“We just have to solve the qualifying,” Jost Capito reveals reason behind Williams’ disappointing race performances

Williams F1 team boss, Jost Capito believes that the team’s disappointing qualifying performances are in hindering their performances in the races and stopping them from displaying their true potential.

Williams are currently running at the bottom of the Constructor’s championship with 3 points to their name, all being the courtesy of Alex Albon, whose heroics have earned him praise, and crucial points in Australia and Miami, with the general consensus being that he is ‘out driving’ the car. In contrast to him, his teammate, Canadian-born Nicholas Latifi has not finished any of the races above 14th this season, and as always, has been subject to all forms of memes and been the butt of jokes.

Despite this, Williams’ team principal Jost Capito feels that there is room for improvement, and there is more performance in store from the British team than it would seem at the moment. He believes that they are in need of a bit of luck.

In an interview with Motorsport.com, Capito said: “It’s difficult to get points when you’re qualifying in position 18/19.”

Alex Albon qualified in 18th place for the Miami Grand Prix due to issues with tire temperature, despite running in the top 10 in practice. He was able to climb his way to 10th place and was upgraded to 9th after Fernando Alonso’s post-race penalty. Speaking on his result, Albon had said: “We were in the top 10 for two free practice sessions, and so generally there. It wasn’t low fuel or anything like that, we were there on pure pace. So to get the P10 is, I feel, where we should have been all weekend.“

Capito affirmed the Thai driver’s statement and backed his team for stronger results over the course of the season.

“So you need some luck as well, that something happens ahead of you. But still, the race speed and the race performance of the car is really good.”

Praising Albon, Capito said: “Alex did an outstanding race again [in Miami], he is a fantastic race driver, and he can show that. And it shows the potential of the car, that you can go the speed of the midfield in race speed, we just have to solve the qualifying, and get that better result.”

“A race like Miami, you know things can happen and you just have to keep out of trouble. I think that’s very difficult for the drivers is that not to push too hard, but not to be too relaxed as well and be there when it counts. And Alex is brilliant in that.”

Also Read: Nicholas Latifi admits a lack of “Confidence and trust” in his Williams challenger

Albon’s Season, and Spain

Alex Albon is having a fantastic season over at Williams. He’s earned points in both Australia and the most recent race in Miami, and even impressed in an 11th placed Imola finish. In Imola, he had failed to set a time in the (normal) qualifying session, starting dead last. He finished 18th in the sprint, and from there he got to 11th. This is following a pattern of him consistently finishing above what he has qualified at for every race.

In Australia, he was disqualified from the qualifying session because a large enough sample could not be extracted from his car, which meant he would start 20th. He took that, and then finished in the points. In Miami, he qualified 18th, and finished in the points, yet again.

Talking about his race, Albon had said that:

“Of course, we lucked into a little bit of collisions with the cars in front, but we were right there behind them, catching them as well. So I’m really happy. It was a really strong weekend.”

And this statement echoed Capito’s own statement: “The anomaly is qualifying. And we kind of need to understand where to get the performance back, because I think we got it in Bahrain, and we just just lost our footing a little bit.”

Albon felt that he had the pace in Miami, and disregarded the assumption that the result was just a case of pure luck.

Albon will not be participating in FP1 of the Spanish Grand Prix, where he will be replaced by Nyck de Vries, in line with a new FIA ruling.

Albon said of the track and the upcoming race weekend: “It’s a good track, and one that every driver has done countless laps around, more so than any other circuit. That familiarity will work in my favour this weekend and help me get up to speed more quickly after sitting out FP1 whilst Nyck is in the car. We’re hungry for more points after Miami, so that’s what we’ll continue to push for.”

Nicholas Latifi will also be hoping for points in Spain, as he has been unable to score any this season as of yet.

Also Read: “We have contracts with both drivers and we respect them,” Jost Capito shreds out all the questions about driver lineup change.

Also Read: “That familiarity will work in my favour this weekend” Alex Albon doesn’t see missing out on FP1 in Barcelona as a major problem