Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant warned Williams will have ‘Achilles’ heel’ with 2024 F1 car

Follow us on Google Discover

Williams head of vehicle performance Dave Robson has warned Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant that their 2024 Formula 1 car will carry over an ‘Achilles’ heel’ from last year.

The Grove squad completed the grid for the 2024 season in December by retaining Sargeant after the American’s rookie season. His solitary point helped Williams to claim seventh place in the constructors’ championship. Albon secured 27 of the team’s 28 points over 22 rounds.

Albon’s results were also enough for the 27-year-old to finish the season 13th in the drivers’ standings. Sargeant ended his rookie campaign in 21st with just Nyck de Vries, who failed to score any points during his 10 rounds for AlphaTauri, ending the year below the 23-year-old.

Alex Albon spearheaded Williams’ rise up the F1 constructors’ championship

What Albon achieved in the FW45 was also enough to single-handedly launch Williams from last in the 2022 constructors’ standings. The London-born Thai utilised their car’s straight-line speed to deliver brilliant defensive drives for P7 finishes at the Canadian and Italian GPs.

They were Albon’s and Williams’ best results of the season as he thwarted rivals like Esteban Ocon and Lando Norris. The Alpine and McLaren drivers could not find a route to pass Albon in Montreal or Monza. But locking the front brakes into slow corners was a consistent issue.

Williams chief Dave Robson issues a warning about the FW46’s ‘Achilles’ heel’

Williams struggled from the very start of the 2023 season at F1’s sole official test in Bahrain with front locking. The Grove squad worked throughout the year to dial out locking up the unloaded front tyre. But head of vehicle performance Robson fears it will continue in 2024.

“We came out of Bahrain knowing where some of the limitations were,” Robson outlined to The Race. “The tendency to lock the inside front wheel seemed quite high. And that can be quite costly, and is also a little bit dependent on the wind.

“But we were able, on the basis of the Bahrain test, to put into production some of the parts we’d already designed but with that in mind. So, we saw that steadily improve over the opening races but it’s still a little bit of an Achilles’ heel.”

Robson’s admission about Williams’ fears might alarm Albon about his 2024 hopes with pre-season testing just a month away. The two-time podium finisher with Red Bull in 2020 noted in December that he feels he ‘deserves to be fighting for podiums’ and potentially race wins.