£547m Formula 1 team may only field one car in Las Vegas Grand Prix practice amid parts crisis

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The resources of Formula 1 teams are stretched as they embark on the final triple-header of the season, starting with the Las Vegas Grand Prix next weekend. It’s not just those in the midfield who are feeling the squeeze.

Mercedes won’t bring any more upgrades before the end of the season after George Russell’s accidents in the United States (qualifying) and Mexico (practice). This is to ensure they comply with F1’s budget cap.

The Silver Arrows have had to invest their limited funds in repairing the car, rather than developing it. Likewise, Sergio Perez’s crashes may have hampered Red Bull.

Earlier this year, Perez led the way for crash damage. He was involved in a particularly expensive shunt at the Monaco GP in May after tangling with the two Haas cars on the opening lap.

A number of team principals will be especially nervous on the Las Vegas GP pitwall. Given that it’s a narrow street circuit, particularly in the middle third of the lap, the likelihood of a crash is increased.

At 24 races, the schedule is more demanding than ever. According to F1 photographer and paddock insider Kym Illman, speaking on his YouTube channel, one squad find themselves in a crisis.

Franco Colapinto and Williams may have to sit out Las Vegas Grand Prix practice

Williams are apparently dealing with a major part shortage heading to Nevada. This could force them to run only one car during practice as part of a preservation effort.

In these circumstances, the £547m team (Forbes) would likely favour Alex Albon. Albon is far more experienced than newcomer Franco Colapinto and remains the team’s best points of any given weekend despite the Argentine’s impressive start.

This would be ‘disappointing’ for the 21-year-old, who’s auditioning for a 2025 race seat. One report claims Vegas marks the deadline to resolve Colapinto’s future.

“There will be great interest in Williams, because they’ve suffered some major damage over the past couple of races with crashes,” Illman said. “That could lead to them not being able to field two cars, certainly in all practice sessions, and maybe in the race.

“Is it a money thing? No, I understand from a few people I’ve spoken to today it’s more to do with parts. At this stage of the year, and we only have three races left to go, this being the first race of a tripleheader, many of the teams just don’t have a full inventory of spare parts.

“It’s not out of the question that they might, say, just run one car in FP1 and FP2, perhaps even in FP3, and hope they get through those sessions without any further damage. It would certainly be disappointing for Franco Colapinto if he was asked to sit out in those practice sessions, given the fact that he’s only got a nine-race tenure.”

Every Williams crash in 2024 including four Logan Sargeant shunts

Williams came into the year without a spare chassis. That meant they only had one car available when Albon crashed heavily in Australian GP practice, and James Vowles took the decision to bench Logan Sargeant.

Vowles overhauled Williams’ processes over the winter, leading to production delays. Early incidents for Albon and Sargeant exacerbated the issue.

Sargeant lost his seat after wrecking an upgrade package in practice at Zandvoort. But predictably, Colapinto has also made costly mistakes in his early races.

Williams racked up a seven-figure bill in Brazil last time out, with Albon unable to even take part in the race after crashing in Sunday morning qualifying. Colapinto also hit the wall in that session but made the start, only to cause terminal damage during a safety-car period.