Williams embraces a messy metamorphosis
Williams’ biggest mistake wasn’t tapping Alex Albon to replace Logan Sargeant. It was not not making tough decisions like that sooner.
How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.
A strategy for undertaking any daunting task, the metaphor is an apt one for Williams, a team trying to turn around a two-decade period of decline.
The elephant in the room for Williams’ weekend down under was their choice to have only Alex Albon participate in qualifying and the grand prix, despite the fact that it was Albon who crashed in qualifying, ruining his chassis beyond repair. But the team’s real beast has been the grisly efforts and sometimes controversial decisions in its path to reinventing itself.
Sargeant admitted to having the toughest weekend of his career, and who can blame him? Already under pressure with an expiring contract and an underwhelming start to his season (with P20 and P14 finishes), the young American needed to maximize his weekend.
But instead of placing its hopes on Sargeant to salvage the weekend, Williams asked him to make a hefty sacrifice: Sit out for the rest of the weekend and let Albon pilot the car.
Team Principal James Vowles was transparent and candid in how he arrived at the decision:
“While Logan should not have to suffer from a mistake that he did not make, every race counts when the midfield is tighter than ever, so we have made the call based on our best potential to score points this weekend.
“This decision was not made lightly, and we cannot thank Logan enough for his graceful acceptance, demonstrating his dedication to the team; he is a true team player. This will prove a tough weekend for Williams, and this situation is not one that we will put ourselves in again.”
What stung even more for the team was the IT blunder that put them in this position t. For years, Williams used an archaic Microsoft Excel file documenting a car’s 20,000 individual parts. This outdated system was the reason why the team was without a spare chassis, tying its hands to fix Albon’s car after his Friday crash.
Albon could not score precious points for Williams during his quiet, but clean, Australian Grand Prix, which will sting for Sargeant, but not more than the reality implied in the team’s decision: In its times of need, Williams has no confidence in him.
It’s an early sign that Williams has no intention in retaining Sargeant, despite giving him a second shot in an Formula 1 car after a sloppy 2023 season. Sargeant got somewhat of a pass last year: He was pulled from F2 after only one season. His first year in F1 would be a finishing school of sorts—2024 would begin his career in earnest. And also, as it seems, end it.
Ups and downs
The beginning of the cost-cap era in 2022 meant Williams had no need to retain the crash-prone Nicholas Latifi, whose father’s Sofina Foods sponsorship infused the team with necessary cash. But Williams’ decision to stick with Sargeant appears even less inspired, given his performance. Retaining him for another year—to hope he improves? To convince audiences the team had confidence? Control?—was Williams walking into a sunk cost fallacy.
Williams’ troubling decline began about 25 years ago, sparked by Adrian Newey’s departure from the team in 1997, and left in the lurch by Renault, the team’s engine supplier, which left the sport the same year. Williams was left with their old engines, which it rebranded as “Mecachrome.” The mass exodus of two big names stalled the team’s success back to the midfield, and by 2020, after the death of eponymous team founder Frank Williams, the team were the bottom dwellers and joke-butts of F1.
When Vowles entered the fold in 2023, he was keenly aware of the team’s shoddy performances and rough reputation. He brought a fresh honesty to the team, saying he would approach communications with integrity and frankness. Vowles’s admission that the team was running “20 years out of date” was a demonstration of his new philosophy.
Last season saw glimmers of hope for the team. They defied conventional strategy to give Albon shots at precious points and finished P7 in the constructors standings, their best team result since 2017.
But as the proceedings of the Australian Grand Prix indicated, Williams’ return to winning ways will not be straightforward. After a compromised winter, Williams is once again on the back foot. The team will continue to work against the odds. They will no doubt uncover massive flaws in old systems and experience the natural lows that all F1 teams are vulnerable to.
There is a difference, however, in uncovering systematic efforts and perpetuating them. Williams dealt itself a wretched hand by continuing to use outdated technologies that left it vulnerable. Vowles made the call that any team principal would make, albeit the one that no one wants to: pick the driver who has the track record of maximizing results.
He will likely make another tough decision at the end of the season in letting Sargeant go. But that won’t be a defining moment for the team. It will be the decisions that come after: Who will be the team’s next driver? And will Vowles’ and Williams’ leadership be willing to continue to make necessary sacrifices that will save them worlds of pain later on?
On-track debris:
Ollie Bearman sits P12 in the F1 drivers’ standings, which is higher than he sits in the F2 standings (P19) at the moment. He also has more points, with six, instead of the two he has in the feeder series.
George Russell has a 100% DNF rate when Carlos Sainz wins a grand prix. At Silverstone 2022, he was caught in the fallout of Zhou Guanyu’s horrendous crash, and at both Singapore 2023 and Australia 2024, he had last-lap crashes while trying to make aggressive overtakes.
Lastly but not least,
had me and on his Motorsport of the Americas podcast last week, which you can listen to here.