Williams F1 mirrors Mercedes’ engine overheating woes in Bahrain, hindering Albon and Sargeant’s race prospects.
Williams F1 faced the same issues as their supplier, Mercedes F1, with engine overheating during today’s race in Bahrain.
Underestimated cooling led to Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant’s FW46s finishing in 15th and 20th places, falling back from their starting positions.
Thus, frustration prevails tonight among both drivers as they review the race.
“The car itself was good, but we are far behind,” laments Albon.
“We encountered problems throughout the race with issues that, had we done more running in practice, could have been avoided. We overheated throughout the race and lacked power, so I hope we can look at the data and arrive in Jeddah in better shape. Our pace compared to others is quite similar, so the midfield battle for points this year will be fierce and tight.”
For Sargeant, “it was frustrating because we had an electronic issue with the steering wheel yesterday during qualifying, and it returned today.”
“The most important thing is that we must understand the root cause of this problem and fix it for the future. We had a very good first lap and an excellent first stint, making good gains, and it felt like the race was coming to us before we had the problem.”
“We struggled a bit with engine temperature, which meant I couldn’t stay close to the cars in front, so it was a bit of a disappointing evening. There’s nothing we can do in such cases, but we must understand everything to move forward.”
Dave Robson, Head of Performance, concludes.
“We faced issues on both cars from the start of the race and never really gave either driver the chance to push hard. In dense traffic, we were operating the engines at their temperature limits and had to manage this carefully.”
“Logan suffered from another electronic issue, which caused him to flat-spot his tires significantly and led to changing the steering wheel during the pit stop. Clearly, there are issues we need to fully rectify before next Saturday when we race in Jeddah.”
“As we saw yesterday, the field is very tight, and had we done a better job today, we would have had the opportunity to race for points. Fortunately, we have a chance to bounce back right away, solve the issues, and perform better in Saudi Arabia.”
F1 Engine Overheating Issue Williams and Mercedes 2024 Bahrain gp. F1 Engine Overheating Issue Williams and Mercedes 2024 Bahrain gp
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