British GP: Qualifying sees more competitive Williams Racing


By Williams Racing
July 7 2024

In what was a session run under changing track conditions qualifying for the 2024 British GP would see the Willimas Racing Team come away with their best qualifying performance to date with Alex Albon finishing in 9th and Logan Sargeant 12th. The session would see the drivers have to start on intermediate tyres but as the session progressed the track would start to dry such that the later periods would see both drivers switch to the soft tyre. Both Alex and Logan would be able to move past Q1 with good performances but the second would see Logan miss out on Q3 by a few tenths. Despite this his performance was a real step forward. As for Alex he was able to finish in 9th but felt that 8th could have been a possibility. So with the pair looking at the prospect of points in Sunday's race it will all come down to the team making the best out of their positions as well as a bit of good fortune coming their way in what could be a race run under again changeable weather conditions.

 
 Williams Racing British Grand Prix Qualifying
Albon
 
Sargeant 
 

Logan Sargeant:
"It’s been a good weekend so far considering I missed FP1 and only had a few low fuel laps before coming into Qualifying today. It’s not been easy with the constant change in conditions. Going into Quali we expected it to be wet and it just about dried for Q1. We had the car in a decent place throughout the session and I’m proud of the way I was able to deliver laps when it mattered. I was reasonably happy with my Q2 lap; I lost a little bit through Becketts picking up some understeer which cost me a tenth or two. Tomorrow looks as variable as today in terms of weather but we’re in the mix. I’ll do my homework tonight on both conditions to be ready for whatever comes."

Albon

Alex Albon:
"We had a great car to be honest and managed to hold on into Q3, with the weather keeping everyone on their toes. I think I picked up a little damage on my Q2 lap, so was slightly compromised in Q3, however it was nothing major. I’m not sure if P8 was on the cards but I’m very happy. I think after a tough few races, I enjoyed that. We’ve not quite been on the pace all weekend, struggling with a certain balance limitation in the car but I think the track temperatures helped us as the tyres were able to last a bit longer. With potential mixed conditions tomorrow, it will be a fun race with a few different strategies so hopefully, we can fight for some good points."

Smeets
 

Sven Smeets Sporting Director:
"The weather made this afternoon’s Qualifying session probably one of the most difficult ones of this year. After starting on the Intermediate, it became clear quickly that at some point we had to change to slicks, it was just picking the right moment of when to do that final push lap. Both drivers drove well in their all deciding push lap and moved into Q2. Logan came close to being in Q3 for the first time this season. A small error cost him some time but he can look back on a very good weekend so far after missing FP1 and will be looking to fight for points from his P12 starting position. With Alex, we managed to move into Q3 after a great lap in Q2. With P9, we are probably close to the performance of the car, but we looked competitive in our race runs on Friday, so we’ll fight hard to stay in the points tomorrow. The weather looks as though we’ll have more of the same as today, so it will be an interesting race with lots of opportunities. "

Sargeant
 
Albon
 

Track: Silverstone Circuit, United Kingdom

Lap Length: 5.891 km
Pos Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3
9 A Albon Williams Racing 1:31.135 1:26.933 1:26.640
12 L Sargeant Williams Racing 1:31.608  1:27.175 -
 
Sargeant