Formula 1 News: Williams’ Weight Woes Mask Progress, Monaco Result Offers Glimpse of True Potential
Williams Racing has made significant strides in reducing its car’s weight, shedding 14kg compared to last year’s model. However, the team still needs to trim an additional 14kg to reach the minimum weight limit of 798kg. This excess weight is estimated to cost the team around 0.450s on a typical circuit like Imola, overshadowing some of the progress they’ve made in recent months.
Williams’ Performance at the Monaco Grand Prix
Despite this challenge, Alex Albon secured Williams’ first points of the 2024 campaign with a ninth-place finish in both qualifying and the race at the Monaco Grand Prix. Albon outqualified cars from Red Bull and Alpine, as well as both Aston Martins, and finished within seven tenths of Charles Leclerc’s pole time in Q3.
“On paper, this track is the least weight penalizing track of the year… It makes it not fair game, but a fairer game around here.”
The Monaco street circuit, with its tight corners and reduced weight penalty, allowed Williams to showcase its true potential. Albon acknowledged that the track plays to the team’s strengths, saying, “On paper, this track is the least weight penalizing track of the year… It makes it not fair game, but a fairer game around here.”
The Williams driver believes that the Monaco result offers a glimpse of what the team can achieve once it sheds more weight. “It is, but weight is not that easy to lose. At least it isn’t for us. So, we’ve got some work to do to try to shake it off,” Albon stated.
Challenges in Car Development
However, Head of Vehicle Performance Dave Robson tempered expectations, citing production delays and crash damage as obstacles to rolling out upgrades. “Where we are now, it’s quite difficult… It’s a shame we weren’t able to bring the updates earlier, build on the pace and the underlying qualities of the car at the start of the season,” Robson said.
While Williams’ car development has been hindered, the team remains focused on reducing its weight and introducing mechanical and aerodynamic updates. The aim is to stay in contention with Sauber and ultimately challenge Alpine and Haas in the Formula 1 standings.
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