Jordan's Track Talk

Tag: Williams

  • Colapinto to take part in FP1 for Williams

    Argentine F2 racer, Franco Colapinto will be making his Formula 1 debut this weekend when he drives Logan Sargeant’s Williams at the British Grand Prix in FP1.

    So far this year, the 21 year old is enjoying a strong rookie season in Formula 2, having won one race and scored two podiums in the last four rounds to sit fifth in the standings.

    The Williams Driver Academy racer will dovetail this opportunity, which will see him share the garage with Alex Albon, with his F2 duties on the same race weekend.

    It will be the second time Colapinto has got behind the wheel of Formula 1 machinery, after he drove for Williams in last year’s young driver test in Abu Dhabi and it is part of a requirement for every team to run a young driver in FP1 at least twice during a season.

    Colapinto has fond memories of Silverstone having won the Sprint race at the venue last year in F3, on his way to fourth in the drivers’ championship.

    I have so many emotions. I am extremely delighted and it’s a very important moment in my life and my career. I will be the most prepared I can; I will be doing a lot of laps in the simulator and studying the details needed to drive this year’s car. I’m really looking forward to experiencing the new car after driving last year’s in Abu Dhabi. To be able to drive it at a track like Silverstone is a privilege, it is one of my favourite tracks and to drive it at the team’s home race means a lot. To all the Argentine fans – I hope you enjoy FP1 as much as I’m going to! It’s an important moment for our country and I’m so grateful for all the support I’ve been given. I’m going to give my all to make you proud.
    Colapinto on the news.

    Franco has had a very encouraging start to his debut season in F2 and we are delighted to reward his performances over the past two years with his first FP1 session. We are proud of our talented group of drivers in the Williams Racing Driver Academy and it is important for us to give them the opportunity to progress and have these important chances as they move up the ladder. To showcase our talent at our home race at Silverstone is a nice moment and, of course, this is going to be a great day for the Argentine F1 fans.
    Sven Smeets, Sporting Director.

  • Where will Carlos Sainz go?

    Since the announcement of Lewis Hamilton going to Ferrari before the season started there’s been a popular question flying around, where will Carlos Sainz go?

    The Spanish drivers choice is wearing thin even though most of the grid has not been confirmed.
    10 drivers have been confirmed but some team’s have recently been making regards to who would potentially be available for those second seats, which rules Sainz out.

    Mercedes and Red Bull were somewhat interested but have decided against it, especially with the latter looking like they might re-sign Perez.

    Which now they have so Red Bull is out of the equation entirely.

    The two teams which seem on the cards for the Spanish driver is Sauber and Williams… neither are current winning teams which is what he wanted.

    His two main options are teams which both largely depend on hypothetical progress. The potential trajectories are encouraging – and Audi’s ceiling as a works team is higher than Williams.

    Williams is fractionally less worse off, with the British team scoring their first point this season in Monaco.
    The team seem to be giving Sainz a choice to make between two projects with big question marks and a long list of slightly different pros and cons.

    Audi has enough of the latter as a new engine manufacturer and a company taking over a struggling existing team for the door to at least be open to Williams swooping in.

    And James Vowles is a big reason for that. He’s already re-signed Alex Albon on a multi year deal and is why Williams team that is performing slightly worse than 12 months ago is escaping with relatively little scrutiny.
    But for now, Vowles is getting the benefit of the doubt because of the long-term malaise he is try to permanently rescue Williams form, and the many problems the team is known to have from its facilities through to its culture.

    So now the decision is on Carlos, what team would he prefer?…

    Third placed Carlos Sainz of Spain and Ferrari attends the press conference after the F1 Grand Prix of Monaco at Circuit de Monaco on May 26, 2024 in...

  • Albon to take over Sargeant’s car after FP1 crash

    Williams have announced that Alex Albon will be taking over the car of his teammate Logan Sargeant for the remainder of the 2024 Australian Grand Prix weekend, following his crash in Free Practice 1.

    Towards the end of FP1, Albon lost control of his Williams FW46 at the exit of Turn 6 at Albert Park, running over the kerbs and then spinning out into the wall on the other side of the track.

    Luckily Albon was unharmed but he was forced to sit out of Free Practice 2 as Williams confirmed they have no third chassis available this weekend so they had to assess the damage to the car.

    With that damage to have been too significant to continue using the chassis, the team made the call for Albon to take over the car of teammate Sargeant.
    The Thai driver, last season claimed 27 of the team’s 28 points helped the team to finish P7 in the constructors’ championship.

    For Logan, he will now sit on the sidelines for the rest of the weekend, as Albon jumps into the American’s chassis from Free Practice 3 onwards.

    Due to the extensive damage sustained, [Williams are] forced to withdraw the chassis for the remainder of the Grand Prix. This chassis will be returned to the team’s HQ at Grove for repair. Due to the fact that a third chassis is unavailable, the team can confirm it has taken the decision for Alex to compete for the remainder of the weekend in the chassis that Logan Sargeant drove in FP1 and FP2.

    Statement from Williams.

    We are hugely disappointed that the damage sustained to the chassis has meant we need to withdraw it from the weekend. It’s unacceptable in modern day Formula 1 not to have a spare chassis, but it is a reflection of how behind we were in the winter period and an illustration of why we need to go through significant change in order to get ourselves in a better position for the future. As a result, we have had some very difficult decisions to make this afternoon. While Logan should not have to suffer from a mistake that he did not make, every race counts when the midfield is tighter than ever, so we have made the call based on our best potential to score points this weekend. This decision was not made lightly, and we cannot thank Logan enough for his graceful acceptance, demonstrating his dedication to the team; he is a true team player. This will prove a tough weekend for Williams, and this situation is not one that we will put ourselves in again.

    James Vowles, Team Principal on the news.

    I have to be totally honest and say that no driver would want to give up his seat. I would never want anything like this to happen. Logan has always been a consummate professional and a team player from day one, and this won’t be an easy one for him to take. At this point though, I cannot dwell on the situation and my only job now is to maximise our potential this weekend and work with the whole team to make sure we do the best job possible.

    Albon on the news.

  • Williams want Sargeant next year

    James Vowles has backed Logan Sargeant as the Williams Team Principal insists they want the American driver in the car next season.

    Sargeant made the step up from Formula 2 to Formula 1 this year with Williams but has so far struggled, as he is the only full-time driver on the grid yet to score a point – with all of William’s 21 points this year coming from Alex Albon.

    The American’s place at the team is the only spot on the grid which is yet to be confirmed for next season.
    Vowles has moved to end any speculation of the team replacing Sargeant, saying Williams must shoulder some of the blame for his patchy form.

    Due to the realities of being one of F1’s smaller teams operating within the budget cap, Williams has been unable to introduce its upgrades to both cars at the same points this season.
    That means Sargeant’s teammate Alex Albon has often run the most up-to-date version of the car.

    Do you think the American deserves the seat for next year? Or should Williams look at other drivers?

    Logan has very clear targets of what he has to hit before the end of the season, and we are working with him continuously. And that’s the important point, we are working with him. We want him to succeed, and we want him in the car next year. This is very much on us as well. We have taken someone straight from Formula 2, without any significant testing, put him a day and half in Bahrain in this car, and then wished them well on a season that has been awfully challenging for rookies, full stop. There were some very positive signs to take out. First and foremost, Logan is not on the same aerodynamic specific as Alex was. We have updates that are on Alex’s car that are not on Logan’s, due to the amount of attrition we have had this year. So, often when you see a performance offset it is not quite what it may seem on the timing pages. Furthermore, to that, if you look at the case of Suzuka, he did a build up across the weekend, as he went into FP3, he did a time that matched Alex.

    James Vowles on Logan.

  • Schumacher contender to replace Sargeant

    Mick Schumacher has been named as the ‘obvious contender’ for replacing Williams driver, Logan Sargeant if there is no improvement in his performances.

    Williams, currently hold seventh place in the Constructors Standings with Alex Albon accounting for all 11 points being scored this season.

    Sargeant hasn’t had the best start to his rookie season, and has failed to score points 10 races in, and struggled to match his teammates performances. This has now led to speculation of where his future lies.

    Earlier on in the season, there was speculation of a mid-season swap with Schumacher replacing Sargeant, however Williams chose to support their drivers development and provide him with an opportunity to improve his performance first.

    Schumacher, currently holds the position of Mercedes’ reserve driver, also recently testing for the team. Not only this he is also an active presence in the garage during grand prix weekends.

    With the strong partnership and share engine between Williams and Mercedes, the possibility of Schumacher taking over Sargeant’s seat for the 2024 season is certainly credible if the current conditions persist.

    Rookie Logan Sargeant has had a solid but unspectacular start to life in Formula 1, and knows he needs to up his game to stick around for another season. Williams have thrown their collective arm around the American’s shoulders and tried to keep the pressure off him in a bid to help him find a rhythm. They are backing him to succeed and earn a second campaign in blue – but he needs to not only find consistency but also close the gap to Albon, particularly in qualifying, and get himself on the scoreboard. If he doesn’t, his seat is under threat. Mick Schumacher would be an obvious contender, having briefly had talks with the team last year and having kept his hand in through his Mercedes reserve role, where he has earned public praise for his efforts from [Lewis] Hamilton and [George] Russell.

    Lawrence Barretto, F1 Correspondent in an article for Formula 1.
    Mick Schumacher of Germany, Reserve Driver of Mercedes walks in the Paddock prior to practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Miami at Miami...
    Photo by Clive Mason – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images

  • Luke Browning joins Williams Academy

    Williams Racing has announced that British racer, Luke Browning has joined the team’s Driver Academy.

    Following on from the signing of Franco Colapinto earlier this year, Williams have bolstered their Driver Academy by signing the Formula 3 racer.

    The 21 year old, is currently racing in F3 with Hitech Pulse-Eight squad and has scored 14 points from the first two round in Bahrain and in Australia.

    Browning has been signed after he won the GB3 Championship in 2022, scoring five wins and a further eight podiums while race with Hitech. He also won the 2022 Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award.

    His signing means the Williams Driver Academy now consists of five members – four of whom are currently racing in Formula 3.

    Browning is set to work on the Williams simulator in Grove throughout the year, taking part in a personalised programme, as well as embedding with the team trackside at select race weekends.

    I’m really looking forward to being a part of the Williams Racing Driver Academy. A huge thank you to everyone at the team for the opportunity to shoot for the stars. To be welcomed into the family is a dream come true, the heritage of this team is phenomenal. I can’t wait to see where we can go, our journey starts here.

    Browning on the signing.

    We’re pleased to have Luke join the Driver Academy. He’s a highly talented driver with several major achievements already under his belt, including the 2022 Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award, the 2022 GB3 Championship, and the 2020 British F4 Championship. Everyone at Williams Racing is looking forward to working closely with Luke throughout the year as he competes in FIA Formula 3 with Hitech Pulse-Eight. He’ll have the opportunity to develop his abilities while providing useful feedback through simulator work at Grove.

    Sven Smeets, Williams Sporting Director.

  • Williams waiting on Sargeant

    With the F1 driver market hotting up, Williams look like they are set to rely on Logan Sargeant qualifying for a superlicence as the last pieces of the 2023 driver market, begins to fall into place.

    There has only been two main names that has been linked to the seat which is currently occupied by Nicolas Latifi, those being Sargeant and De Vries.

    However, De Vries has also put himself in the frame elsewhere, as he has recently met with Helmut Marko with the view of driving for Alpha Tauri next season. The Dutchman is a logical candidate as the intention is for the seat to go to someone who could one day move to Red Bull as a partner to Max Verstappen.

    If De Vries did join the RB camp, then the full focus of Williams will be on Sargeant, who has enjoyed a strong rookie year in the F2 Championship and is scheduled to drive the FW44 in FP1 at his home race in Austin.

    However, the American has to emerge from the final event in Abu Dhabi in November placed fifth or higher in the championship order to guarantee that he will get an FIA superlicence that will allow him to race next year.

    He currently lies third on 135 points, but could tumble down the order if he suffers misfortune in Abu Dhabi, the final round of the season. If Sargeant doesn’t get the required licence points then Williams will have to look elsewhere.

    There’s a good choice of drivers. It’s a good choice of young drivers, there’s still some experienced drivers there as well. And so I think it’s quite different philosophies, different strategies. In the situation of the team we can work on different strategies. We are not so much in the front that we need two very experienced drivers, so we can experiment a bit, and get young drivers in. So we’ll see what turns out to be best.

    Jost Capito, making it clear Williams is open to taking on a rookie.

  • Albon out of Italian GP, De Vries in

    Williams driver, Alex Albon will be missing the rest of this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix after being diagnosed with appendicitis, with former Formula 2 and Formula E champion Nyck de Vries standing in for him.

    In the free practice sessions yesterday, Albon finished a promising 10th in FP2 and 11th in FP1 as Williams’ straight-line speed appeared to put them in the fight for points in Monza.

    However, ahead of the final practice session today, Williams announced the Thai driver will not be taking part in the remainder of the weekend.

    De Vries ran for Williams in FP1 at the Spanish Grand Prix and was at the track in Italy this weekend to perform similar duties for Aston Martin. As a result, the 27 year old will be making his Grand Prix debut this weekend racing alongside Nicholas Latifi.

    Williams Racing can confirm that, after feeling unwell this morning and seeking medical advice from the FIA and local hospital, Alex Albon is now undergoing treatment for appendicitis. Following on from this, we can confirm that the team’s Reserve Driver Nyck de Vries will drive in place of Alex for the remainder of the Italian Grand Prix weekend. Alex is in good spirits and the team wishes him a speedy recovery.

    A statement from the team.

  • Piastri closing in on deal for 2023

    Oscar Piastri is closing on a deal to drive for Williams in Formula 1 next season, with his debut potentially confirmed by the end of the month

    The Alpine test and reserve driver has been the talk of the paddock as he is one of F1’s most promising young drivers, and wont a hat-trick of titles across the Formula Renault Eurocup, Formula 3 and Formula 2 from 2019 to 2021.

    But, he missed out on an instant F1 graduation for 2022, as Alpine had no room and they could not find or agree a deal for Piastri to go on loan elsewhere. Piastri has spent 2022 so far testing last year’s Alpine alongside his role as the team’s reserve driver.

    The Aussie, is still under contract with Alpine for next year but is thought to have a release clause of some kind if he does not have a deal agreed for him to race in F1 by the end of June. Alpine is still not able to put Piastri in its own team as Esteban Ocon is contracted to the end of 2024, and two time world champion Fernando Alonso is all but confirmed for 2023.

    Alpine has made it clear that in the circumstances it is happy to let Piastri join another team but on a short term basis as they are not keen to lose such a highly rated driver permanently. Multiple sources have indicated the solution looks increasingly likely to be loaning Piastri to Williams.

    It’s to be rumoured, that Piastri’s move will be announced at the British Grand Prix, as that even begins at the end of June – the aforementioned contractual deadline for Alpine to secure Piastri’s future and the race at which Alpine’s team principal, Otmar Szafnauer hoped to be able to confirm its driver plans.

    Williams is clearly amenable to such an arrangement as for the 2022 season, the British team struck a similar deal with Red Bull to sign Alex Albon, whom Piastri is likely to partner when he makes his F1 debut. Albon has been extremely impressive in 2022, whilst his team-mate Nicholas Latifi has struggled, lacking pace and also suffering some expensive crashes.

    Latifi’s position at Williams has so far been guaranteed by the funding he brings and his father was also integral in helping the team manage some debts early in pandemic, that helped Latifi extend his stay till 2022, but its is not expected to last beyond a third season.

    But rumours continued to fly around at the Azerbaijan GP, that Piastri could replace Latifi from this year’s British GP onwards. Latifi has denied these claims and denied he would leave the team mid season and expects to stay until the end of the year…

  • Mercedes want to cut one customer team

    Toto Wolff, has said Mercedes could drop one of their customer engine teams in the future due to the low profit margins.

    Mercedes currently supply to Aston Martin, McLaren and Williams with power units, which makes their engines the most used among the grid ahead of Ferrari whose power units are deployed by three teams.

    The budget cap in Formula 1 has begun to take hold of the teams and cost cutting measures have been taken or are starting to come into play as the affects are being felt.

    As a result of this, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff would prefer to keep their production costs down and letting a customer team go. But Wolff has not gave any indication on who he could be letting go…

    Unfortunately, the business of leasing engines is not compelling and interesting because the FIA have put in a certain limit you can charge to your customers in order to protect the smaller teams. I’d rather have six [customer cars], push the development further down the line and then make two engines fewer, because you need to produce two fewer plus two spares for every team. In an ideal world, I would maybe see us plus two [customers], so actually downsize a bit.

    Toto Wolff talking to Financial Times.

  • De Vries gets FP1 run with Williams

    Mercedes reserve driver, Nyck de Vries will be making his Formula 1 race weekend debut, this weekend in Spain as he carries out driving duties for Williams in the first practice session.

    The reigning Formula E World Champion, will be borrowing Alex Albon’s FW44 for the 60 minute session at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

    De Vries, shares the Mercedes reserve role with Stoffel Vandoorne, who is also his teammate in Formula E for Mercedes EQ. The Dutchman previously tested F1 machinery when he drove the Silver Arrows in last year’s post-season Abu Dhabi Grand Prix test.

    His appearance for Williams fulfils one of the British team’s two mandated young driver sessions, which is a new rule introduced for this season.

    We are looking forward to having Nyck de Vries in the car for FP1 as it is always good to work with a new driver and get a fresh opinion on the car’s strengths and weaknesses. Nyck’s experience and professionalism will be crucial on Friday as he will complete some of the key engineering tests in FP1 before he hands the car back to Alex for FP2.

    Dave Robson, Head of Vehicle Performance at Williams.

    Firstly, I’d really like to thank Williams for the opportunity to run in FP1. It’s great for me to get to know the team and drive the FW44, and also to get myself out on track during a Formula 1 weekend. Preparation for the test is going well so far and the team have been incredibly supportive of me. I’m very much looking forward to the whole experience in Spain now.

    Nyck de Vries, on the FP1 session for Williams.

    My Opinion-

    Well, one of the teams had to take the bullet and go first… All jokes aside, I’m glad that Nyck is getting a chance, he definitely deserves a seat in F1 and maybe this is his chance to get out there and impress Williams or maybe some other teams?

    Nyck has been rumoured to the Williams seat, not just last year but also this year, all eyes onto Friday now to see how he does!

  • Albon disqualified from Qualifying

    Alex Albon has been disqualified from the qualifying result, after his team were unable to provide the FIA with a sufficient fuel sample from the FW44.

    Albon qualified P16 in Melbourne, faring better than his teammate Nicholas Latifi, who was swiped by Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll into a heavy crash in Q1, for which Stroll received a three place grid penalty.

    Already with his own three place grid drop (ironically for his crash with Stroll), Albon had a lot of work to do coming into the weekend. Albon stopped on track after dropping out of Q1- with Williams later unable to provide the required 1.0 litre fuel sample to the FIA, as dictated by Artivle 6.5.2 of the FIA Formula 1 Technical Regulations. The driver was then disqualified from the results by the stewards.

    After qualifying, Car 23 had insufficient fuel to yield the required one litre sample.Given this situation, Car 23 is not in compliance with the requirements of Article 6.5 of the FIA Formula 1 Technical Regulations. According to Art. 6.5.2 competitors must ensure that a one litre sample of fuel may be taken from the car at any time. The procedure was followed however the one litre sample of fuel was unable to be taken. The stewards determine to apply the standard penalty for technical infringements. Therefore they took into account, that it shall be no defence to claim that no performance advantage was obtained. The stewards have received a request from Williams Racing to allow Car 23 to start the race. The stewards therefore grant permission for Car 23, Alex Albon to start the race.

    The Stewards statement.

    The late red flag in qualifying only gave drivers two minutes to cross the line from leaving the pitlane. That meant Albon had to queue at the end of the pitlane to gain track position ahead of the green light, and Williams head of vehicle performance Dave Robson believes that extended period out in the pitlane and the outlap “race” with fellow competitors may have contributed to Albon’s lack of fuel.

    We could see a problem as he came towards the pitlane at the end of that lap where something wasn’t quite right, so we opted to stop the car just to make sure we didn’t damage anything. I think the fact that we had to go and queue at the end of the pitlane after the red flag to get that lap in meant that the outlap was then a lot more aggressive than we had planned. So, I think that’s why we were a bit lower than we would’ve liked.

    Robson explained the verdict.

  • Drivers contracts

    With the new season about to start in the next few weeks, we shall be expecting drivers to sign new contracts throughout the season. So lets take a look at when they run out.

    This year we have 10 drivers from 8 different teams, whose contracts are running out. Some older drivers may think about leaving the sport depending on whether they can get a contract extension or a new contract for a different team. Other drivers may consider switching teams.

    We could potentially see some drivers from Formula 2 come up for 2023 as there is lots of young drivers in F1 teams programme, so teams may want to use their sister teams to get their backed driver in the sport. As well as this we also have Oscar Piastri who is a reserve this year waiting for a seat for next year.

    Lance Stroll is on a multi year contract, no-one officially knows how long it is but it is to be expected either till the end of this year or 2023, which will then make it 11 drivers contracts running out this year.

    With Max and Lando both getting contract extensions already this year, we could potentially see some more drivers get longer contracts too. Carlos Sainz is said to be negotiating a new contract with Ferrari.

    DriverTeamContract end
    Sergio PerezRed Bull Racing2022
    Carlos SainzFerrari2022
    Fernando AlonsoAlpine2022
    Yuki TsunodaAlphaTauri2022
    Pierre GaslyAlpha Tauri2022
    Sebastian VettelAston Martin2022
    Mick SchumacherHaas2022
    Nicholas LatifiWilliams2022
    Alex AlbonWilliams2022
    Guanyu ZhouAlfa Romeo2022
    Lewis HamiltonMercedes2023
    George RussellMercedes2023
    Daniel RicciardoMcLaren2023
    Charles LeclercFerrari2024
    Esteban OconAlpine2024
    Valtteri BottasAlfa Romeo2024
    Lando NorrisMcLaren2025
    Max VerstappenRed Bull Racing2028
    Lance StrollAston MartinUnknown

  • Young Drivers Test 2021

    The Young Drivers Test, allows an opportunity for teams to field junior drivers to gain experience in F1 machinery, this takes place once a year and always once the season has ended. Lets take a look at who is driving for which team!

    Mercedes-

    Nyck de Vries will be in the silver arrows. This is no surprise to me, as his took part in it last year. Not only this, but Nyck is a test and reserve driver for Mercedes. The dutchman has driven in Formula E since 2020 with the Mercedes EQ Formula E Team and this year he became the first ever World Champion in Formula E.

    Red Bull-

    We have Formula 2 driver, Juri Vips driving for Red Bull in the YDT. Juri is apart of the Red Bull Junior Team, once again this isn’t Vips first time in the YDT, he drove for Red Bull last year too. Vips hasn’t got anything lined up for next year he could become Red Bull’s Test and reserve driver, as Alex Albon is going to Williams next year.

    Ferrari-

    Ferrari have two drivers doing the test for them, Robert Shwartzman who is apart of the Ferrari Driver Academy, and finished 2nd this year in Formula 2 Championship. As well as Antonio Fuoco. Fuoco done his first test with the Italian team back in 2015 and was also part of the Ferrari Driver Academy up until 2019, he was then promoted to Ferrari’s F1 simulator team, this line up for Ferrari is the same as last year.

    McLaren-

    The papaya team have Pato O’Ward in the car. Pato is not a stranger to McLaren as he races in IndyCar with the McLaren Arrows, and Zak Brown made a deal with the Mexican if he won in IndyCar he will get a chance to test the F1 car, so here we are! Pato is doing another year in Indy Car next year and it is said if he wins the championship there could be a possible move for him to F1 for McLaren!

    Alpine-

    Now, Alpine has the 2021 Formula Two Champion in their car for the Young Drivers Test. Oscar Piastri is apart of the Alpine Academy and has had an amazing career winning 3 titles back to back. However that didn’t secure Oscar a seat in F1 this year… Instead he is now Alpines test and reserve driver.

    Alpha Tauri-

    Another Formula 2 driver is amongst us! This time we have Liam Lawson who is driving for Alpha Tauri. Lawson is apart of the Red Bull Junior Team, he took part in both DTM and Formula 2 this year. DTM he finished 2nd, and F2 finished 9th overall, there is no news yet to see what he is doing next year but speculation is he will do another season in F2 which will be his second year if he did.

    Aston Martin-

    Aston Martin have chosen Nick Yelloly for the test, Nick is no stranger to the Silverstone based team as he has been their simulator driver for a few years now, he now gets to test the Aston Martin.

    Williams-

    Williams have decided to put their new Academy driver into the hot seat for the young drivers test. Logan Sargeant will be making an appearance for the British team, he has confirmed he will be racing in F2 next year with Carlin, whilst also being on stand-by helping out Williams when he can.

    Alfa Romeo-

    Alfa Romeo will be putting their new driver, Guanyu Zhou in for the YDT, as well as testing the prototype car on Wednesday. Zhou, finished 3rd in the Formula 2 Championship this year, and now he is graduating to Formula One.

    Haas-

    Robert Shwartzman will also be in the car for Haas. This wasn’t meant to be his first time in a Haas car, he was actually meant to run in the first practice session of the 2020 Abu Dhabi GP but did not appear on the entry list.

  • Logan Sargeant joins Williams

    During the US Grand Prix weekend, it got announced that American racer Logan Sargeant is now officially apart of the Williams’ Driver Academy

    This year, Logan led Charouz Racing System to their first victory in Formula 3. Also their highest ever points tally, with Logan finishing seventh in the Drivers’ Standings. With a total of four podiums, including his victory in Sochi he helped the team finish 5th in the Teams’ Championship.

    His role within the British team includes simulator work and helping with the car development. We will most likely see him at a lot of race weekends next year when his not racing. Even though it has not been announced what his plans are for 2022, they will be announced in ‘due course’.

    Logan joins Roy Nissany, Jack Aitken and Jamie Chadwick in the Academy. All of them looking to be the best…

    “I am delighted to be joining the Williams Racing Driver Academy,” said Sargeant. “It’s a team with not only a fantastic history, but a great track record of bringing young talent into Formula 1. I am really excited to begin working with the team and can’t wait to hit the ground running.”

    Williams CEO Jost Capito added: “I am incredibly pleased to welcome Logan to the Williams Racing Driver Academy. He’s demonstrated his talent in FIA Formula 3, consistently delivering strong results in an extremely competitive field. I’m proud that Williams will play a part in supporting the progression and growth of another talented young driver.”

    My Opinion-

    I think this is a good move from both sides, with now the backing of Williams for Logan, he will more than likely be in Formula 2 next year, hopefully it wont be too long until we get an announcement to see his plans. It will be interesting to see how he does next year, definitely one to watch.

  • Alex Albon is back…

    The seats keep on going… I’m happy to say that Alex Albon is joining Williams Racing for 2022!

    This comes as George Russell announced he was driving for Mercedes next year, so it was only a matter of time till Williams announced their line up.

    Alex joint F1 in 2019 and made his debut with Toro Rosso, he then replaced Pierre Gasly at Red Bull Racing halfway through the season and then stayed at Red Bull for the 2020 season too. However it was over too quickly, as Red Bull announced they won’t retain him for the 2021 season and instead go for Sergio Perez. It then got announced the other week Perez will be staying at RB for the 22 season aswell.

    Alex got put into the test & reserve driver role for this year, whilst also competing in DTM.

    A Red Bull spokesperson told F1.com: “We have released Alex to become a Williams Racing driver in 2022 but retain a relationship with him that includes future options.”

    Albon said: “I am really excited and looking forward to returning to a Formula 1 race seat in 2022. When you take a year out of F1 it’s never certain you will make a return so I’m extremely thankful to Red Bull and Williams for believing in me and helping me on my journey back to the grid. It’s also been great to see all the progress Williams have been making as a team this year and I look forward to helping them continue that journey in 2022.”

    Nicholas Latifi’s contract was also up this year and it got announced at the same time as Alex’s that they will be team-mates for the 22 season. The pair use to be team-mates back in F2 where they drover for DAMs.

    Latifi said: “I’m excited to be continuing with Williams for another year; partly because of F1’s new technical regulations, but also because the team is moving in a more competitive direction with new owners, management and people on the technical side.

    My Opinion-

    I think this is great! I didn’t see Williams having two new drivers to the team, so I can understand why they wanted to retain Nicholas. For Alex its amazing to see him back, I felt like he wasn’t given a proper opportunity to show his talent before but now he is in a Williams and with a team who want to work their way back up the grid and Alex seems like the perfect driver to help them with that.

  • Round 12- Spa Race

    Well… I don’t think anyone expected it to go the way it did today…

    First of all I just want to say a big well done to the fans at Spa, I admire every single one of you for for sticking it out in the rain all day to see some racing however, the rain wasn’t holding off today.

    As we done two laps behind the safety car, half points are awarded to drivers in top 10 and I think some teams and drivers will be happy that there is at least some points awarded this weekend!

    George Russell got his first podium in F1 today and some may think its not deserved etc but in my opinion I believe it is, the way he pulls out everything from the Williams is something else. He managed to get it to start on the front row of the grid which I cant imagine isn’t easy but he very much deserves these points, trophy and a better seat…

    Big shame for Red Bull today, when Perez was going to the grid for the start of the race he crashed, and we didn’t think he was going to be able to race due to damage but the FIA said yes but only if they could get all four tyres on in time and to be honest they did it in plenty of time, however because we didn’t have any overtakes etc because of the safety car being out Perez didn’t score any points. They had a chance at free points and close down the gap in the constructors too, but it just wasn’t there day.

    The top 10 are as following: P1- Verstappen, P2- Russell, P3- Hamilton, P4- Ricciardo, P5- Vettel, P6- Gasly, P7- Ocon, P8- Leclerc, P9- Latifi and P10- Sainz.

    Hamilton now leads the championship by only 3 points, so these next two races will mean a lot to both Hamilton and Verstappen. Norris, Bottas and Perez do not move any where in the drivers championship as none of them scored points today…

    One bonus is the fact we don’t have to wait too long for the next race, we’re back next week at Zandvoort!!

  • Round 12- Spa Quali

    WOW! What a quali… I don’t think anyone expected the results we got!

    Max takes another pole position! And next to him on grid will be Mr Saturday himself, George Russell and yes I know! No-one expected that but he had the pace their all qualifying! Hamilton will be starting P3! The rest of the top 10 are: P4- Ricciardo, P5- Vettel, P6- Gasly, P7- Perez, P8- Bottas, P9- Ocon and P10- Norris. Bottas has a 5 place grid penalty which sees him start 13th.

    The rest of the grid look like this (before penalties are added) P11- Leclerc, P12- Latifi, P13- Sainz, P14- Alonso, P15- Stroll, P16- Giovinazzi, P17- Tsunoda, P18- Schumacher, P19- Raikkonen, P20- Mazepin. Stroll also has a 5 place grid penalty which means he will start P20.

    Norris was so quick in Q1 and Q2, unfortunately in Q3 he had a big shunt which ended his qualifying and chance of pole. But the main thing is seeing him get out of the car okay! His being checked over as precautionary measures as usual, updates on him and his car will come as and when there is some. *UPDATE AS OF 22:00pm (BST) Lando has been given the all clear to race tomorrow which is good news, however he does get a 5 place grid penalty because for gearbox change so he will be starting P14*

    Bottas, didn’t have the birthday he was hoping for… qualifying in P8, I expected him to be up there in top 3 at least which is a shame but at the end of the day the points are awarded tomorrow and he has a lot of work to do in the race if he wants to score a decent amount. It does make me think now that George has got himself on the front row in a Williams, will this mean George gets the seat at Mercedes? The announcement should come soon!!

    Daniel Ricciardo starting P4 tomorrow which is amazing for him and the team, definitely shows his starting to get comfortable in the car which is brilliant for the constructors fight against Ferrari, lets hope Daniel gets a good amount of points tomorrow!

    Now I definitely didn’t see both Ferrari drivers starting out of the top 10. I think the team has a lot of work to do over night and figure out a good strategy so both drivers can score points.

    Predictions-

    My top five predictions for tomorrow are: P1- Hamilton, P2- Verstappen, P3- Ricciardo, P4- Vettel and P5- Russell. I think fastest lap will go to Hamilton.

    I think Latifi has a good chance at points again tomorrow, especially if Williams nail their strategy for him. Hopefully we see Bottas finish in the top 10 and not have an incident in the rain like Hungary and Imola.

    I’m very much looking forward to tommorrow, we should see some hard racing and maybe a surprise result!

    Times for tomorrow-

    The race starts at 14:00pm (BST) and 15:00pm (CEST). Don’t forget we also have an F3 race tomorrow as well.

  • Dan Ticktum released by Williams

    Williams have officially released development driver Dan Ticktum with immediate effect. The Brit joined Williams back in 2020, after being dropped by Red Bull’s junior programme back in 2019.

    Ticktum helped Williams with their F1 team car development and also assisting them at the factory and at the race track. The reason for dropping is unknown however, Dan Ticktum took to his Instagram stories and said “Myself and Williams parted ways before the recent Latifi related incident just so people know. It wasn’t announced until now as there was no option for an F1 seat in 2022 for me. Thankyou to @williamsracing for the opportunity! Hope to work together in the future!”

    Dan is currently sitting fourth in the F2 championship, his only 19 points from the championship leader, Oscar Piastri…

    This now leaves Roy Nissany who has drove for the British team three times in FP3 this season, their reserve driver Jack Aitken and W Series champion Jamie Chadwick.

    My Opinion-

    Obviously a big shame for Dan as he hasn’t had an easy ride, first being dropped by RB and now Williams, it must be tough for him. I can’t really say much on my opinion for the reason of the departure as it hasn’t been officially announced, only what Ticktum has put onto his Instagram.

    Is this a sign for the future seats for Williams? Have they already decided on who will be in their seats this year? Only time will tell!

  • Russell VS Bottas

    The big talk in contracts recently is who will be joining Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes next year? Mercedes wanted to sort out Lewis’ contract first as both the team and himself wanted it to be done as quickly as possible, unlike last year. The main two drivers for contention are current Williams driver and Mercedes junior, George Russell and the other is current Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas.

    Russell seems to be going from strength to strength every race and season, last year he got called up last minute to replace Lewis at the Sakhir Grand Prix and I think we all saw how well he did in a car he doesn’t drive, didn’t actually fit into and had no time to prepare! We’re now currently seeing him put the Williams in and around the top 10 in Quali, seeing him fight for points and finish near the top 10. George has been at Williams for three years now after being loaned out to them from Mercedes, and his helped the British team develop so much and you can see how they have improved! Russell has also got approval of two time world champion Fernando Alonso, with George getting called “A future world champ”.

    Where as Bottas has been at Mercedes now since 2017, and his put in some good performances since his been with the team and his played a good part in the Constructors, but now this season it’s like his not there much within the team. He hasn’t had the best start to the season, his had no wins, two DNF and at one of the races he didn’t even finish in the points. Is it just simple bad luck? Or does he feel the pressure? Who knows!

    Toto Wolff, Mercedes Team Principal say “We value them both for their strengths and for what they can contribute to the team” on both George Russell and Valtteri Bottas.

    My Opinion-

    I do actually reckon a deal has been done but there holding off on announcing, I did think they would do a double announcement on the weekend of Silverstone for both Hamilton and Russell.

    However I want George in that Mercedes seat! I think he deserves it, his worked very hard in the past 3 years and I think that’s clear for everyone to see. Mercedes need to think about the future here and where they want to be after Lewis leaves…

    The thing what confuses me about Valtteri is the fact he says his fighting for championships and his said it this year as well, when in reality he isn’t… Yeah he has landed on the podium a few times this year but so has other drivers…

    The decision over the second seat will be made over the summer break and it seems that Toto Wolff has got a hard decision to make!

  • Roberts to leave Williams

    The restructure of Williams is continuing… Simon Roberts was the Team Principle of the Grove team however he is leaving the team and Jost Capito takes on the team principle duties.

    Roberts joint the British team last June as Managing Director before taking over as Acting Team Principle when the Williams family sold the team last summer, the role was then made permanent before Christmas.

    After only 100 days of being in charge, Capito has decided to complete an internal reorganisation to the reporting structure, which now means Robert’s role no longer exists in the team.

    The trackside leadership duties which were held by Roberts is now being transferred to Technical Director, Francois-Xavier Demaison which puts him in charge of technical aspects across both factory and race track.

    “Simon has played an integral role in managing the transition over the last 12 months and I would like to thank him for his great contribution during that time,” said Capito.

    Roberts added: “It has been a pleasure to take on the role of Team Principal following the departure of the Williams family from the sport. However, with the transition well underway I am looking forward to a new challenge and wish everyone in the team well for the future.”

  • 05-03-2021

    The FW43B is set to have the covers taken off on 5th of March a week before pre season testing, currently Williams are the fifth team to announce their date.

    Williams cars have all had the ‘FW’ after Sir Frank Williams. Frank and Claire (his daughter) both left the team last year after selling it to an investment firm Dorilton Capital. It is nice to see the new owners are happy to keep up the links to the teams history.

    They have managed to keep Russell and Latifi as their drivers for the 2021 season however currently there’s lots of fans of George Russell wanting him to take a seat at Mercedes in the future. Personally I can’t wait see George in a better car, we all saw his performance at Sakhir…

    Last season the car was FW43, however this years charger is an evolution of it, as all the teams will carry over lots of last years parts as its a part of cost saving measures to help cope with Covid-19 pandemic which explains why they have name it the FW43B.

    Williams just haven’t got new owners they also have their old driver Jenson Button rejoining the team as senior advisor, hopefully this gets Williams back to where they use to be. In the last three years they have finished last in the constructors championship, let’s see if they make a comeback.

    So we now have car launch dates for half the gird, this is definitely getting exciting and it means we are getting that little bit closer to testing and the first race of this season.

    Teams:Car Launch Date:
    McLaren15-02-21
    Alpha Tauri19-02-21
    Alpha Romeo22-02-21
    Mercedes02-03-21
    Williams05-03-21
    Red BullTBA
    AlpineTBA
    FerrariTBA
    HaasTBA
    Aston MartinTBA
    Updated Car Launch

  • Jenson Returns

    Button returns to Williams as a senior advisor, he started his Formula One career with the team 21 years ago but has decided to make a return as the team continues their reorganistation under new ownership.

    The team were brought by US investment firm Dorilton Capital last year, which led to Sir Frank Williams and his daughter Claire step down from their leadership roles. They have then since announced a new team principal and also a new CEO, Button has joined on a multi year deal. The team said ” He will be able to call upon his over 30 years of motosport experience to provide advice and guidance to the team at Grove with helping support and develop both race and academy drivers.”

    Throughout the 2021 season Jenson will attend a number of grand prixs with Williams, he will also take part in team events back in the UK and support Williams social media and marketing activities. Button will also combine this role with his media duties with broadcaster Sky Sports F1 which he has been doing that since the 2019 season.

    Button annoucing the news on Williams social media.

    Personally I think this is such a good move from Williams who else to have join the team than no one other than a world champion and also who use used to drive for the team too, hopefully sometime soon we will be able to see the team back where they used to be.

  • Williams To Increase Partnership with Mercedes

    Williams have been in F1 since 1978, it was first founded by Frank Williams and a British engineer called Patrick Head in 1977. Throughout the years they have gone on to win races and championships. Through 1980- 1997 they won nine constructors championship. Claire (Frank Williams daughter) took over from Frank in 2013. In September 2020, Frank and Claire Williams decided to step away from Williams and the sport but leaving their name.

    It had been sold to a New York based private investment company called Dorilton Capital in August. It has then since been announced that Jost Capito is now the chief Executive Officer and Simon Roberts is now the team principal.

    In 2014 Williams announced they was partnering with Mercedes for a power unit. The deal was originally a seven year agreement but then in 2019 they announced that from 2021 they would be working with Mercedes for a further 5 years. Claire said ” Mercedes has been one of the sports most successful engine suppliers and we believe that they will continue to have an extremely competitive package going forwards.”

    With new rules coming in 2022, Williams will now use Mercedes gearboxes and other related hydraulic components from 2022 onwards. Williams say that the increased partnership with Mercedes who have won 7 straight constructors, will enable them to implement a more efficient design and manufacturing process in the long term, which allows the team to focus it resources more effectively in other performance areas.

    Toto Wolff, the CEO and Team Principal of Mercedes said ” We are pleased to expand our technical cooperation with Williams through this new agreement. For Williams it makes sense to acquire the integrated powertrain after running our power units since 2014.” ” This is a project we’ve been discussing with Williams for some time and i’m glad we have been able to bring this extension to fruition”

    Some may ask why? But in reality it’s a good move form both Williams and Mercedes, with Formula One constantly changing with new rules coming into play including the budget caps. Its a big decision from Williams but it could well be a game changer…