Williams’ ongoing challenges this season are significantly disrupting their development strategy for the 2024 car. The accumulation of crashes involving Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant has depleted the team’s inventory of spare components and necessitated urgent repairs to the chassis, as well as the urgent fabrication of an additional monocoque.
When questioned about the frequent accidents involving the drivers, team principal James Vowles stated, “It’s a strong question – one to ask the drivers.”
Despite denials from Vowles that the new, more complex car’s design is inherently problematic, it is clear that Williams is facing difficulties in preparing two operational vehicles for upcoming races.
“Probably the most important thing is the fact that in the last two races we lost a number of floors, rear wings, front wings,” revealed Vowles, as reported by France’s Auto Hebdo. He further mentioned that the chaos has extended to damaging suspension components and gearboxes.
“It’s a very long list and so difficult to keep pace with the quantity of spare parts we need while working on developments in the background,” he explained.
Vowles acknowledged the setbacks’ influence on the team’s performance later in the season, stating, “So it’s going to have an effect on what we do in terms of performance later in the year.” He also lamented the destruction of new developments intended for the Japan races due to these issues.
“Once again, it prevents us from being as efficient as we want to be during the next races – just the time it takes to replenish the stock. This obviously has a short term impact but also a little in the medium term as well.”
GMM
