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Williams on how he plans to make the most of ‘amazing opportunity’ with Trident
Already deep into his preparations for the 2022 campaign, freshly signed Trident driver Calan Williams is aiming to give himself every chance to hit the ground running in Formula 2, hailing his new drive as an “amazing opportunity.”
Earning the seat with Trident on the back of a successful test in Abu Dhabi, Williams felt the experience went better than expected and is attempting to capitalise on the momentum gained from the post-season outing with a rigorous pre-season plan.
“So far the preparation is all going really well. I am doing some work with the team now to improve on some things that I wasn't happy with at the test,” said Williams, speaking from the Trident factory in Italy.
“I will be using the simulator to improve on the areas where I still need to improve, and to validate anything I was doing at the test that was good. Then next week I'll be with Formula Medicine to continue my physical and mental preparation.”
“It is about optimisation now, to ensure that when it comes to the first round, I am as ready as possible.”
Williams spent two years in Formula 3 with Swiss outfit Jenzer Motorsport and notched three top 10 finishes with the team in 2021, including a podium at Le Castellet.
Asked whether he is setting himself any targets for his rookie season of F2, Williams explained: “It is difficult to set specific results-based goals at the moment. Perhaps I will after the first couple of rounds.
“My goal globally for the season is to learn as much as I can about Formula 2 and the cars, preparing myself as well as I possibly can for wherever that takes me.
“I think the level of experience in this field shows that this really is the pinnacle of feeder series motorsport. If you can perform well in this Championship, and take experience from it, then it is the best possible preparation for the next step up.”
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Finishing sixth in the afternoon session of Day 1 in Abu Dhabi, Williams also ran in the top 12 in both sessions on Day 2 and posted 254 laps overall.
It was a positive first stint for the Australian, who previously cited additional upper body and neck training amongst the reasons for his slicker than expected transition to F2 machinery.
“I was really happy with how quickly I adapted to certain aspects of the car,” Williams continued. “I cannot say that I am 100% on it at the moment and there is still a lot of improvement to find, but in terms of adapting to the larger 18-inch wheels, the different aerodynamics, the additional weight of the car, the turbo, and the carbon brakes, I was really happy with how I adapted to it all in a relatively short period.
“To be honest, the biggest difference for me was the brakes. I was surprised by how much power is in the brakes, it is incredible. You don't normally get thrown forward in your seat in a race car, but the first time I hit the brakes and they were up to temperature, it felt like I was.”