FW45 suffers from the same problems as 2022
With 27 of his team's 28 points, Alexander Albon made the most of his Williams. However, the Thai says his single-seater still had a number of shortcomings and hopes to be more competitive in 2024.
Williams has made progress compared to 2022, but the car remains difficult to drive according to Alexander Albon. The British team finished the season in seventh place in the constructor’s standings with 28 points, compared to 8 points the previous year and a tenth-place finish. Albon scored 27 points and his rookie teammate Logan Sargeant secured his only point at the United States Grand Prix in Austin.
Sargent had a difficult first season in F1 with numerous accidents. The only point he scored was due to the disqualification of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc in Texas for ‘non-compliant ride height’. Frederik Vesti and Felipe Drugovich were mentioned as possible replacements for the Williams driver, but the American’s seat was ultimately confirmed after the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi.
« The characteristics of the car haven’t really changed »
« Present in the team for his second season, Albon has been able to make the most of his FW45, delivering good performances in qualifying and figuring out the challenges with his car. We have improved a lot compared to last year. This year, at the start of a weekend during FP1, I already knew the overall balance issues of our car and I knew its strengths and weaknesses », states the Thai driver.
« This year, preparing the car for a specific turn before a long straight to ensure that you are not vulnerable and overtaken makes a big difference in our final result. It may not always be optimal, but we have often managed to place the car on the finish line in a good position », continued the Williams driver.
« From last year to this year, the characteristics of the car haven’t really changed. We just added more downforce. We have to drive with a lot of front downforce for the car to turn in slow corners. We have way too much oversteer. But that’s what we have to do. It’s always a compromise. If you have front graining, you have to put even more front downforce so that the front tires don’t slip. And then in fast corners […] it’s so unstable on entry that you’re just slow », explains car number 23.
« We are often quite limited in terms of car control, but also in terms of car setup. Our window is narrow. I would say that we spent a large part of the year trying to understand this. Because the more we know about it, the more it will help us next year. Our task next year is to get rid of our weaknesses as much as possible », hopes Alexander Albon.
