Williams has a series of upgrades planned for the Canadian GP, primarily designed to eliminate some of the FW46’s excess weight. With Alex Albon claiming the team’s first points of 2024 in Monaco, the Grove-based outfit wants to generate momentum. On the opposite side of the garage, Logan Sargeant will hope to receive the same updates as his teammate.
For Albon, like much of the field, his weekend hinged on executing a strong qualifying. The race was largely processional, as even midfield runners were forced to control their pace.
On Saturday, however, the Thai driver set a series of strong laps to make Q3. Not only that, but he set an error-free lap to put himself ahead of Pierre Gasly. This fine detail would allow him to finish 9th on Sunday and put Williams ahead of Alpine in the standings on countback.
Unlike last season, the 2024 challenger overseen by James Vowles is a well-rounded machine. This means that while it performs consistently, it does not have the peaks that the FW45 enjoyed. With a relatively well-defined top 5 group (and Yuki Tsunoda regularly in the top 10), points are difficult to come by.
WILLIAMS PREPARE WEIGHT-REDUCING MEASURES
Sven Smeets, the team’s Sporting Director, has outlined that weight-saving measures are on the way:
“We’re looking forward to Canada, as we had a great race there last year and should be bringing more weight-saving parts.”
Logan Sargeant also believes that “when both cars have the same spec, we’ll both be able to fight for these opportunities more.”
Purely from a team perspective, the upcoming rounds of the season will be essential. The development war is at its height, so the extent to which Williams can fight for points in the remainder of 2024 will become clearer heading into the summer break.
The FW46 is extremely overweight, so introducing weight-reducing measures should unlock lap time relatively ‘easily’. In combination with aerodynamic improvements, Williams can hope to contend for points more regularly.
After finishing 7th in the standings last year, it is important for James Vowles to prevent his team from further regressing – even if he insists Williams is a long-term project.
