(Motorsport-Total.com) – Williams, along with Aston Martin, is among the biggest disappointments of the current Formula 1 season: While Carlos Sainz managed to score at least two World Championship points in China, with a bit of luck, teammate Alexander Albon is still waiting for points after the first three races of the year.
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For former Formula 1 driver and current Sky expert Martin Brundle, the traditional team’s disastrous start to the season is “very worrying” and a short-term turnaround is unlikely. On the contrary: Williams risks getting stuck at the back of the field and becoming a mere fringe phenomenon in the future.
“Like Alpine, Mercedes, and McLaren, they have a Mercedes engine,” Brundle reminds us in the Sky Sports F1 Show, indicating that the powertrain in the FW48 is probably not the Achilles’ heel at the moment. “We know they had problems with the crash tests and that the car then had to be fitted with many additional parts to pass the test.”
As a reminder: Williams had to skip the shakedown in Barcelona because the new car was not ready in time. Consequently, speculation intensified about a failure in the required crash test and an excessively high vehicle weight.
Brundle “extremely disappointed” by Williams’ performance
The traditional team only took to the track for the first time at the second test in Bahrain. “From that point on, you’re on the back foot,” says Brundle, especially with regard to the gap to the front, but also to the immediate competition in the midfield.
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“It’s probably about the weight of the car, the weight distribution, the center of gravity of that mass. Given today’s cost cap and the uninterrupted race calendar so far, it’s hard to catch up in such a situation.”
“This is very worrying for Williams,” Brundle concludes. “They are ahead of Cadillac and Aston Martin, but if you look at Williams’ performance so far, you are extremely disappointed. And we need them. We need them up there. We need them at the front of the midfield.”
Hope now rests on the break until the Miami Grand Prix: Williams wants to use this window to achieve a noticeable development step and close the gap to the midfield. Whether this breakthrough succeeds will be shown by the upcoming races (here the full calendar).
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