Russell confident of Williams improvement in 2020

George Russell believes that the improvements Williams have made to their car this year will result in a smaller gap to the midfield pack compared to 2019.

Having failed to make it onto the track for the first two days of last season's first test in Barcelona, Williams were the first team out on track this year. The improvements compared to last year are evident, with the Grove-based team completing 324 laps during the three days of the first test, with the FW43 being piloted by George Russell and rookie Nicholas Latifi.

Although testing times do not tell the whole story, Russell believes that this year's car is definitely an upgrade to its predecessor, the FW42.

"There's no way we'll be as far off the pace as we were last year," the Briton said to Autosport. "Last year on average we were one second behind, you can say that all the other teams at least have found three tenths.

"So for us to be fighting we need to have found at least that amount.

"If we can achieve what we're aiming for then it'll be a great job, which is to be fighting with the other teams."

The first two mornings for Russell were all about aero correlation tests, ensuring that all the aero parts that were brought to the test worked well out on track compared to the windtunnel. 

"We did loads of rake running on the second morning. I don't know the results from that yet but it's very beneficial and it's what's needed in these early days," he said.

Russell will be hoping that Williams have closed the gap to their rivals significantly ahead of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Sunday 15 March.