place. The German agreed with Nelson that Williams would fare much better in the remaining rounds, but was cautious about its chances of repeating last season's podiums.
"It's getting more difficult because there are teams like McLaren and Ferrari that have made a big jump forward," he said. "But still I think we have a chance. With a bit of luck on our side, we could get it. I expect us to be competitive again in the next few races."
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