Williams is no longer the team from the heyday when founder Frank Williams ruled with an iron hand. After the glorious 80s and 90s, the team went downhill (with occasional revivals). Williams was also in financial trouble, which meant that the racing stable was swallowed up by investment company Dorilton Capital in 2020. This would make the team's somewhat amateurish status a thing of the past. At least, that's what we thought.
At the previous race in Australia, Williams failed to get a third chassis ready for the trip to Oceania. Not a problem in itself, as long as one of the drivers does not crash violently. That did happen: during the first free practice, Alexander Albon wrote off his car. After this, Williams team boss James Vowles decided that Logan Sargeant had to give up his car to Albon.
The team boss gives an update on the repair work between the races in Australia and Japan: 'It [kapotte] chassis arrived at the factory around two o'clock on Monday night. I'm confident we can fix it. It should be ready in time for Suzuka.” This applies to the second chassis, but there is still no spare copy – in case of another crash.
'In Suzuka we have two cars without too many problems, but we won't have a spare chassis yet. The original plan was to have three chassis at the start of the season. However, that was gradually moved to the third race, as we became more and more delayed. Due to the extra work we now have to do, there will be another slight delay. That said, we will have a third chassis soon,” Vowles promises.
Moreover, Williams must perform better in Japan than in the previous races. On the other side of the F1 factory, work has been done on updates to the car that will be ready for the race weekend in Suzuka. 'The updates will just come in Japan. That is the positive message,” says the team boss. These would be small changes, so don't expect Williams to suddenly make it difficult for Red Bull and Ferrari. For the time being, Williams' highest ranking is eleventh place. Who knows, the updates will result in Williams' first points in 2024.
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