Williams Struggles Amid Crashes, Alpine Surge to Points

Vowles Left Shaken as Crashes Mar São Paulo GP

05/11/2024

James Vowles admits to a challenging São Paulo GP, as Williams F1 endured three crashes while Alpine gained a substantial points lead.

Vowles, Williams F1 Team Principal, admitted that the São Paulo Grand Prix had been very challenging for the team. The Briton was somewhat demoralized as he reflected on the weekend at Interlagos, where Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto faced three crashes, and Alpine scored 35 points.

“Formula 1 is designed to give you incredible highs and results, but also moments of despair. I think it’s fair to say this weekend was the latter of those two,” Vowles stated.

“We had three incredibly severe accidents within just a few hours, and we have a huge amount of work ahead to get back on our feet before heading to Las Vegas in a few weeks. Our rivals, Alpine, were fast in the race. There’s no doubt about it.”

Williams isn’t backing down against Alpine and other teams: “They deserved those positions, but they scored a massive amount of points, which has put them in a very high position in the championship and has pushed us back to ninth.”

“They’re far ahead, but I never give up until it’s time to give up, and that won’t be until we’re in Abu Dhabi and the checkered flag has fallen. We have two fast drivers and a fast car with us.”

“We must approach every weekend doing everything we can, while always staying focused on 2025 and 2026, because that’s where, as I’ve always said, our real objective lies.”

“It’s about laying the right foundations for 2026. That doesn’t make Sunday any less painful. Far from it—I’m hurting right now. But in fact, I wanted to watch this race to the end to make sure I remember it, because this isn’t how I want us to feel in the future.”

Williams Struggles Amid Crashes, Alpine Surge to Points Williams Struggles Amid Crashes, Alpine Surge to Points

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