Alex Albon: We are in better shape than we were a year ago.

      The new Williams car looked good in winter testing, but the team will be able to assess its real competitiveness this week in Melbourne.…

      Alex Albon: "We are finally looking forward to the first race weekend of the year. It's nice to be back in Melbourne, they love Formula 1 here and warmly support us.

      The first stage will be a continuation of a busy off-season, and we have been preparing hard together with the team. The Bahrain tests were positive, we learned a lot about the new car, together with Carlos we identified areas that require special attention, I know that everyone is working hard behind the scenes, so I am optimistic.

      We are in much better shape now than we were before the start of last season. I'm looking forward to evaluating the competitiveness of the car relative to other teams."

      Carlos Sainz: "The off-season is over, we are back in Melbourne for the season opener. After a busy winter, when I got to know the team and got used to the new car, I'm ready to get behind the wheel and evaluate its speed.

      After the tests, we positively assessed the progress made, but all the teams worked according to their own program, so we will see the real balance of power only here – on Saturday at the end of qualifying.

      I would like to thank all the staff for their hard work in preparing the new car. I hope we can start the season successfully. Vamos!»