Williams F1 quickly identified issues with its car in 2023, as explained by the Performance Director, Dave Robson.
Wheel lock-ups were promptly detected, and the team then focused on understanding this recurring problem.
“We left Bahrain knowing what our limits were; the tendency to lock the front inner wheel seemed quite high,” said Robson.
“And it can be very costly and also depends somewhat on the wind, a factor to which Williams remains particularly sensitive.”
![Williams F1 Pinpoints its Weakness in 2023](https://sportsaldente.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Williams-F1-Pinpoints-its-Weakness-in-2023.jpg)
“But based on the Bahrain tests, we were able to put some of the parts we had already designed into production, keeping that in mind. So, we saw a constant improvement in the early races, but it’s still a bit of our Achilles’ heel.”
However, Williams struggled to identify issues with the FW45 and realized that the lack of braking support was to blame: “Part of the problem is that we don’t know exactly what’s going on.”
“I think, as always with these things, it’s a combination of everything. We probably can’t put as much aerodynamic support on the front of the car in this phase as we would like.”
“There’s obviously a lot to gain from driving with a relatively stiff car, and once you trigger that lock-up, it has an aerodynamic effect in itself, and you end up in a bit of a spiral.”
“But I think it’s something we’ve got a good handle on, and that’s what we’ve been doing over the past two years. We’ll see in February whether we understand it or not. But I think we’ve taken some decent measures to try and improve it on next year’s car.”
Note: Williams has just announced the presentation time for its car next Monday, February 5. It will take place at 9:40 am in New York, which is 3:40 pm in France, and can be watched live on the Internet.
Official presentation dates for 2024 F1 cars:
- February 2 – Haas F1 VF-24 at 3 pm (livery, online)
- February 5 – Williams F1 FW46 at 3:40 pm (New York)
- February 5 – Stake F1 Team (London)
- February 7 – Alpine F1 A524 (location still unknown)
- February 8 – Visa Cash App RB (Las Vegas)
- February 11 – Haas F1 VF-24 (shakedown)
- February 12 – Aston Martin F1 AMR24 (Silverstone)
- February 13 – Ferrari SF-24 (Maranello)
- February 14 – Mercedes F1 W15 (Silverstone)
- February 14 – McLaren F1 MCL38 (location still unknown)
- February 15 – Red Bull RB20 (location still unknown)