“Going to cause mayhem,” Williams warns the F1 paddock of a chaotic sprint weekend in Baku
Williams is currently tenth in the Formula 1 championship.
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Williams FW45 (Credits: @WilliamsRacing/Twitter)
Williams Racing’s team boss, James Vowles, believes that the new sprint format in Baku will be chaotic. The Azerbaijan Grand Prix scheduled for next weekend will mark the first sprint race of the 2023 season. Many Formula 1 personalities have shared their opinions about the sprint race on a street track in Baku. There is a mixed reaction regarding the new format.
The new plan involves two qualifying sessions, and sprint, and a feature race. This would mean less practice time. Baku already has a history of causing havoc. Now with the sprint race, James Vowles thinks it could be tricky. However, Williams hopes for a strong weekend there as the track would suit their car. Alex Albon finished tenth in the Bahrain GP, and it was a huge boost to the team. The team hopes to score points in Baku as well.
James Vowles stated, “It’s going to be a sprint race weekend, potentially with slight modifications to the rules that we’ve had previously. That work is now ongoing in the background to understand how we should restructure that race weekend and what the implications will be for everyone. Irrespective of whether the rules change or not, a sprint race weekend at that tight, twisty track where you go through the castle section is going to cause a little bit of mayhem.”
James Vowles believes Baku will suit Williams FW45
Vowles further added there would be difficulties, and irrespective of that, Williams has to move forward. “We’re three rounds through this 23-race season, and encouraging is the primary word that comes to mind. We’ve been there or thereabouts in the ability to fight for points at every single one of those rounds so far. That will continue as we go forward at the next few races. We have Baku coming up, a track that should suit the capabilities of our car.”
The Williams team principal is aware the team is tenth in the championship standings after the first three rounds with just a point. Vowles thinks it is not a fair reflection of the work. He insisted they worked hard. He feels the car has more potential and has more to offer. Williams had the capacity to score points in all the races.
Williams hired James Vowles, the ex-Mercedes chief strategist, as their team principal for the 2023 season. Vowles was part of a winning team and has brought that experience to Williams. They hoped if anyone could turn things around for the team, it would be him. The team had a strong start to the new season. Their American rookie, Logan Sargeant, also showed promises. He finished higher than the other two rookies on their F1 debut. Only three rounds are over; there is a long way to go. Williams is hopeful about their new season.
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Sugantha Meena
(493 Articles Published)