Williams Martini Racing were very pleased with Oliver Rowland's performance after his official F1 test yesterday in Hungary.
Rowland completed 65 laps around the Hungaroring circuit as he looked to impress Williams in his second test of the season and Smedley who is Head of Performance Engineering at Williams was happy with how the Yorkshireman handled his responsibilities for the team.
"It was a good day for the team." Smedley said "We had spent a long time preparing for this event, concentrating on 2019 aero regulations. The team did a good job to prepare for it and everything went more-or-less according to plan, and we collected all the data we needed.
"We brought a 2019 aero specification front end, and all of the data that we were able to collect will really enrich the 2019 programme going forward.
"Oliver did a great job, he got on with it, was very professional and diligent and went through all the data gathering runs. He was unfortunate with the weather at the end of the day when it started to rain, as we had just got onto a clean car, so he hasn’t really put in any timed laps.
"But, he certainly impressed us all with his work ethic. Once we did get onto new tyres at the end of the aero testing, he did a really good job and showed good pace immediately."
Although the weather cancelled the afternoon session, Rowland was happy with how the test went and is continuing to push toward his ultimate goal.
"I think in general it went well. I would have preferred to get a bit more of a run at the end when the rain came in, but I can’t control the weather.
"Everything ran to plan for the team, there was a couple of hold ups during the day but we managed to make up for that time and the mechanics did a job to get everything fixed and fitted in certain times throughout the day. From a team’s perspective we gathered a lot of data and it was positive.
"I feel it's another step towards achieving my ultimate goal of getting a seat in Formula One. Every driver in the world wants to be in the sport andI'm no different. I'm with a team who believes in me and hopefully I get another opportunity to drive the car again soon."
Photo Courtsey of Williams Martini Racing.