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Williams 2023: Ditch the loser tag

Date: March 28, 2024 Time: 15:32:06

Longtime fans of Formula 1 will easily remember the years of Williams Renault’s blue and white dominance, when Nigell Mansell, Alain Prost, Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve became champions and the team clinched the Constructors’ Championship. Those who follow Formula 1 less will surely remember Nico Hulkenberg’s pole position in Brazil in 2010, Pastor Maldonado’s victory at the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix and third place in the team standings for the 2014 and 2015 championships. And he also hopes that in 2018 the car will work and the Russian Sergey Sirotkin will score a lot of points in it.

Those days are long gone, and the team has reached a difficult period. And the 2021 season, with Williams ahead of Alfa Romeo and Haas, has definitely been a ray of hope. Unfortunately, last season he completed again in the cellar of the team standings. But in 2023, Grow aims to shed the underdog tag.

williamsf1team.com

In the offseason without a leader

The winter staff shakeup was not lost on Williams, when team leader Jost Capito and technical director François-Xavier Demaison suddenly announced their departure. The decision was really sudden for many, since nothing foreshadowed such a development of events. But two years after his appointment, Capito and Demaison stepped down and the team was without two important leaders in the offseason.

The new leader was the former chief strategist of “Mercedes” (memorable “Valtteri, this is James” – his words) James Vowles. But he will assume his functions only from February 20, and in fact he will be in charge of the team just before the preseason tests.

The technical director position is also still vacant, so one can only guess at the technical refinement of the car. The new leadership will also have to solve this problem.

At the same time, the management managed to find a new main sponsor. They became the Gulf Oil Company. This allows us to hope that there will be no problems with financing, which were hinted at in 2022. And there will be important updates more than once a season, as Alex Albon said during the presentation.

The pilots are ready to fight.

Regarding the situation that is brewing in the team, you can start to add the first idea according to the statements of the pilots. Usually optimistic, written as a model (we look forward to when we fight for high places), can be immediately attributed to formulas. And the more unusual Albon’s own statement sounds, that it’s hard to say if the team will be able to go any higher this season. Or about the fact that he doesn’t expect results like Haas did last year. Yes, there is some optimism due to the fact that the team is in a better position than a year ago. And if we remove it, then the picture for the fans is disturbing. On the other hand, the sports director of the team, Sven Smits, described what is happening in the team as “controlled chaos”. What is hidden in reality, if the traditional presentational optimism is removed?

Don’t underestimate the skill of the team’s drivers. Both Alex Albon and Logan Sargent, who sees his contract with Williams as nothing more than a miracle from above, will do everything they can to perform at their best. But is skill enough if the car doesn’t go straight? In any case, the task of getting rid of a stranger’s label, with such initials, seems much more difficult.

track debut

Williams did not go original and also featured only the car’s livery on the show car. The FW45 itself will appear on the Silverstone track only on February 13. Now the car is in the final assembly stage. According to technical data, the new car will have better downforce due to the refinement of the front suspension and aerodynamic elements. Handling, which by the way both Albon and Latifi complained about last season, is noted to improve. The Mercedes engine is famous for its reliability and can help the team in the fight for points. The links between Vowles and Mercedes will only strengthen and help in the development of the cooperation. But whether the aerodynamic component is sufficient is an open question here.

Meanwhile, all forecasts end with the traditional opening sentence: “We will find out about the state of affairs only in the first race of the season.” Let’s wait for Bahrain. One thing is clear, that you should not expect sensations from the legacy of Frank Williams.

* This website provides news content gathered from various internet sources. It is crucial to understand that we are not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented Read More

Puck Henry
Puck Henry
Puck Henry is an editor for ePrimefeed covering all types of news.
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