Williams hit hard at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix

The Sao Paulo Grand Prix was one of the worst weekends of the season for the Williams team. In no time, their two drivers Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto suffered three major crashes, leaving the team in a delicate situation before the next Grand Prix in Las Vegas.

It all started during qualifying, in the rain when Franco Colapinto spun into the barriers during a difficult rainy session. A few minutes later, it was Albon's turn to have an accident on the last lap of Q3, hitting the wall hard at the entry to the first turn, seriously damaging his car, while he was provisionally in second place. The damage to his Williams forced him to withdraw from the race.

In a statement, the team had announced,
"Unfortunately, after evaluating the extensive damage suffered by Alex Albon's car, the necessary repairs could not be completed in the short time between qualifying and the race. The team is therefore obliged to withdraw Alex's car for the remainder of the Grand Prix. Only Franco Colapinto will be able to take part in the race this afternoon."

But that was without counting on the twists and turns of the race that did not play in their favor. Indeed, as the rain intensified and the safety car was deployed, Colapinto was once again involved in a crash, this time on the main straight on the 32nd lap. This incident led to a red flag and the race being neutralized for a while.

Speaking about these misadventures, Williams' director, James Vowles acknowledged the extent of the challenge that awaits them for the last three races. "We had three big crashes within a few hours only and now we have a huge amount of work ahead of us to get back on track with spare parts before heading to Vegas in a few weeks." He continued by adding, "The nature of Formula 1 is such that one can experience incredible moments but also real lows in this sport."

Alpine takes advantage of Williams' setbacks.

During this time, Williams' direct competitor, Alpine, took advantage to score valuable points and take the lead in the Constructors' Championship. Before the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, the two teams were only separated by a single point in the standings. But with Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly's double podium finish, the French team has taken a significant lead of 32 points, rising to 6th place in the standings, while Williams now ranks 9th, trailing Racing Bulls by 27 points.

Expressing regret at this setback, James Vowles stated, "Our Alpine rivals have been quick in the race, no doubt. They deserve these positions, but they have scored a significant number of points bringing them to a very high position in the championship and pushing us down to 9th place."

Despite these setbacks, the boss of Williams does not admit defeat. "I never give up as long as it's not over and it won't be until Abu Dhabi," he said determinedly. "We have two fast drivers and a fast car. We will fight to the end to climb back up the rankings and become competitive again."

Vowles knows that the task ahead looks difficult after this disastrous weekend in Sao Paulo, but keeps a fighting spirit for the future. We must approach each of these weekends by giving our best while continuing to work on 2025 and 2026 because that is where our true objective lies. This doesn't make today less painful. On the contrary, I am suffering from it right now. But we don't give up, we will fight until the end to finish this season in the best possible way.