Williams duo paint a very bleak picture

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Williams: Bleak picture in Australia

Williams: Bleak picture in Australia

Robert Kubica and George Russell are in for a long weekend (and season, probably) as Williams kicked off their 2019 campaign in Australia.

The Williams duo were rock bottom of the timesheets in both FP1 and FP2 at Albert Park, with the quickest man, Russell, 3.8 seconds off the pacesetter Lewis Hamilton and 1.7 seconds slower than Lando Norris in P18 following the second practice session.

Back in the paddock, both drivers made it very clear of just how much they are up against it in what has been a very turbalent start to the season for Williams.

“We didn’t have the best of days with lap times,” Russell told Sky Sports F1 back in the paddock.

“We are quite a long way off the rest but we know what we are in for and we know what this weekend is going to be about. We just need to build on that.

“We just need to make sure by mid-season and the end of the season that we have something better.

“I’ll be very shocked if we qualify better than the last row of the grid.”

Kubica, down in P20 and four seconds off the pace in FP2 on his first official return to Formula 1, would only add to the miserable outlook.

“It’s a great feeling [to be back] but the feeling is compromised a bit with the difficulty we are having,” Kubica said.

“Especially second practice, there was quite a lot of compromise with some damages to the car.

“We tried to fix the parts but we unfortunately do not have a lot of spares.

“The car is difficult to drive and even more so with damages.

“We faced similar in Barcelona [testing]. We have to stay off kerbs which is not easy when you are fighting to stay on track.

“Unfortunately we are quite compromised with what is happening.”

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