Williams wants progress in July - Stroll

Williams is hoping to make a mid-season recovery, according to team driver Lance Stroll.

The British team's deputy Claire Williams has refuted rumours that the performance problems are so dire that Williams will fail to put together a full budget for 2019.

Canadian Stroll says plans are in the works for a mid-season comeback.

"Our goal is to fight with the midfield teams by the British or German grands prix" in July, he told La Presse newspaper in Monaco.

"We want to start fighting regularly for points."

Until then, Williams' chances are almost nil, but Stroll said the team made progress at the recent Barcelona test.

"It was a good test," he said. "We identified several things. But solving them will take time."

In the meantime, Stroll said he will keep trying to improve himself as a driver.

"It's hard for everyone," he said. "But I'm satisfied with what I've achieved, like my 11th in Spain when we were totally out of the game."

Teammate Sergey Sirotkin agrees with Stroll that Williams is making progress.

"After Bahrain, the situation has gradually improved," he said.

"You don't always see it, and Barcelona was an isolated case when we went backwards for some reason. But we have a great team spirit and everyone is trying hard to make progress."