• Williams finally get car on to track, two days late • Lewis Hamilton says Ferrari look very strong

The Williams deputy principal, Claire Williams, has said her team’s failure to run a car in Formula One testing for the opening two and half days was an embarrassment unparalleled in their 40-year history.

Williams finally put their car on track here on Wednesday afternoon with the British rookie George Russell at the wheel but he completed only 23 laps. Claire Williams denied the team were in crisis, despite increased speculation that the fault lay with the technical director, Paddy Lowe.

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The British team, who first raced in 1977, have won nine F1 constructors’ titles and seven drivers’ championships but endured their worst season in 2018, finishing last. This week, the car, still missing some aerodynamic parts, arrived here in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

“We’re not just disappointed,” said Claire Williams. “It’s embarrassing not bringing a race car to a circuit when everyone else has managed to do that, particularly a team like ours that has managed to bring a race car to testing for the past 40-odd years.”

She has always refused to publicly apportion blame and was unwilling to do so here. However, she said the drivers had been appraised of the reasons for the delay. “Clearly, we know the main culprits … not the main culprits, but the main elements to why we are delayed,” she said.

The team subsequently cancelled a press conference Lowe was due to hold. Williams declined to comment on whether the problems were caused by a supplier or were in-house, a noticeable decision given that had the former been at fault admitting as such would have at least exonerated the team to some extent.

Last year, difficulties with the car and team had forced Williams into “crisis management”. She believed the team had instigated the changes required to prevent a repeat but conceded that it had not been effective in the new car development. “We got to car build and that process clearly isn’t right at Williams either,” she said. “We need to make sure that it is fit for purpose going into 2020.”

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She was keen to stress that the team would be present at the first round in Australia with two fully functional cars and said: “It’s not crisis mode,” but they have left themselves another uphill battle before the season has begun.

Ferrari, who have topped the timesheets for two days and for whom Sebastian Vettel completed 134 laps on Wednesday, taking them to an impressive 460 in total, have looked ominously strong, which was acknowledged by Lewis Hamilton.

Mercedes’s world champion warned his rivals may have the superior car. “Ferrari are very, very strong right now, they are racking up great mileage as well,” he said. “It appears that they have a better package than they had last year.”

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Hamilton, who has been with Mercedes for six years, added: “This is going to be the most challenging year of our partnership and probably the team’s time for as long as I have been with it.”

He was, however, bullish in his belief in own ability to defend his title. “I love getting back in and giving it another shot,” the five-times champion said. “Also, you put the title out there for anyone else to take. I love that fight.”