Welcome Drivers!

This is the first of ten constructor deep dives that we will be doing prior to the start of the 2023 season. We will be using a reserve grid format based on the results of last season.

First up on the list is Williams as they finished in last place in 2022.

Williams 2022 Performance

Williams had yet another difficult season in 2022. They were only able to muster a lowly 8 points. This was 27 points behind the 9th place team AlphaTauri. This once legendary outfit has become accustomed to scraping the bottom of the barrel in F1. They have finished in last place in 4 of the past 5 seasons and have not scored more than 30 points in a season since the 2017 campaign.

With George Russell moving to Mercedes in 2022, Alex Albon led the team with 4 points while Nicholas Latifi and Nick de Vries each chipped in another 2 points. To be fair there was not much any of these drivers could do. The car Williams put out last season was simply not up to snuff. Its possible that they purposefully did not bring many upgrades last season in an attempt to save money and come out swinging in 2023.

Williams’ bright spot in 2022 had to be their performance in Monza. With Albon ailing from appendicitis, Nick de Vries got behind the wheel. He was able to qualify 13th and the pieces fell in place where he was running P8 during the race. Fortunately for Williams, low downforce tracks were one of their strong suits in 2022 so de Vries was able to hold of Zhou on pure pace. He was able to finish in P8 and equal Latifi’s points total for the season in just one race.

Unfortunately for Williams, de Vries instant success led to multiple teams courting him and he eventually signed with AlphaTauri for the 2023 season.

To us, it’s disappointing to see one of the most successful teams in F1 history flopping around with their head cut off. To be honest, given the current structure of F1 and how much money teams need to be successful, Williams may never be able to claw their way back to the top. Who knows, new regulations can cause a lot of churn in the F1 ranks. Regardless of new regs, major changes need to be made at Williams for them to get back into the fold.

Looking Ahead to 2023

Leadership, Management & Partnerships

Jost Capito stepped away from the team principal position at the end of the 2022 season and Dorilton Capital (Williams owners) decided to part ways with technical director at the same time. Williams was able to find a replacement for Capito relatively quickly in former Mercedes strategy chief James Vowles but he will not be able to start until right before pre-season testing begins. This means that he will basically be coming into the FW45 completely blind on the development progress the team has made so far.

A big surprise from Williams FW45 launch was the new sponsorship with Gulf. We all saw the Gulf/Maclaren livery in Monaco last year and maybe Williams is looking to do something similar. That livery was a fan favorite and Gulf is a respected name in the F1 community. On top of Gulf Williams representatives have stated they have more partnerships launches planned this season.

Development

Despite the turnover in management positions the car development and production have reportedly not been disturbed. Sources are saying that the numbers look good and Williams has seemingly taken a step in the right direction in terms of development. Dave Robson, Williams Head of Vehicle Performance, was quoted saying, “Philosophically, it’s an evolution.”

Alex Albon has told people he believe the package is a step forward based on the work he has done in the simulator. We are hesitant to believe performance jump will be significant relative to other teams. Williams had a bad car last year so any small improvement will feel like a great difference.

The primary updates to the car are the floor and the sidepods. Williams deviated from a Mercedes style sidepod to something more in line with Red Bull’s. They were constrained by their radiator and did not want to risk moving those parts around but they had an opportunity to lay things out differently than last year.

On a slightly different note, development is highly dependent on the financial health of the team. Williams had been relying on the funding that came with having Latifi as one of their drivers. Since that is no longer the case they need to make up the funds from other sources.

James Bower, Williams commercial director, has dismissed any claims that Williams is in a worsened financial position without the presence of Latifi. He went on to talk about the new partner launches they have planned throughout the season and feels like they are in a more “robust” financial position than in previous seasons.

If what he says is true, we think that Williams may have the opportunity to develop their car throughout the year. If they have any opportunity to compete in the midfield we think they should. But if it is just another year of Q1 exits and subpar cars we think they should save all of their resources for the 2026 regulation changes. This will give them the most opportunity to make the jump they are looking for.

Additionally, we think it is critical for Williams to find a way to upgrade their facilities. This will allow them to produce better cars and recruit high caliber drivers rather than fighting for the scraps of F1. They also should think about getting out from under Mercedes’ wing. They are a historic team and should not be putting themselves in the position to be second fiddle to anyone.

Driver Lineup

Alex Albon returns for his second season at Williams. He is expected to be the leader of the team and to help guide Williams back to their competitive ways. The team is expected to rely heavily on Albon in terms of feedback on car performance. When opportunities arrive for Williams, Albon will be the guy to pounce on it.

While Albon is the leader, more focus will be on Logan Sargeant. He is one of three rookies joining the ranks of F1 this season. Sargeant is the first American driver to race in F1 since 2015 and the first full-time American driver since 2007. He has a tall order getting up to speed in F1 trim. He participated in the end of season tests for Williams last year and the team was impressed by his consistent lap times and feedback. For the FW45, he will only have a maximum of 12 hours in the car prior to the start of the season. It is imperative that he gets to grips with the car to start producing as early as possible.

Sargeant and Albon have not spent much time together in the off-season. It is reported when they have been together they get along well. Albon will be expected to mentor Sargeant to help get him comfortable in F1. This will be a tricky task for Albon because he will also have to focus on maximizing his own opportunities. Overall there doesn’t seem to be any bad blood between these two and we don’t think there will be any drama between them this season.

2023 Predictions

We think the best possible outcome for Williams this year is P7. That is only if they make good strides in development relative to other teams. They are already behind the ball for this generation of cars and it will take a lot of time and effort to make up that gap. In all seriousness, unless we see a drastic uptick in performance we expect another P9 or P10 finish from Williams.

If it is apparent from the beginning of the 2023 season that they will not be competitive, we think they will pack up shop similar to what they did in 2022. We don’t see a real opportunity for Williams if they do not get their development right this season. They have a talented driver in Albon so they need to try to maximize everything they can this year to help them moving forward.

Upcoming Posts and Reader Feedback

Our next post will be a continuation of the deep dives into each team for their 2023 outlook. We will try to get out one a day considering we have limited time before the pre-season testing starts in late February.

If you like the post please subscribe to the newsletter. We try to publish 2-3 articles a week and will be doing in-depth breakdowns as the season gets going. Feel free to leave any comments or recommendations on topics you would like to be covered. Thanks for reading!