Spanish GP: Qualifying frustrations for Williams Racing

By Williams Racing
June 23 2024

There had been moments of promise for the Williams Racing Team in the lead-up to qualifying for the 2024 Spanish GP but the session would see both Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant unable to deliver on these with the pair finishing 19th & 20th. Despite the view that the team has made a step forward with the FW46 over the 2023 car the team continued to struggle with the fact that their main rivals have also found performance. Added onto this was an issue which became public in regard to some newly supplied floors which were not producing the desired performance. The team had been trying to address the issue during practice but for Logan come qualifying it hampered his pace. Given their starting positions Sunday's race is going to be tough but the reports of rain may lend itself to an opportunity for the team and drivers.


Williams Racing Spanish Grand Prix Qualifying



	Logan Sargeant: "Unfortunately, the cars weren’t the same spec in the end. The floors that we’ve brought are underperforming which is a shame. We’ve been working hard all weekend by trying to change things to get the floors to work as they should. It was slightly better in Qualifying than it was in FP3. We need to understand the problem and get it fixed for the future. It’s not great for me or the team and none of us want to be in this position. We’ll keep fighting no matter the situation."

	Alex Albon: "We knew that FP3 wouldn't be representative, although we finish Qualifying a bit disappointed. The long corners at this track haven't suited us for the past few years, but the car felt good today and we've made a huge step compared to last year. There was maybe a corner or two where I could’ve squeezed more out of the car, but it felt good overall, and I think highlights how strong the midfield is at this stage of the season. It's very close out there so we’ll see what opportunities come our way tomorrow."

	Sven Smeets Sporting Director: "We knew it was going to be very tight in the midfield and that we had to be on top of our game from the start. Unfortunately, today’s performance was not good enough to get us into Q2. The positive of today is that the drivers like the balance of the FW46 more than last year’s car which confirms that we have made a good improvement from the FW45. Tomorrow there is a chance of rain before and towards the end of the race. It will be much cooler, which may create some opportunities."

Track: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Spain			Lap Length: 4.657 km

Pos	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3
19	A Albon	Williams Racing	1:13.153	-	-
20	L Sargeant	Williams Racing	1:13.509	-	-