Alex Albon was left frustrated by a dramatic loss of Williams race pace at the Belgian Grand Prix, where he finished 15th immediately ahead of team-mate Carlos Sainz. Another weekend outside the points underlined the Grove team’s growing difficulties, while Audi moved to within just one point of Williams in the Constructors’ Championship.
Williams had initially appeared capable of competing with the midfield group at Spa-Francorchamps, but its challenge faded as the race progressed. Alex Albon believes set-up changes made around qualifying compromised the FW48’s Sunday performance, while both drivers acknowledged that the team’s forthcoming Baku upgrade is unlikely to close the entire gap to its improving rivals.
Audi threat increases pressure on Williams
Williams’ worrying run continued in Belgium, with the team once again completely absent from the points. The situation has become even more concerning because of Audi’s recent progress, led by Gabriel Bortoleto.
The Brazilian finished eighth at both Silverstone and Spa, bringing Audi to within one point of eighth-placed Williams in the Constructors’ Championship. His Belgian weekend had already shown promise when Gabriel Bortoleto reached Q3 for Audi at Spa, before converting that performance into another valuable points finish.
Williams, by contrast, left Belgium empty-handed after Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz crossed the line in 15th and 16th respectively. The complete Belgian Grand Prix finishing order highlighted the extent of the team’s difficult afternoon.
Alex Albon’s Williams race pace drops dramatically
The FW48 once again failed to satisfy Alex Albon, whose 15th-place result followed what had initially appeared to be an encouraging start to the race.
“It was a frustrating day,” Alex Albon admitted. “We had a good start and began to think that we could keep pace with the midfield group, but our pace dropped dramatically.”
Alex Albon explained that Williams had performed well throughout the earlier stages of the weekend, only for changes made before qualifying to have a negative effect on the car’s race performance.
“We had an impeccable weekend and better pace until qualifying, when we made some changes that affected our race pace, leaving us with a fairly slow car,” he continued. “We know the other teams are progressing much faster than us and the Baku upgrade probably won’t close that gap, but we will do everything we can to improve performance.”
Carlos Sainz recovers after early Belgian GP damage
Carlos Sainz finished directly behind his British-Thai team-mate in 16th after beginning a difficult race from the back of the grid. The Spaniard started 19th because of a penalty related to an ESME replacement and then suffered front-wing damage during the opening lap.
“Today was a race of two halves,” Carlos Sainz said. “We had to start from 19th because of a penalty for replacing the ESME, and we suffered front-wing damage on the first lap when everyone bunched up at Turn 1.”
Replacing the damaged component cost Carlos Sainz more time, but the Williams driver felt the FW48 became considerably more competitive once the new front wing had been fitted.
“The front-wing change cost us time, but with the new wing the car was in a much better place and I had good pace until the end of the race, overtaking a few rivals and reducing the gap to the cars ahead,” he explained.
Carlos Sainz had already been facing an uphill battle after preparing to start the Belgian Grand Prix from 19th position. Despite the early setback, he believed Williams extracted everything available from the car.
“Ultimately, we got the maximum out of the car,” Carlos Sainz concluded. “Although we know the gap to the midfield is growing and that our upcoming upgrades will not close it completely, we have learned some useful lessons that we can build on. On to Hungary.”
Williams face a growing midfield challenge
The Belgian Grand Prix therefore delivered two clear warnings for Williams. Its race pace was not strong enough to challenge for points, while Audi’s recent results have transformed the battle for eighth in the Constructors’ Championship.
Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz both expect improvements from the planned Baku update, but neither suggested it would provide an immediate solution to the team’s entire performance deficit. Before then, Williams must attempt to apply the lessons learned at Spa when Formula 1 moves on to the Hungarian Grand Prix.
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