Williams Is Out of the Frying Pan: Stellar Melbourne Performance Heading into Shanghai
The Melbourne Grand Prix saw 21 cars on the track. In a shocking turn of events, Cadillac is not the next team to join F1 racing, but rather the Aston Martin safety car. The inaugural race presented three crashes by the end of lap one, a DNF from six drivers, and adverse weather conditions. Not to mention the show-stopping eclipse of Max Verstappen by Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton’s disappointing Ferrari debut. For better or for worse, nothing went as planned. A rather good thing for the Williams racing team.
“For a big part of the race we thought P5 was secured and then the rain arrived and everything changed,” said Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc. A top-five finish, however, was not in the cards for the legendary team. Instead, Melbourne’s P5 finish was awarded to William’s driver Alex Albon, echoing his stellar performance during Bahrain two weeks prior. At the time, when asked about his intentions for Melbourne and whether he thought he would be able to keep pace behind the top four cars, his response was, “It’s our goal. I’d say that’s our target…but we have to be realistic”.
Realistic indeed, Williams began this year with plenty of reasons for optimism. From the new car, the FW47 Challenger, and the new driving lineup, Carlos Sainz from Ferrari and Williams backbone Alex Albon, Williams is full throttle in a concerted effort to reestablish the team on the podium. Williams is the third oldest team next to McLaren and Ferrari. Williams Grand Prix Engineering joined F1 49 years ago in 1975 and has since won 114 races. Though, it's helpful to compare it to a team like Ferrari which has been racing for 73 years with 249 wins to its name. The last time Willaims won a Grand Prix was in 2012 at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona. Since then, Williams has performed well enough to stay in the race but has never quite had the vehicle development needed to contend with the big teams.
Given how the drivers handled the turns in Melbourne, Shanghai promises a reprisal of events. The track is known for its demanding corner combinations, including a 270-degree right-hand turn about 500 meters from the starting line. With so many expectations flipping on their head, you can bet Shanghai will break the ratings barometer. If the performances from Melbourne are any indication, then we will once again see the turquoise Aston Martin safety car leaving the rookies in the dust.
