The Las Vegas GP is approaching this weekend. A new track that is causing a huge stir among fans all over the world. The race, starting at 10 p.m. local time in the cold Nevada weather, represents a major opportunity for Williams according to Alex Albon.
Temperatures are exactly the variable on which the team focuses its energies. The FW45 tends to struggle in hotter temperatures, so the Thai is expecting a better weekend for them here.
“For Vegas, the stars should hopefully align.
“It’s a track that should suit us in terms of its layout, but it should also suit us in terms of its temperature.
“So qualifying is going to be a real big interest I think for everyone to try to get the tyres to work in that temperature. That really won’t be easy. But that suits us much more.”
His teammate, Logan Sargeant — who has a close history with Las Vegas — shares the same opinion.
“For me, it’s going to be a really cool one, obviously. I raced there so many times as a kid in karting, so to come back, it’s going to be amazing. It always treated me well in the past, so hopefully that will continue this year.
“These high temperatures don’t help us. I think especially for Vegas, to have low temperatures, night race, low drag, hopefully it works.”
On the other hand, worrying the driver of car number 23 is the surface and the type corners at this circuit.
“It’s quite a simple circuit in terms of its layout, it’s quite easy to learn. The track is quite interesting, there’s quite a few combined corners, which are not easy for front-locking, which is not great for our car, but that’s fine.
“The one thing which will be interesting is the roughness and the bumps of the track, how well of a job have they done or not.”
Photo Credit: Williams Racing
The easiness by which the circuit can be learnt will collide with the bumpiness of the track. The drivers will have to find the best way to race lap after lap, looking over their shoulders on a circuit that, according to Albon, promises plenty of fights.
“And also, I think in terms of racing, there’s going to be a lot of overtakes, because at least from what I drove, there’s a lot of opportunities, a lot of places you can overtake. So let’s see, but it’s okay. I actually didn’t mind it.
“In its layout, the straights are absolutely massive. For example, Mexico, there should be more overtaking than there is. I mean, there is a massive straight. But the way that the Sector 3 is designed is not good for racing. And so it’s so hard to stay close out of the last corner.
“There’s one example of that in Vegas, where technically there should be an overtaking spot straight, but the corners before don’t allow you to say that close.
“Everyone thinks it’s the high-speed corners that it’s harder to stay close. And it’s not, it’s really the low-speed corners that we struggle to stay close, because the front end in these cars is so difficult, especially when the cars are so heavy.
“As soon as you lose the front in the low speed, you’re gone. But in Vegas, especially coming out of the last corner into Turn 1, it’s a corner that’s not that hard to stay close. So I think you’ll get quite a lot of overtaking. I hope it’s not too easy.”
Heading into this weekend, Williams hold a 7-point lead over the charging AlphaTauri in the battle for P7 in the standings.
