For the second successive year, Williams car appears to have an inherent fault that threatens to compromise the team's season.

From the opening moments of pre-season testing last year, the team was aware of an issue that caused poor stability, lack of downforce and excessive drag on straights, Paddy Lowe subsequently describing the issue as "multi-dimensional".

Speaking in the wake of today's qualifying session which saw both Williams eliminated in Q1, both over 1.2s adrift of the next slowest car, Carlos Sainz, George Russell revealed that the FW42 has a "fundamental" problem.

"There is one fundamental which I don't want to discuss publicly," he told reporters. "We understand what that is, but that doesn't mean we can wake up on Monday morning and rectify it.

"To change something so fundamental will take months of development," he admitted, "work in the simulator and designers working out how to do it, and that is what needs to be done at the moment.

"Unfortunately we are looking at a number of races before we are going to be able to fight, and that is just where we are at the moment."

Asked, assuming the problem is rectified, what sort of improvement might be expected, the F2 champion said: "I think once we have solved that fundamental there will be a big leap.

"We will probably still be at the back of the grid," he admitted, "but with the chance to fight rather than like it is at the moment.

"The fact is we don't have any hope because we are too far behind."

"I don't want to put numbers because last year I think we knew even earlier what was a fundamental problem of the car, and for all year it stays more or less the same," said Robert Kubica when asked when he thought the issue might be resolved. "We are all in a line with feelings, with where we have to work. But probably because I am more experienced, I will never say it will take two or three months.

"No one knows," he admitted. "I hope it will take only two or three months, but as I said, I cannot say it. I don't know."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Paul C, 29/03/2019 4:42

"Can someone please pass the helmet around for Williams to get the parts to fix their car? F1 doesn't need mobile chicanes. "

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2. Posted by Motorsport-fan, 18/03/2019 11:21

"Could this fundamental issue 2 years running be no money! with the Rokit backing appearing to come very late perhaps now with adequate funding the issue will be sorted?"

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3. Posted by Obsidian, 17/03/2019 3:27

"In both the "Williams" documentary and "Drive To Survive" on Netflix, Claire Williams says something on the order of not being sure she is the right person for the job. She is not, and it is sad what she has done to one of the all time great Formula One teams."

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4. Posted by Anthony, 16/03/2019 17:57

"Over the years I have seen lots of clever people who weren’t great managers and lots of managers who weren’t very clever. They have lots of good engineers so let’s hope that they can identify a clever manager who can get them back on track."

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5. Posted by Carz, 16/03/2019 15:29

"There is one fundamental .........slowness"

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Williams facing "months" of misery

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