Russell insists Williams F1 have improved: "It's very promising"

For the last two years, Williams F1 have been parked at the back of the grid. In Barcelona, Russell recorded a best time of 1:18.168 which was quicker than his qualifying lap at the same venue in the 2019 Spanish Grand Prix. 

Road to recovery? 

"Overall it's been a very promising morning. Definitely, the general handling of the car is much better. From Lap One today I had confidence to push the car to the limit, whereas last year it wasn't a nice feeling in the early laps and it was quite scary to drive in the opening laps," a confident Williams driver is quoted by Sky Sports. 

"But a nice car to drive isn't always fast... we just need to see if we've been able to smash enough downforce on the car to see if we can challenge those around. Everybody was a bit lost at this time last year. We're definitely excited for the new season. It was a character-building year last year, but I'm confident we can go racing this year and have a bit more fun. That's what we're all looking for."

12 months ago and Williams were still waiting for their car to turn up at the Circuit de Barcelona Cataluyna. This year, things seem to be moving in the right direction as they aim to challenge the likes of Alfa Romeo, Haas and Alpha Tauri who sit towards the bottom of the F1 constructors' championship.