Italian GP: Sprint sees little gain for Williams Racing

By Andrew Hooper
September 12 2021

The 2021 Italian GP Sprint would see the Williams Racing Team come away with little in terms of improving their positions for Sundays race. George Russell and Nicholas Latifi would start in 15th and 16th but at the end of the eighteen lap race Nicholas was 14th and George 15th. Both drivers had started on the medium tyre. After other driver penalties Sundays race will see Nicholas and George start from 13th and 14th.

Williams Racing Italian GP Sprint

The Saturday Sprint for the 2021 Italian Grand Prix would be run over eighteen laps with the Williams Racing Team drivers George Russell and Nicholas Latifi starting from 15th and 16th. The tyres that they would be using were the medium. On pole would be Bottas from Hamilton and Verstappen third. Norris would be fourth followed by Ricciardo, Gasly, Sainz, Leclerc, Perez and Giovinazzi in tenth. Bottas would start on the medium joined by Verstappen, Gasly, Sainz, Leclerc, Perez and both Haas cars. On the soft were Hamilton, Norris, Ricciardo, Vettel, Stroll, Alonso, Ocon and Tsunoda.

After the parade lap the grid would form and with the start it would be Bottas leading while we would see Gasly crash after losing the front wing under his car. Kubica would also spin seeing the Safety Car come out while for Williams Nicholas was 14th but George was down in 17th. Kubica had been spun trying to go around the outside of Tsunoda and they would make contact. The order was Bottas, Verstappen, Ricciardo, Norris, Hamilton, Leclerc, Sainz, Giovinazzi, Stroll and Perez tenth. The Safety Car would come in on lap four and Bottas would resume his lead of the Sprint.

George would pass Schumacher for 16th with Nicholas still 14th. Verstappen was 1.7s behind Bottas with Ricciardo a similar margin behind in third. George would pass Mazepin to now be 15th right behind his team-mate. Lap ten and the order was the same with Bottas still leading from Verstappen and Ricciardo. Perez and Stroll were fighting over ninth while Alonso was close behind in 11th. The Williams cars were still running in 14th and 15th with sixteen laps completed. The final lap would be completed and it would be Bottas winning from Verstappen, Ricciardo, Norris, Hamilton, Leclerc, Sainz, Giovinazzi, Perez and Stroll tenth.

But Bottas would take an engine penalty which would see him start Sundays race from last and as such Verstappen would be on pole. Ricciardo would be second followed by Norris, Hamilton, Leclerc, Sainz, Giovinazzi, Perez, Stroll and Alonso tenth. The Williams drivers would be 13th and 14th on the grid come Sunday.