After missing out on points in Zandvoort, it was crucial for Williams to rebound with a top-10 finish in Monza. Alex Albon delivered a critical P9 result in Monza, finishing as the highest midfield runner. However, if Williams want to climb the standings, they must continue bringing improvements to the FW46. James Vowles has confirmed that upgrades are incoming.
Williams work to make up for lost time
Several problems with the FW46 impacted their early-season performance. Arguably, the biggest limitation was the car’s excess weight, an issue that only became public knowledge after the opening rounds.
Williams began 2024 with over 10kg of excess weight, costing them valuable tenths in the highly competitive midfield.
In addition, the Grove-based team experienced significant delays with their upgrades. There was also a shortage of spare parts, which became painfully clear when Williams withdrew Logan Sargeant from the Australian GP.
This was largely due to sacrifices made over the winter break, as James Vowles implemented changes to the team’s design and manufacturing process.
Despite the negative short-term impacts of implementing these changes, the British team are now in a stronger position. Speaking after the team’s top-10 result of the year, James Vowles explained why Williams are on an upward trajectory:
“There’s a lot to be optimistic when we look forward to the remainder of the season.
“There’s more performance to come. This is not the only [upgrade] package, and when that delivers, we should be in a positive place to keep scoring points going forward.
“The update we put on the car isn’t track-specific, it’s something that will make the car globally faster across tracks to the end of the year.
“Baku is another track where you tend to run on the lower downforce side, and it’s also a track that’s been kind to us in the past.
“So [with] all of that pulled together, there’s absolutely a chance for points in Baku.”
Williams set their sights on Alpine
The team’s primary objective is to overtake Alpine, with the French team currently 7 points ahead in the Championship.
Based on the trajectory at Williams since the summer break, there is reason to believe this is possible. Unlike the top teams, who are reaching diminishing returns with these regulations, there is still plenty of margin for improvement at James Vowles’ team.
This means their next updates are relatively low-risk. Assuming their next package delivers another few tenths, Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto should be regularly fighting for points.
