With Williams and Force India locked in a dogfight for fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship, at the last race in Singapore, Force India retook that coveted fourth place with an eighth place finish for Sergio Perez while Williams didn’t score at all.
Looking ahead to the Malaysia Grand Prix, Williams’ Chief Technical Officer Pat Symonds said: “The new date for Malaysia takes us to the first of two circuits that really stretch the car after the confines of Singapore. In Kuala Lumpur we also have the challenge of extensive changes that have been made to the track.
“As well as the complete resurfacing of the track there is also some realignment which has been specially designed to improve the racing. It will be interesting to see how successful it is, and if it acts as a pointer to future circuit modifications.”
The layout of the Sepang circuit will fair both Williams and Force India fairly and it could provide a close fight between the two teams.
Symonds added: “From a performance point of view, of course, the focus is on the very high temperatures and humidity which not only affect the car set-up but also take a high toll on the drivers. The circuit is tough on tyres and hence we move up the spectrum once again using the hard, medium and soft compounds.”
“There are several high-speed long corners where loading dictates the advantage of the more robust compounds. The circuit has good overtaking opportunities and we can expect an exciting race but, as always in Malaysia, we will be keeping a very close watch for the heavy rainfall that can disrupt this event.”
With showers expected at any moment all weekend long, Williams will be hoping that they can maximise whatever they can from their package without losing ground to Force India any further as the races tick down.
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