Albon hails ‘very positive’ Friday in Canada as Sainz confident Williams are in a ‘good place’ for Qualifying

Alex Albon was pleased with a “very positive” Friday for Williams at the Canadian Grand Prix after nearing the top end of the timesheets in both practice sessions, while Carlos Sainz ended the day feeling confident about where the squad are ahead of Qualifying.

After a challenging weekend last time out in Spain, the Grove-based outfit looked in better form as the action got underway in Montreal, with Albon and Sainz ending Free Practice 1 in second and third respectively.

FP2: Russell narrowly leads Norris and Antonelli in Canada after Stroll strikes the wall

While they later explained that this was perhaps down to running an alternative programme to others, the team remained in the mix during the second practice hour, a session in which Albon set the fourth fastest time while Sainz was not far behind in seventh.

Asked after jumping out of the car if the day had been a positive one for Williams, Albon responded: “Yeah, very positive. We hit the ground running, I think we were maybe running a different programme to everyone else in FP1 at least, so maybe flattered ourselves with it.

Albon smiling after Williams ‘hit the ground running’ in Canada

“But FP2, [we were] feeling okay. I think we struggled a little bit with the brakes throughout today, so we lost a little bit of confidence and rhythm which around here is very important. But the base car is strong, I think we have a good package underneath us. I think Q3 is within our targets for tomorrow.”

Despite this, the Thai driver admitted that there are still some areas for improvement for the team.

HIGHLIGHTS: Catch the action as Russell tops second practice in Canada

“It’s one of those ones where the car still doesn’t feel fantastic – we still have some work to do,” he explained. “It’s good, it shows there is a bigger envelope we need to explore.

“It’s good because we are quick, you don’t want to change too much – there is a bit of balance between it. I don’t think we are quite there yet, and if we want to score big points we are going to have to make the car quicker.”

Sainz was also feeling positive about Williams’ performance at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve on Friday, the Spaniard reflecting after second practice: “[I feel] very good. This morning, we were simply just running a bit lighter or a bit more engine mode than the others, that’s why our competitiveness seemed higher than expected.

Williams ‘in a good place to be’ after impressive Friday pace in Montreal – Sainz

“On FP2 we were still in the mix, but a good step behind [George] Russell who seems very quick and some others. But [we are] more or less where we expected, three or four tenths off the fastest cars which is a good place to be going into tomorrow.”

Pushed on how the car felt with more fuel onboard, Sainz answered: “It was okay, still not at the level of the leading cars but out of the midfield and out of the back end of the top of the field, we seem to be in the mix again this weekend.

“So, [I’m] happy, the car gives me confidence. There is probably going to be a bit of a balance again with the tyres, whether to run C6 or C5 in Quali because they seem again extremely close. But apart from that, honestly just focusing on making sure we nail the tyre strategy for tomorrow.”

And in terms of taking the fight to the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari, Sainz suggested that Williams may struggle to get ahead of these teams but remains hopeful that they can be close.

“I think when they all turn it up, we will struggle to out-qualify them or get in the mix with them, but we are not too far, which again like in Miami and Imola is a good place to be,” the 30-year-old conceded.