Belgian GP: Frustrating qualifying for Williams Racing


By Williams Racing
July 29 2023

Qualifying for the 2023 Belgian GP would be a frustrating session for the Williams Racing Team with both drivers not making it through into Q2. Alex Albon would finish 16th and Logan Sargeant 18th in a session that was dominated by a wet but drying track throughout the opening period. In full wet conditions the FW45 behaved well but once the track started to dry it became very difficult for either Alex or Logan to get the best out of it in the tricky conditions. For Logan his car had been damaged in a FP1 accident and he would only get out in qualifying with enough time to do one timed lap. Not the result the team was hoping for prior to the event but regardless there is both the Sprint and Sundays race in which they can improve.

 
 Williams Racing Belgian GP Qualifying Review
Sargeant
 
Sargeant 
 

Logan Sargeant:
"A disappointing day for sure, knowing our potential coming here. I think in this condition we always struggle a bit when the track is drying. Being delayed compromised my session but still a big thank you to the team for putting in a great effort to get us out there. It’s a tough one, having a second set of tyres would’ve put us in a much better position. Having to do my best lap on the third lap of the tyre in drying conditions is never good. Confidence was there it was simply lack of grip. We had good potential, but it’s not been the cleanest day. We’ll turn it around and see what we can do tomorrow."

Albon

Alex Albon:
"It was a tough one today. I don’t think we have the downforce for this kind of weather and were just sliding a lot, which overheats the tyres quickly and makes finishing a lap without the tyres going off a struggle. It wasn’t our day today; we’d prefer it to be fully wet or fully dry, as these mixed conditions make it tricky for us. We know our issues, it’s just not obvious how to fix them. We should be okay if the conditions are dry or fully wet but today was tricky and I normally like these conditions."

Robson
 

Dave Robson, Head of Vehicle Performance:
"Inevitably in Spa, the day was dominated by the weather and conditions were quite different in FP1 and Q1. In FP1 the track remained very wet and the car was behaving well in those conditions on the intermediate tyre. Both drivers lost front grip when braking for T5 in the wettest conditions and this unfortunately led to some damage on Logan’s car, which delayed his appearance in Q1.

In qualifying, the track dried incredibly quickly and although we were right to stop for a 2nd set of tyres with Alex, the run plan and tyre state didn’t quite suit the improving track. Logan drove well especially considering that he only had time for a single run and had to adapt to the conditions very quickly.

It is frustrating not to have qualified for Q2 as we could have done well as the track became ready for the slicks. Nonetheless, there is still a lot of the weekend yet to come and there are opportunities, both tomorrow and on Sunday, to improve our position."

Albon
 
Albon
 

Track: Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps   

Lap Length: 7.004 km
Pos Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3
16 A Albon Williams Racing 2:00.314    - -
18 L Sargeant Williams Racing 2:01.535 - -
 
Albon
 

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