Williams to test new sidepod on Friday

Having run with the updated sidepods in the recent test at Barcelona the Williams F1 team will still use the Friday practice for the Australian Grand Prix to conduct back-to-back tests of its new sidepod. After this it will then make a decision as to whether they will run with the parts in the race.

When the team did run with the new sidepods it was in fairly cold conditions and the team is unsure as to their effect on the FW35 once the conditions are warmer.

Technical Director Mike Coughlan said that Valtteri Bottas and Pastor Maldonado would try out the different versions, which should give the team a better understanding of what it can race with in Albert Park.

In an interview for Autosport.com Coughlan said: "We will run the two cars differently tomorrow morning."

"The weather being cooler [than expected] will help us because we try and design a car that will run up into 40Cs - because Bahrain can be that hot.

"But you lose significant performance the higher temperature that you are able to run to. Everyone tries to minimise the effect of opening up bodywork. We move much more into a comfortable zone with temperatures in the low 30s."

Bottas also commented on the teams plans to try the different versions.

"It's a good chance for us to try the different packages in the same conditions, with the same tyre, and at the same time on the track.

"That's something we couldn't do in testing because once you change something, it takes time and the wind direction can change. It will be good for us to get a bit more understanding of the packages."