Mercedes F1 “may” suffer from wind sensitivity problems

To create more downforce and reduce drag on its FW43B for 2021, Williams opted for an aggressive design approach that would degrade performance in windy conditions.

Williams driver Russell struggled with gusty conditions both during pre-season testing and at the first Grand Prix of the year in Bahrain, which meant he could only finish the race in 14th place.

Russell felt the result was “the maximum we expected” given what he believed to be a “worst case scenario” for Williams in Bahrain.

He compared the team’s fights with those of Mercedes, who grappled with an unstable rear end of their W12 car during the tests and only narrowly won the race ahead of Red Bull.

“Something as essential as that would require a complete redesign, which we obviously haven’t done,” explained Russell.

“It’s what we have, it’s what a lot of teams have. Time will tell, but I think Mercedes may be in the same boat.

“You have probably had more problems this weekend than you will see racing in the near future. Red Bull and those like Alfa Romeo were more competitive compared to the field than we will see in the upcoming races.

“There were very windy conditions today. 50 km / h wind, it is very open, very exposed. And if you’re driving around at 300 km / h, the wind at 50 km / h makes a difference. You can imagine that at 50 km / h there are gusts of 60, 70 km / h. “

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Williams plans to produce some upgrades for the FW43B car to address some wind sensitivity issues. He believes that a better understanding of the philosophy will also help in future vehicle designs.

Russell has yet to score F1 points driving for Williams, but was more hopeful of the team’s prospects for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix next weekend in Imola.

“It’s very different from Bahrain so you have two ends of the spectrum,” Russell said of Imola.

“Bahrain, you have a lot of slow corners, very exposed, generally very windy. Imola is high speed turns, the angle of these corners is less. There are more 90-degree corners than 180-degree corners.

“It is very enclosed by all the trees and buildings. So we’re really going to go to extremes. [I’m] doesn’t necessarily say Imola is on the high end, but it’s probably in the high half [of tracks for Williams], we say.”