F1 | Williams: Disqualification Hides Progress on Weight and Aero

The disqualification on Saturday afternoon after the top ten on the grid, as well as all the other events related to the weekend, undoubtedly overshadowed the work done behind the scenes at Williams to arrive at Zandvoort with a large package of technical innovations.

The FW46 had not received any particular technical innovations for some time and, despite the good performance in the home Grand Prix at Silverstone, an event where Williams had already performed well last year, it was clear that some updates were needed to put the Grove team back in the mix of midfield teams.

During the triptych formed by Spain, Austria and Great Britain, work had been done on the setup and suspension, but some real innovations were missing from Imola, when the team brought its first package to reduce the weight of the car.

Delays over the winter to try to reduce chassis mass have instead resulted in the car being heavier than last year’s, prompting Williams to go on a weight-loss diet to shed those extra pounds from the FW46. However, it’s not such a simple job, especially as in some areas it forces compromises between cost constraints and potential earnings, but also in relation to which parts of the car to update. Some components, such as the wings or floor, can see a weight reduction when a completely new unit is designed, combining both aerodynamics and mass.

However, this is a long and complex job. In fact, despite the updates brought to Zandvoort, Williams is still overweight and other technical innovations will be needed during the rest of the championship to arrive at what, hopefully, can be a total in line with the minimum limit set in the regulations.

Lots of work to get back to the minimum weight

“It’s a package that has been developed for a long time in the wind tunnel. You could say there’s a benefit, if you like, not only in terms of the downforce numbers, but also in terms of the handling characteristics, and it seems to be doing what we hoped,” explains Pat Fry, who took over the role of technical director at Williams at the end of last year. In fact, one of the team’s goals is not only to increase the overall downforce, an aspect in which the FW46 is lacking compared to its rivals, but also the handling, given that last year’s car was extremely quick on the straights, but also had sometimes unpredictable behaviour.

Williams FW46 Sidepod and Bottom Comparison

Photo by: Uncredited

“Obviously all of this has been tested in the simulator. So overall it’s been a huge amount of work from the whole team to develop this package and then try to bring it to Holland. But yeah, it’s certainly a massive amount of work on top of all the damage repairs and everything else we’ve had to do recently,” Fry added. Not least Logan Sargeant’s crash in FP3 destroyed one of the updated packages, breaking the camel’s back for Williams, who have therefore decided to replace the American with Franco Colapinto, who will make his debut at Monza.

The Dutch package is perhaps one of the most important of the Grove team’s season, not only because it has revised part of the aerodynamics, with completely revised radiator vents and a new floor, which is what cost the disqualification, but also the weight issue. Initially, part of this package should have debuted before the summer break, but some delays have pushed it to be introduced only at Zandvoort.

“We’ve done a lot of work on the weight saved from the whole bodywork, the floor and the roll hoop, but I won’t say how much. Yes, we’re still a bit overweight, but I think we’ll have more updates later in the year that will allow us to get back within the weight limit,” added Fry, who explained how the airbox area has also been revised to reduce weight, although this required a new homologation and, consequently, a new crash test that was passed before the summer.

“Everything has to be homologated. It’s a significant weight saving, which is good. We managed to get through the crash test just before the break, so we can go into the break knowing we’re OK.”

Williams FW46 Airbox Detail

Photo by: Uncredited

Hidden Progress and Hope for Monza

Saturday’s disqualification after a good qualifying that had put Albon in the top ten overshadowed the progress made by the team on the car, even though Williams had already performed well last year at Zandvoort, a track it seems to like.

The British-Thai driver believes that had he started from his starting position, there would have been potential to finish in the points. Williams clearly doesn’t have the pace to come from the back, especially on a track where overtaking is difficult, but Albon believes the updated FW46 had the pace to defend itself and fight with Gasly for ninth place, especially bearing in mind that the Aston Martins took a step back in the race.

“Our upgrade package made us go faster, at least in Holland. I think if we had started where we needed to start we would have been fighting with Gasly, but that wasn’t the case. Unfortunately, our championship rivals were the ones who benefited the most. So it’s a bit of a double whammy,” explained Albon, noting that Alpine had bagged another two points.

“But the positive thing is the development work, the car is strong. Now we look to Monza, a track where we should be strong. But yeah, I mean, even today, just now in the race, we were fast when we were running in clean air. We tried different things.”

Albon is therefore very confident for the Monza Grand Prix, one of those tracks where last year the FW45 defended itself admirably, keeping the two McLarens behind it. Undoubtedly, however, there is one issue to take into account, that of temperatures. Grove’s car has proven to be very sensitive to high temperatures and, for the Italian weekend, it is expected to be a particularly hot weekend and the new asphalt could create some surprises.