Alex Albon has revealed he sampled next year’s Williams F1 car as far back as April as the squad looks to the future.
Williams is in a period of transition with the arrival of new boss James Vowles, whose stated goals are longer term.
The ex-Mercedes man has openly admitted that he will sacrifice in the short term to put the team in a better position down the track.
That has resulted in a change of mindset at Williams, with Albon revealing the squad has been ideating the 2024 car for some time.
New regulations for 2022 have transformed the way teams go about racing in Formula 1, with more stringent technical regulations complemented by financial limits placed upon teams.
How they use their resources is therefore critical, with the balance between developing for the current season over next now ever more finitely balanced.
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Add into the mix the closely matched midfield battle, which seemingly includes half the grid, and a small gain can reap big returns.
Aston Martin demonstrated that at the start of the year, scoring six podiums in eight races, while more latterly McLaren has made significant strides forward.
But that has often come simply in the form of lap time, not necessarily through improving the balance of the car.
That has also been the case at Williams, according to Albon.
“If you listen to Lando’s and Oscar’s comments, they’re not saying the car itself has improved in terms of the balance, they just say that there’s a bit more downforce in the car,” he told Speedcafe.
“They’ve made a huge step in that sense, but not in the way the car drives.
“That being said, I started working on next year’s car since April on the simulator and working and changing the car characteristics to try to mitigate some of these constant balance issues we’ve been having for the last four or five years.
“That’s been a big focus for next year.”
A common trait among teams in recent years has for each to develop its own characteristics; a tendency to understeer on entry, or struggle for rotation mid-corner.
Those traits become baked into the car, and the team, and are often carried over from year to year. It was that which saw Daniel Ricciardo struggle to get to terms with at McLaren.
At Williams, it’s something the team is aware of, and is actively working to address.
It has appointed Pat Fry as technical boss, with the ex-Alpine, McLaren, and Ferrari man set to join the squad in November.
“It’s car DNA,” Albon explained when pressed about the common traits between Williams cars, despite changing regulations.
“Most teams, the way that teams are organised, the culture in the teams, the philosophies in the teams, they get ingrained.
“That’s why you see… it’s amazing how regulations can change so much… I can only compare to Nicky’s [Latifi] comments, because he went from the ’21 car to the ’22 car, and he said exactly the same; same limitations, same positives as well.
“It’s just the world of Formula 1 is quite unique in that way, and that’s why it’s hard to change it, because it can be quite ingrained.
“It’s also why you see teams employing from other teams; you need that complete overview of how other teams are doing their aerodynamics or philosophies and things,” he added.
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