George Russell admits Williams will need other teams to falter to avoid another year stuck at the back of the grid in 2020.
The Briton was the only driver not to score a point in his rookie season, as the demise of the Grove-based squad saw them suffer the worst year in their history.
Williams’ issues were clear right from pre-season, as they missed the first two days due to delays with the 2019 car and Russell would reveal the flaws that had to be overcome.
“We had to look at the basic structure of the car,” he told Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport. “There were aspects that were fundamentally wrong.
“Something was wrong with the aero, the downforce was not constant. We had to start from scratch when it comes to downforce but since then we’ve been on a good path.
“We didn’t see any progress in the wind tunnel for a long time but the trend is different now, we will definitely be better in 2020,” he assured.
“I expect that we will fight the others more often, but realistically it will be another difficult season for us.”
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Williams can perhaps take heart from what McLaren achieved in 2019, as they jumped the entire midfield to finish fourth in the Constructors’ standings after battling with Williams towards the back at the end of the previous year.
But even by matching the gains that McLaren made, Russell fears it won’t be enough to consistently battle in the midfield.
“If we can do a similar step and Haas, Racing Point and Toro Rosso don’t make much progress then we will be in a very strong position, but if they all find a second or two then we will stay where we are,” he concluded.