If last championship was the surprise of the year, with the seventh place finish among the Constructors, this season the Williams is struggling much more in the heated fight for the few points left by the five top teams to the rest of the F1 grid. The Grove team is currently still at zero and in recent races it has seemed to lose ground against its direct rivals. A step backwards which was mainly affected by the updates brought by the other teams in the latest grand prix.
Rivals’ progress
The weight of the innovations in the race for a top 10 finish was also underlined by the Williams team principal, James Vowles: “In the last few races it is quite clear that several of our rivals have brought rather sizable updates: I’m talking about Alpine, Haas and Sauber. We’ve fallen behind in this regard, now it’s up to us to make sure we upgrade the car sufficiently over the next 3/4 races to make up ground and start fighting for points again“.
Expected updates for the next grand prix
A bit like we are seeing among the teams fighting for the top positions, even at the back those who brought the updates first have gained ground on their direct rivals. For Williams the moment of redemption should come in the next two grands prix scheduled in Miami and Imola. Vowles explained: “The whole season is a development race between teams that are continuously trying to bring performances. We have some new parts, we will have them coming to Miami and many more to Imola, but the pace between teams will always be different. What has happened is that Sauber, Haas and Alpine have made some major aerodynamic developments and I think we are seeing the results. The season is long and there are many developments coming, but we need to make sure they get to the car as quickly as possible“.
The problem of pit stops
Even without encountering the dramatic problems that have often affected Kick Sauber’s races, Williams also has a lot to improve when it comes to tire changes. With an average stop which in the first five races was more than 3 seconds, the Grove team can find in this particular progress which could be decisive in a balanced fight like the one we are witnessing also in the center of the grid. Vowles explained in this regard: “We need to improve our pit stops, there’s no doubt about it. We have plans in place for the medium and long term, but it’s not something you can improve overnight. I believe that we are behind the top teams with equipment and it is something we need to invest in“.
The positive aspects of the FW46
In such a difficult start to the season, also conditioned by the absence of a reserve chassis which led Williams to race with only one car in the Australian GP, the team nevertheless also recorded some positive notes regarding the FW46. The car is generally better than the 2023 one, for a series of reasons that Vowles summarizes thus: “AWe have a car that is better balanced than last year. It’s also better in mixed conditions, whether it’s windy, wet or dry, there are simply many elements that are better than before. I think Miami will be better than last year, surprisingly Monaco could also be a suitable track for the car“.
The Williams team principal concluded by underlining how the fight for the points zone is really fought on the edge of tenths: “What we are seeing though is an aerodynamic development race between teams and we need to make sure we fight for points. It’s an intense battle, where now a tenth of a second is really making a difference. We will make sure we get to fighting for points soon“.
