Atlassian Williams Racing are reflecting on a mixed Saturday after a dramatic end to a hectic Sprint race and a tough qualifying session to round out the day.
The Sprint was the first order of the day, and with Alex Albon starting P12 and Carlos Sainz due to line up at the back, the decision was made to make setup tweaks to the No.55 car – beginning the 24-lap dash from the pit lane.
Morning rain meant treacherous conditions off the usual racing line, but our duo made it safely through the opening lap.
However, on Lap 6, there was drama through the Senna Esses as Oscar Piastri, Nico Hulkenberg and Franco Colapinto had almost identical spins into the barriers within seconds of each other.
As a result, the red flag was shown before racing resumed with a rolling start 20 minutes later.
Soft tyre struggles throughout the field meant the pace of those running the red-walled rubber fell away in the closing stages. Among them was Alex, who found himself trading places with home favourite Gabriel Bortoleto in the final laps.
On the penultimate tour, the Sauber driver looked to send a move up the inside of Turn 1 on our Thai racer but suffered a heavy hit into the barriers – thankfully, he was unharmed. Alex’s FW47 was hammered by debris in the incident, forcing him to limp home and finish P17.
Carlos’s Sprint saw him stuck behind the Red Bull of Yuki Tsunoda for the duration, though he gained positions thanks to incidents ahead, finishing P15.
With data gathered from the Sprint, the Williams pair went into qualifying knowing there would be little to separate the midfield.
Both drivers made it through Q1, with Alex able to abort his final push and progress in P11 thanks to an initial time of 1:10.115, while Carlos improved with a 1:10.184 on his last attempt to finish the opening phase in P13.
The pair were left scratching their heads in Q2, as neither could improve on their final attempts. Alex’s best lap of 1:10.053 placed him P12 on the grid, while Carlos will start P15 after setting a 1:10.472.
Full reaction to follow…
In the palm of your hand
Explore the Driven by Words livery up close in our Virtual Garage
