(Motorsport-Total.com) – Williams is currently experiencing one failure after another in Formula 1: At the home race in Silverstone, the traditional team remained almost as expected without points despite minor updates. Before the next race in Belgium (all sessions in the live ticker), Alexander Albon now speaks frankly.
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Where are the biggest problems? “Actually a bit of everything,” the Thai-Brit makes clear that Williams is currently struggling in many areas to regain connection to the competition. “I don’t think there is a specific trend that we observe.”
“We had a smaller update in Silverstone,” Albon recalls. “It worked, but you have to be honest: the gap to the other cars in the midfield is so big that the upgrades bring performance, but not enough to fight with them.”
The reason for this: The competition brought their updates earlier, for example in Barcelona or Spielberg. “We are behind because we started late in the year,” the Williams driver also reminds that the season start was not optimal.
Albon reveals: next Williams update only in Baku
“We started our updates late. We actually bring fewer upgrades than the other teams around us. We just have to go through this phase,” the 30-year-old knows. “We are in a transition phase. There is a lot to do.”
“In many ways, this is frustrating, but you need patience,” emphasizes Albon, who at the same time reveals that “a lot is happening behind the scenes right now, and for the better. At the same time, unfortunately, it feels like some upgrades and processes are currently taking a bit longer.”
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The next upgrade is only planned for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku. “Whether we can fight in the midfield with it remains to be seen. But it is coming,” hopes the Williams driver. “It just feels like we have been somewhat behind all year so far.”
Williams focuses on car for next year
“The most important thing for us is to reach the target weight,” Albon reminds that the FW48 has been a heavyweight since the start of the season. “That was a big issue for us, and we know that this is basically the goal of this upgrade.”
Nevertheless, there are still numerous other areas where the team needs to improve. “We know, for example, that we probably can’t quite keep up with the other teams in pure downforce,” says the Thai-Brit. “So we still have to work on that.”
“At the same time, we are already shifting our focus quite early to the car for next year,” Albon reveals. “We are starting to do more and more simulator work for the new car. That doesn’t mean we are neglecting the current vehicle, but we are also thinking long-term in the interest of the team.”
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