Alex Albon calls for calm at Williams after Friday pace at Silverstone

Alex Albon has stressed the need for cool heads and for Williams to "stay true to ourselves" after setting the third-fastest lap in both practice sessions on Friday at Silverstone.

Alex Albon in the Formula One paddock at Silverstone. (Williams Racing)

Albon was the 'best of the rest' behind the two Red Bulls in Free Practice 1, just four hundredths of a second behind Sergio Perez.

In the afternoon running, Albon was again third-fastest, behind Vestappen and Ferrari's Carlos Sainz, with teammate Logan Sargeant in fifth.

“Obviously a very good day today," said Albon.

"I think we need to stay true to ourselves as we don’t know what everyone else is doing."

"Looking at the timesheets you can’t not be happy, but I think it’s better to just focus on how we can continue to improve, as there’s still more to look at.

"Let’s also hope tomorrow stays dry."

Alex Albon on track during practice on Friday at Silverstone. (Williams Racing)

Both drivers trialled a new front wing, according to Dave Robson, head of vehicle performance at Williams, which Albon will keep for the remainder of the weekend.

"This is the first time that we have seen the upgrade package, which we introduced in Canada, run on a circuit as demanding and varied as Silverstone," said Robson.

"This has enabled us to collect a lot more data than was possible in Canada and Austria and will help us understand if the development direction was correct."

"Alex and Logan were very strong today and set fast laps in tricky conditions, however, the conditions are likely to vary over the next couple of days and we still have a lot of work to do to secure a good result.

"We’ll focus on the things we can influence and try to maintain the good momentum into tomorrow."

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