The Williams F1 team were encouraged by their pace in Friday practice ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix race on Sunday despite finishing both sessions in the middle of the time sheets.

They say that the upgrades they have brought to the circuit seemed to have worked and that the car seems competitive on high and low fuel runs.

“It was a reasonably good day,” said Head of Performance Engineering Rob Smedley.

“We brought some new components in a constant bid to improve our package which seem to have worked from what we have seen so far,” he continued.

“It has been extremely hot today and the car looks competitive on short and long runs with both low and high fuel which is encouraging.

Felipe Massa was happy with his performance on the day and feels that they will be able to challenge Ferrari this weekend.

“The way the day has panned out it is clear we have the potential to have a good weekend and fight with those closest to us in the championship,” said the Brazilian. “It won’t be easy but we have more to give than was shown today.”

While the car performed well in the hot conditions, Massa says that the cooler temperatures forecast for Sunday’s race will aid them in controlling tyre temperatures.

“The temperatures will be cooler for Sunday which should help us control the tyre temperature a bit better.”

Photo credit: Williams Martini Racing Formula 1 Team