Coming off a disappointing Miami Grand Prix Williams team boss James Vowles explained the issues that caused Alexander Albon in both qualifying and the race.
In the YouTube series aptly named ‘The Vowles Verdict’ on the team’s official channel, he revealed the Thai suffered extensive floor damage after he hit the same bollard, or what remained of it, as Max Verstappen did earlier in the race, causing him to a monstrous lock-up at turn 11 in the closing laps.
“Referring to is Alex’s large lock-up that he had in the race: that wasn’t related to the tyres,” Vowles explained. “Actually, on lap 50, Alex went across the same bollard that Verstappen did, and he broke the floor, and the damage was huge.
“We didn’t realise how much instantaneously, but just a lap later it became very clear how much it was, and it was something circa a second or so of lap time performance, just to give everyone an idea.
“And it meant that when he hit the brakes coming into 11, there was no downforce to stop the car. He locked up, lost all those positions and went off.”
Albon also struggled with the tyres in qualifying, although he wasn’t only one. High track temperatures meant the Pirelli rubber couldn’t be stressed fully for an entire lap, which in turn meant drivers had to sacrifice either the first or last part of the lap.
“The track temperatures were over 50 degrees Celsius, and what was happening was that if you extracted just a little bit too much performance out of that first sector, out of those high speed corners, the tyres were done. You weren’t able to get a lap time out of them afterwards.
“The converse is, and our drivers did it, many drivers commented the same, if you under hit that first sector and always have the rest of the lap, you weren’t sure how much time you left on the table, and it was a fine balancing act between those two, but in those very, very warm temperatures, the tyres were just overheating and struggling as a result.”
Vowles also commented on the impact Logan Sargeant’s crash has on future developments. The American driver connected with Kevin Magnussen on lap 28, which sent his FW46 backwards in the TecPro barriers, significantly damaging the rear of the car.
“The damage was extensive, and at a point in the season where we’re trying to focus on bringing future performance, it does hinder us and hold us back slightly,” Vowles described the issues the crash introduces. “You still need a stock of elements in order to go racing. It was rear suspension, gearbox, and floor.
“It won’t have a material knock-on on the next three races because simply those rewarding the pipeline along the way through. Imola might be a little bit more tough than it was previously. We’ll have to work around what componentry we have as a result of it.”
