Carlos Sainz has conceded that Williams is currently only faster than Cadillac in terms of on-track performance, as the team endures a torrent of blue flags. After a decent start to the season, scoring 11 points in the first six rounds and sitting eighth in the constructors' standings after Monaco, Williams has since plummeted.
Since Sainz finished 12th in Barcelona, no Williams driver has managed better than 15th. At Zandvoort, both Alex Albon and Sainz struggled, while Fernando Alonso produced a brilliant one-stop strategy to take ninth for Aston Martin.
“We are pretty much where we expected, which is towards the back. We are only quicker than Cadillac at the moment. You saw the Astons in race pace, they are a different league right now. So we couldn't fight them, we couldn't fight anyone, really,” lamented Sainz.
Albon, equally frustrated, highlighted the excessive number of blue flags he encountered. “You can't imagine in the middle of the race how many blue flags you get. I literally mean that every other lap is a blue flag,” he said.
Albon explained that pitting too early dropped him behind a group of midfield cars that had boxed to avoid the blue flags. “Because of us pitting early, we had no choice but to take the blue flags. It's like you get dirtier every lap to cars that you're not even trying to race, you're in the marbles. The ones that did box in front of you to miss the blue flags, they've now got new tyres, and they're catching up to three or four seconds a lap because of the blue flags. So, within five laps, the cars that just pitted in front of you are already behind you,” he added.
This situation is exacerbated by the fact that Williams doesn't believe they can fight for points even at tracks that should suit the Mercedes-powered FW48, such as Monza and Baku. Sainz emphasized, “If you look at the last five races, this is where we've been for the last five races. It is where we are.”
Alexander Albon admitted he hadn't yet reviewed the race data in detail, but he felt the impact of the blue flags on his race rhythm. Moving forward, Williams needs to find a solution quickly if they don't want to continue sinking to the bottom of the standings.
Baca Juga
Tes F3 di Madring diwarnai 19 red flag dan 10 pembalap menabrak dinding. Temuan ini menjadi peringatan bagi F1 yang akan datang pada September.
Luke Browning kembali turun di FP1 F1, kali ini bersama Williams di GP Italia Monza. Ini jadi kesempatan keenamnya mengemudikan mobil F1.
Nico Rosberg memuji reaksi spektakuler Nico Hulkenberg yang menghindari tabrakan dengan rekan setimnya Gabriel Bortoleto di GP Belanda. Hulkenberg finis kedelapan.
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