REPORT: Alex, Logan and Franco start our Silverstone weekend

The British Grand Prix weekend is underway and Williams Racing have had a steady start to proceedings.

All eyes were on Franco Colapinto as he made his FP1 bow, taking to the track alongside Alex Albon.

Both of our drivers were on similar run plans, completing laps on the hard and later the soft compound of tyres.

Franco would notch up 24 laps finishing in P18, with Alex adding a further 25 in FP1 and recording a time good enough for P16.

“My first FP1 done! I enjoyed every lap, every corner of it, and I did the best I could,” Franco commented.

“It was an amazing experience. There was much more on the table, and I couldn't maximise some corners, which I was getting better at on the long runs, but of course, it's difficult on old tyres.

“I'm delighted that Williams has given me this opportunity, the support that I've received from the team has been on another level.

“I'm super proud of what we've achieved, but now I need to keep working so I can get back here one day.”

For FP2, Logan Sargeant returned to his FW46 for a session where a threat of rain loomed large on the horizon.

Our American racer completed 24 laps as he got reacquainted with the venue that has seen him enjoy success throughout his career, ending the day in P17.

Alex added another 26 laps to his morning total, with his best time of 1:27.645 placing him P13 before the rain rolled in.

“A mixed day overall,” Alex commented, continuing: “Long runs are looking promising, and the car feels good to drive relative to last year.

“As a Qualifying car, there’s some work to do. We experimented quite a lot with set-up and tyres between the two sessions, and we haven't quite got the right balance yet.

“We'll look at the data tonight and come back stronger. With a bit of British weather and some fine-tuning, I think we're in with a chance of Q3 tomorrow.”

Logan shared: “My first time missing FP1, so I knew I was going to have to make the step up quickly in FP2 and I feel like we did that.

“I came out the gate strong on low fuel which was positive. I feel like we were immediately in a good place with some clear little bits to work on.

“High fuel is a bit of a different story as there’s definitely work to do from my side. Hopefully, we can have a better weekend, but we’ll have to wait and see when everyone goes for it tomorrow. Overall, today’s been a pretty strong start.”

Sven Smeets, Sporting Director, concluded by sharing: Overall, it has been a positive day today.

“Earlier this afternoon, we had Franco doing his first FP1 for us and he did a solid job, improving his lap times every time he left the garage.

“He then qualified 4th in F2 Qualifying an hour later so he can look back on a good day.

“Alex changed the set-up of the car quite significantly between FP1 and FP2 and this had a positive effect on the performance of the car, especially on the long runs.

“They seemed competitive this afternoon, but we still have some issues with the balance of the car on low fuel, so we need to improve that overnight ahead of FP3.

“Logan got up to speed quickly after missing FP1 and is reasonably happy with the car on low fuel but was missing some performance in the race run.

“We will be working hard tonight to find some extra performance for tomorrow. The weather forecast is changing nearly every hour so there is everything to play for in Qualifying.”