2024 F1 season previews: Can Williams climb higher?

In many ways, Williams was well ahead of schedule during the 2023 F1 season.

As the 2023 campaign begins, a new team boss has taken charge. Joest Capito made a surprise announcement in December 2022 that he would step down as team principal after two seasons in the role, opening the door for James Vowles to step into the role from Mercedes.

Bowles wasn’t the only new face as Nicholas Latifi left after three seasons leading the team. instead of him? American rookie Logan Sargent finished fourth in F2 in the 2022 season, earning him a full-time seat at Williams from 2023 alongside Alexander Albon.

That means Vols will have a first-time team principal and Sargent will have a new driver, competing for the team that finished last in 2022. There must have been some difficulties along the way in 2023, right?

perhaps. But while many, including this author, expected another wooden spoon in their future, Williams shocked the grid, and it started early. The team showed incredible pace during pre-season testing and when all was said and done, Williams won the battle at the back and finished seventh in the constructors’ championship ahead of AlphaTauri, Alfa Romeo and Haas.

This result was almost exclusively on the shoulders of Albon, who scored 27 of the team’s 28 goals during the season. Albon’s form has opened the door to speculation about his future and possibly a return to Red Bull or a move to another big team.

However, the focus here is on Williams. With Baules, Albon and Sargent returning, the team hopes to further improve on its 2024 results thanks to the much-needed experience gained in 2023.

Will we be able to make further leaps forward in 2024?

2023 Highlights: Las Vegas Grand Prix Qualifying

When Williams arrived in Sin City for the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix, he faced both expectations and doubts.

In terms of expectations, FW45 has been the strongest in the straights all season. This was evident from the beginning of the season and was evident in races such as the Canadian Grand Prix. There, Albon finished an incredible 6th place despite an incredibly long stint on hard tires, which were fitted with 58 laps remaining in the race. .

However, looking at the telemetry data of that Grand Prix, Courtesy of F1-tempoYou can see that his fastest lap, lap 68, was also race winner Max Verstappen’s fastest lap. Verstappen was wearing mediums and Albon was wearing old hards. But look at the telemetry data, especially the long straights.

Even on these old hards, Albon was faster on the straights.

So, given the layout of Sin City, both Albon and Sargent were expected to be strong in qualifying, given the long straights of the Las Vegas circuit.

Now let’s get to the questions. Williams were seventh in the constructors’ standings going into the penultimate race of the season and looking to fend off a late attack from AlphaTauri. Whether they could repel the challenger was one of his big questions. the other one is? The future of Sgt. As the season draws to a close, the American rookie remains the only driver yet to confirm his seat for 2024.

Bolles, who has preached patience throughout the year, continued to give the rookies a vote of confidence, outlining that the team wants to continue working with Sargent through 2024. However, the team principal also expects “consistency” from Sargent, and given the expectations for how the FW45 will perform on the streets of Las Vegas, it is likely that he will perform well in Las Vegas, at least during qualifying. This will have great implications for the future prospects of

With all this in mind, the team delivered on Friday night in Sin City. Albon and Sargent both made it to Q3, with Albon sitting in sixth place and Sargent just behind him in seventh place at the end of the session. A harsh penalty handed out to Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Jr. took him out of the top ten, dropping Albon to fifth and Sargent to sixth.

Team 3rd line lockout.

It was the moment Sargent had so desperately wanted, and you could hear it in his reaction when he was told he was finished. “You did a great job, Logan, that’s how you build your weekend. You were on equal footing and you performed. Good,” Bolles said the moment the rookie was informed of his Q3 results. told Sgt.

Racing is another story, but Williams and Sargent raced in the desert Friday night.

2023 Lowlight: Japan Grand Prix

At the other end of the spectrum?

Suzuka.

It was a difficult start for Sargent in qualifying. The rookie finished 13th in the third practice session and had hopes of making it to Q2, but he oversteered towards the end of his first push lap in Q1, sliding off the track and into the barrier, causing him to lose his place on Saturday. The qualifying rounds have ended. He was forced to start the Grand Prix from the pit lane when the team decided to make changes to the FW45 under parc fermé conditions.

Still, there was hope that the team would take something back from the weekend, especially when Albon advanced to Q2 and qualified 13th. Even if Sargent’s starting position was difficult, the points were probably on the table.

Those dreams ended before the first lap was recorded.

Albon endured a heavy collision with Valtteri Bottas on the opening lap and had to pit to be fitted with a new front wing. He was able to drive away unharmed despite the safety car being brought out due to large debris from the collision.

When the race resumed on lap five, Sargent was involved in a collision, again involving Bottas. The rookie locked his brakes on the way into Turn 11 and crashed into the rear of Bottas’ Alfa Romeo, forcing Sargent to pit for repairs. He was also given a five-second penalty for causing the incident.

The damage to the FW45 became worse and worse, and by lap 23 Sargent’s day was over. Albon was also told to retire on lap 27 for the same reason. “It’s a shame because we suffered damage from the first lap and it was almost game over.” Albon said after the race..

Outlook for 2024:

This time last year, many people, myself included, believed that Williams had the potential to finish last again.

It’s hard to imagine a similar forecast this year.

Throughout last season, Bowles emphasized patience, asking the team to judge its successes or failures over years rather than weeks. However, the results were almost immediate given his FW45’s performance in some of the pre-season testing and how the team finished in the constructors’ championship.

If this is Year 1 of the Vols era, what will follow in Year 2?

Perhaps his biggest decision last fall was whether to keep Sargent through 2024. Although some believed the best step forward for the team was to add a new driver, perhaps Liam Lawson, Vowles went in a different direction and brought the rookie back for a second season. . This may be contrary to life in F1, where patience is not always a virtue, but it fits Vowles’ long-term approach. If the team can help Sargent take a step forward in 2024, that patience could pay off and potentially finish even higher in the standings.

Still, there are risks. Growth and development is not linear, so the hope is that Sargent will have a stronger sophomore season, but that may not happen. Williams has reasonable expectations at the moment, but until the stopwatch ticks off, nothing will go wrong.

That may be why the team has started downplaying the idea of ​​moving up the standings in recent days.In an interview with car motor and sports, Boules outlined that competing with Alpine or Aston Martin may be unthinkable in 2024. “That’s not realistic,” Baules said when asked about taking on the two teams that lie ahead. “I know the real difference between the two teams and I know how fast we’re growing. What we want to change is that we’re still too far away to take this step next year. We’ll be better next year. We are confident. But we will not do anything that will jeopardize our long-term goals.”

Still, that was in line with what he said a year ago, before they finished in a surprising seventh place.

Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images

Person under the most pressure to perform in 2024: Logan Sargent

Sargent has a clear answer here. The decision to bring the rookie back for a second season was met with skepticism in various parts of the F1 world. While we’ve argued here that it was the right move for Williams, it remains to be seen whether Sargent can actually have the season Williams is hoping for.

What will success look like for Sargent in 2024? In his own words, it’s over the top.

“But personally, it’s very simple,” Sargent said Monday when I asked him what a successful season looks like to him. “I want to take a big step on the personal front as well. I want to perform consistently throughout the season at the level that I know I can perform. And if I can do that, it will be a huge success. ”