Williams are looking to reverse their current downturn in performance which has seen them score just six points from the previous four races, starting at this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix, which chief technical officer Pat Symonds believes is a circuit that will suit the FW38.
The team has a 15 point advantage to Force India in the standings, a gap which has been reduced by 24 points in five races, putting their fourth place under threat with nine races remaining. Symonds is however confident the nature of the Spa circuit should offer a good opportunity to extend that gap with a strong haul of points.
"The circuit itself is quite interesting with high power and drag sensitivity favouring low drag and powerful power units," explained Symonds. "Top speed is particularly important, so most cars are set-up with low drag, compromising speed in sector two to give them better opportunities to overtake into turns five and 18.
"Teams also tend to run cars quite stiff as you need good change of direction and whilst Eau Rouge is no longer a difficult corner, you still need to be cautious with ride heights to ensure the car doesn’t bottom-out there.
"Spa places high demands on tyres. In typical cool temperatures we would expect to see front graining at the start of the weekend with more even front and rear wear by race day. We are back to medium, soft and supersoft compounds which we have plenty of experience with this year, which combined with the 7km lap, means we expect to see most cars on two-stop strategies.
"Spa is a circuit which should favour us and our target will be to challenge from the start to get some good points."
