Williams F1 tries new solutions 'when it comes to obesity'

During the 2022 Australian Grand Prix last weekend, the Williams FW44 contained more exposed carbon fiber than ever before, becoming the latest team on the grid to strip off “unnecessary” paint of its cars’ liveries.

According to the team’s head of vehicle performance Dave Robson, their 2022 challenger is well above the minimum weight limit. Speaking to Motorsport Deutschland, he said:

"You always strive to make the car even lighter. And the colour design does its part to reduce the weight of the vehicle."

"It's a very big task to get these cars under the minimum weight. We will continue to work on that too, although we have no idea where we stand in comparison to the overweight issue. It's difficult to say. "

Teams across the grid have struggled to get their cars within the minimum weight limit this season. Apart from Alfa Romeo, almost every other team is thought to be above the minimum weight limit.

A unique set of circumstances is thought to be behind the issue, with radical new regulations combined with restrictions over yearly spending hampering teams’ ability to rapidly develop their cars and bring them within the minimum weight.

Meanwhile, the Williams FW44 is thought to be among the heaviest cars on the grid. The increased weight, combined with balance issues, has meant that the team has struggled for pace so far this season.

The car seems closer to the midfield when it is within the ideal working window, as demonstrated by Alex Albon’s impressive performance in Melbourne. Unfortunately, that window seems to be extremely narrow.

Yet, Robson says the team has learnt enough over the last few races to know how to set up the car to extract the most out of it. He added:

"We've made progress there and I think we're starting to get pretty good at chassis height, set-up and porpoising to put the car in the right window. But if we don't get it right, we risk damaging the underbody, so that's probably our limit.”

---

Williams’ weakness lies in slow speed corners: Albon

Alex Albon says one of the biggest weaknesses of the Williams FW44 is in the slow speed corners. The car reportedly lacks traction under braking and out of corner exits, costing them a chuck of time.

Albon believes that the car is otherwise “okay” in other areas. Speaking to Motorsport Deutschland following the Australian GP, he said:

“Our weakness at the moment is above all are the slow-speed corners. The top teams seem to be in a much better position than everyone else. And we have to concentrate on that, because so far we have be struggling in slow corners,

"Purely based on the GPS data, I'd say we're average. Our car is also pretty efficient in terms of drag. We're fast on the straights, which also helps."

Albon believes the Williams FW44’s weaknesses are “pretty fundamental” and believes the team will need to address the issues before concentrating on other areas.