After having scored in the points in Monza and Baku, circuits more suited to enhancing the strengths of the FW46 on the long straights, Williams arrived in Singapore with the desire to surprise. In fact, last year Alex Albon was fully fighting for the top 10 before a contact with Sergio Perez put him out of action, which is why expectations were higher for this season’s race.
The FW46 has in fact taken a step forward in terms of general driveability, one of the aspects to which the engineers paid the most attention during the winter break. On a track where confidence in the car plays a key role, the two Williams were battling for the top 10 in both qualifying and the race.
While Albon was forced to retire due to the car overheating, which according to the team was due to the failure of one of the ducts that bring fresh air to the radiators, Franco Colapinto remained in the top 10 for a long time after gaining several positions at the start. However, the Argentine lost tenth place due to an undercut from Sergio Perez’s Red Bull, which relegated him to eleventh place: this does not take away from the fact that Colapinto was the author of another excellent race, especially on a very difficult where he had never shot before.
Alex Albon, Williams FW46
Photo by: Lionel Ng / Motorsport Images
In Singapore, Williams also presented a car that featured several technical innovations in the front area, in particular on the suspension, completing the package that had already debuted a few weeks ago in Zandvoort. In fact, the Grove team explained how the revision of the suspension has two fundamental effects, namely reducing the weight and modifying the flow of air towards the rear of the car, in order to work better with the innovations brought to Holland , the most significant package that appeared on the FW46 with which the bellies and bottom were overhauled.
When asked to explain what had been changed on the front suspension brought to Singapore, Pat Fry, Williams’ technical director, explained that it had substantially revised most of its components: “We changed most of the suspension. In the end, a small detail here leads to modifying another detail, so we have modified almost everything, from the suspension elements themselves to the brake cooling ducts, and everything is different.”
The new suspension in Singapore was only present on Albon’s car, as the team had only managed to prepare two units of the updated specification: one was fitted to the Anglo-Thai driver’s car, while one was kept as a spare for use in case of accident. The intention was in fact to try to anticipate the updates, and then guarantee the news to Colapinto after the break.
In addition to the internal elements, as mentioned by Fry to reduce weight, Williams has revised the carbon covers substantially on all the elements of the suspension towards the area of attachment to the wheel, from the upper triangle to the lower one, also passing through the strut. This also helps to review the flow towards the central part of the car but, the most interesting aspect is that, alongside this work, the entry area of the brake cooling ducts has also been revised. The upper surface has been completely revised in shape and now leaves more free space for the passage of air.
Only Albon had the updated suspension in Singapore, while Colapinto still had the old specification
On the weight front, the FW46 started out overweight at the beginning of the season and, with the various upgrade packages, the technicians tried to reduce the total mass, even if the Grove car is still above the minimum limit imposed by the regulations. . This, however, represents another small step.
Speaking about the new features, Fry underlined how, on an aerodynamic level, this is a rather important step forward compared to the old specification. Clearly, however, Singapore is not the ideal track on which to see how the new features work, especially because it is one of those tracks where the weight factor is of less importance and where high speeds are not reached.
“As far as the aerodynamic part is concerned, this new suspension represents a reasonable step. We also managed to reduce some weight. But clearly it’s not that a single solution completely changes the car, we proceed with the details of every single component, but it’s the way we have to work with these cars nowadays.”
“We also have to see on other tracks, but if it behaves like in the simulator, then it will be an important help. It’s about finding the right balance when cornering. So also the way it works on those tracks where there are high and low speed sections, and that’s what we’re trying to do at the moment,” added the technical director.
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