Alex Albon says Williams would have had the car to be ahead of Mercedes at the start of this season if it hadn’t been for weight issues in 2024.
Williams has been working to get its car within the weight limit since the start of the year. The FW46 was delivered late and after several early crashes, Williams had to devote its resources to repairs. Further improvements at this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix will also be aimed at weight savings. Albon says this problem cost the team a chance at important points.
“Basically it’s the weight!” says Albon about the lack of chances to score points this season. “If you look at the first race, I think we probably could have been ahead of Mercedes in terms of pace. We started the year with a good base, possibly with a car that we knew wouldn’t have many upgrades for a while, but obviously the weight hit us…
“Think of it more like Haas does – start the year strong but then make fewer upgrades as the year goes on. But with the weight, everything has been evened out so we’re starting further back than we expected.
“Racing is a team and driver effort. Last year we had a great car in a lot of races – there were ups and downs but we were able to score points when it mattered. This year we just didn’t manage that, we didn’t have enough ups – Monaco is one and Canada is the other. But when you’re sometimes four or five tenths behind per lap, especially early in the season, you don’t really have much of a chance of scoring points.”
Since the weight saving brings with it an increase in performance that does not depend on aerodynamic properties or the correct car setup, Albon said Williams would certainly have finished in the front midfield with a car that met the team’s original weight target.
“If you look at the races so far this year, it’s almost guaranteed we would have done it,” he said. “I think now everyone is starting to introduce upgrades as we get closer to the finish as well, that’s less and less the case. Of course, you still need lap time to stay on track, but on the other hand, teams like RB have made great progress – they’re developing very quickly as well. So, at the beginning of the year, yes, and now we’re on the early side of the halfway point, less so.”
His teammate Logan Sargeant will likely lose his place at Williams and Albon adds that the weight situation has also worked to the American’s disadvantage.
“There’s no point in speaking too soon, of course. He’s done a great job in the last few races. I don’t think that’s really been understood, especially because we’re not driving the same car,” said Albon. “I think this weekend will be the first weekend where it’s neck and neck, so it was definitely tough. I think he’s a great driver. He’s got great speed. We get on very well.”
Carlos Sainz has been heavily linked with Sargeant’s seat after team boss James Vowels admitted the Spaniard was his priority among the available drivers. Albon admitted he had been kept updated on who the team was eyeing but did not yet have a firm preference.
“To be honest, I’m not that stubborn or nervous about my teammate,” he said. “In terms of experience and general development of the team, of course it would be an advantage. We’re on this long journey, this long project – we need feedback. I look back at my time at Red Bull and when I came to Williams there were a lot of things I could bring to the table that I felt would benefit my feedback but also the performance of the car.
“To be honest, there are so many names on the list. Whoever it is, I think it would generally be a driver with experience coming in. I don’t really have the say then, but it would be important for us. Especially if we want to fight in the midfield in the next few years.”
