While George Russell concedes Williams are last in the current pecking order, he is pleased by the progress being made in the second test.
The Briton added another 140 laps to the FW42 on Thursday, taking the British team's total to over 400 laps for the first three days, however, lap times remained some way off the pace set by their midfield rivals.
“I’d be lying if I said we were not the slowest at the moment, that is a reality,” said Russell.
“It is clear we have some work to do, but was very positive is that we made a big step from when I jumped into the car definitely on Tuesday, we made a step since Robert [Kubica] was in the car yesterday.
“Hopefully when he jumps in again tomorrow, we will find another step. We understand the issues, we recognise that, and we are doing everything we can to rectify it.
“I’m definitely very happy with the number of laps we’ve done but we have not been able to do lap times, we still have a bit to find with them. We were up there but we’ve got work to do.
“We were a big step behind everybody else.”
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While the problems Williams have faced may have taken some competitive pressure off Russell, he does admit that must not become complacency in his rookie F1 season.
“I think I need to step back and pinch myself and realise I am in F1 and I will be making my debut," he said.
“At the end of the day my goal is to be in F1 for many years to come, so If I step back and relax too much I might be kicked out of the door.
“So my goal at the moment is to work with the team to try and push this car and get everything out of it.”
