According to Alex Albon, the Williams Formula 1 team will need to deploy a "rolling pin" to make sure the 2023 car has the consistency that its forerunners lacked.
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Albon, who took over for George Russell this season at the Grove outfit after a year on the sidelines, claims that the FW44’s performance over a variety of circuits was too peaky. Albon only registered three points in 2022, with a best finish of eighth at Miami. He anticipates that the new FW45 will be more consistently competitive and give the squad more opportunities to score points. It seems like we’ve had a year that’s been quite comparable to what George was doing before, he added. I haven’t always been swift around the track. Our automobile is quite distinctive. It seems to fit a specific track feature. And when they do, we appear to be able to maximise them.
“I believe that we have performed admirably on Saturday this year as well, which has given us opportunities where we otherwise wouldn’t have been in contention. Because we want to be battling more frequently on the performance front, it has undoubtedly also been disappointing in some aspects. “We occasionally encountered circumstances in which we were P19 and P20. And that’s kind of where we were—taking chances when others weren’t succeeding or weren’t at the top of their games.
Albon advised the team to be aware of the areas where the new car needs to be improved. He said, “My primary point basically is that you can’t leave any stone untouched.” In terms of driver feedback, what the guys see in terms of GPS data, and where we’re losing in particular bends, the car’s limitations are very obvious. The areas that need improvement are pretty evident. But clearly, getting there is another matter. Prior to this year, specifically 2016, there were indications of this kind of balance in the car, so getting the rolling pin out and beginning to smooth it out is certainly a top priority for us. We must investigate all possibilities; we cannot place the blame just on one team member.
Albon emphasised that the team advanced in 2022. “If you simply consider where we were at the beginning of the year, we were well behind going into the winter testing. And as the season progressed, we began to remove weight from the vehicle. Our improvements worked. We didn’t have as many enhancements as other teams; I believe we just had one significant update. In order to catch up, we thoroughly comprehended the automobile. I believe we also climbed up onto the tyres. “We’re still learning them, but with the correct tyre setup and making the most of that circumstance, we could frequently outperform the car. However, we don’t want to rank as the 10th-fastest team going forward.
