Between Mexico and Brazil, almost everything went wrong for the Grove-based team. Williams drivers were involved in five significant incidents that cost the team, led by James Vowles, a lot in terms of money and spare parts.
On the Rodríguez brothers’ circuit, it was Albon who stood out negatively. The Thai driver was involved first in a collision with Oliver Bearman during FP1, and then again with Yuki Tsunoda on the first lap of the race.
In Brazil, both FW46s “tasted” the walls of the São Paulo track. In qualifying, both Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto had severe accidents. The Argentine lost control of his car again during the race, while the former Red Bull driver couldn’t race due to the extensive damage his car sustained in qualifying.
A Difficult Situation for Williams
Upon returning from Brazil, James Vowles addressed the issue of accidents and their impact on the team on the official Williams website: “The Brazilian weekend was probably the most brutal I can remember in my entire career,” said the British Team Principal. In the span of just over a week, we’ve had five serious accidents. Just in Brazil, between qualifying and the race, there were three. This is an amount no one on the grid can bear, and it hurts.” – he pointed out.
Challenges Ahead for Las Vegas
At Grove, the team is working to have both cars ready for Las Vegas, a race James Vowles is particularly counting on. However, the situation remains fluid.
“The quantity of spare parts we have available isn’t enough to handle this level of damage. I have high hopes for Las Vegas. Last year we were fast, and I’m confident we have a car that can perform well in those conditions. We’ll do our best to bring both cars to the best specifications possible, with enough spares to make that happen. It’s hard to predict what will happen,” concluded the Williams Team Principal – “We’re still receiving components from Brazil and assessing what we need to do in terms of assembly to put ourselves in the best possible condition.”
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