The final day of the AT&T Williams test at the Autodromo do Algarve in Portimao, Portugal would again be a frustrating time for the team with the weather again playing havoc with the teams test programme. Such was the poor weather at the end of the day no times were recorded.

Looking back at the four days the highlight was the launch of the team's new 2009 car the FW31. Team test driver Nico Hulkenberg was first out on the track with the new car but rain would hamper his time on the track limiting him to just twenty eight laps during the day.

Nico Rosberg would replace Nico on the second day but again the weather made things difficult for the team. By the end of the day Nico would only complete thirty one laps as the team tried to come to grips with the new aerodynamic and mechanical components. There were only a few minor mechanical issues which the team had to deal with relating to the new car.

The third day would see the weather improve to the point that the team was able to run the FW31 with slicks for the first time, prior to that all the running had being with wet weather tyres. Nico Rosberg would again carry out the driving duties and by the end of the day had completed 143 laps and finishing fastest of the 2009 cars present at the circuit..

Kazuki Nakajima was to have his time behind the wheel of the FW31 but again poor weather would see his chances ruined. He would only complete an  installation lap during the day. The teams next test will commence on the tenth February at Jerez as the team looks at further understanding the new FW31.

During the four days the team would try various components on the FW31 ranging from a new front nose which was much higher that than which was originally displayed on the car at its launch. The team would also try a shark fin arrangement on the engine cover.

Team Quotes:
Sam Michael, Technical Director, Williams F1:
“Testing today in Portugal was a complete washout with heavy rain all day. As such we had no further running with the FW31. In fact, the majority of the test was disrupted by rain; our only opportunity for consistent running was with Nico Rosberg on Wednesday. The time we did get on track was productive though and allowed the team to work through our scheduled systems checks and aero and mechanical tests with the new car. We're comfortable with the progress we made, but more track time would have been preferable. We will now return to the factory and prepare the test car for Jerez test in three weeks time.”

Nico Rosberg:
“Tuesday was almost too wet to get any valuable testing done, but my second day was on a dry track and it was very positive. I did the most kilometres ever recorded on one day with a Formula One car and that is really encouraging especially as it was with the new car. We didn’t have any problems that would have forced me to stop running so that’s a big compliment to the team. We worked through a good testing programme and have tried many fundamental set-up items as we try to learn more about the car. Performance-wise, this week was also encouraging, but it’s definitely too early to understand where we are relative to the other teams.”

Kazuki Nakajima:
“Because of the weather today, I only managed to do an installation lap. It was a real shame as I was really looking forward to testing the new car. I’ll now just have to wait until the next test in Jerez in February.”

Nico Hulkenberg:
“Straight away the new car felt okay and I felt comfortable in it. Of course everyone wants to know how it compares to the 2008 car and what the impact of the rule changes are from a driver’s point of view. In truth, I cannot say too much after just a few laps, because the track is 100% new to me, I have never run in Portimão and also it was pretty wet, so I have no baseline for comparison – if we were running at Jerez or Barcelona in the dry, I could be a little more specific. But the important thing this week was to simply make sure we ran through all the checks of the basic systems on the car and confirm everything is working as it should. That was the case this week and we can be happy.”