IN IMAGES, IN PICTURES. A look at Williams' big developments at Silverstone

To speak of developments would almost be an understatement. For the British Grand Prix, Williams brought a completely new aerodynamic package. Alone Alexander albon benefits from these new features, while Nicholas latifi will have to wait for the French Grand Prix to use them. 

According to the official FIA document, no less than 12 new features appear on Albon's FW44 at Silverstone. The front wing, the sidepods, the floor, the diffuser, the engine cover and even the rear suspensions: it's almost a completely new car that the Thai has at his disposal this weekend.

Alex Albon's new deeper pontoons. © Xavi Bonilla / DPPI

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From the first glance, the changes are visible. Thanks to the images of Spanish journalist Albert Fabrega, the differences between the #23 and #6 cars are obvious. The pontoons have been completely reworked, with a new philosophy. Since the start of the season, Williams has been running with a fairly unique pontoon concept, boasting quite irregular shapes that were almost reminiscent of the “zero pontoon” concept of Mercedes, much less extreme however.

A concept which contrasted in any case with those of Red Bull or Ferrari, which feature pontoons with a more marked architecture. On Albon's car at Silverstone, the British team therefore decided to change its approach, by releasing a more traditional concept, more similar to the Red Bull concept.

The comparison of the new pontoons and theirs in the Williams. Solo Albon

New floor and sidepods appearance on the Williams. Only for Albon#F1 #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/6mtDLOkmey

- Albert Fabrega (@AlbertFabrega) June 30, 2022

As with Red Bull, the air intake at the sidepods is positioned very close to the front of the car. The engine cover is noticeably longer than the previous one, thanks to repositioned radiators and cooling systems. The floor pan and diffuser installed on Albon's car are also completely new. Williams was mainly inspired by technical solutions from Ferrari and Red Bull, just like Aston Martin there are some Grand Prix.

Detachable evolution in Williams. New pontoons and refrigeration inserts. Solo Albon.

Significant upgrade on Williams on sidepods and cooling intake. Only Albon pic.twitter.com/EK0YL4CSvS

- Albert Fabrega (@AlbertFabrega) June 30, 2022

The Grove team decided to only use these new features on Alexander Albon's car, for budgetary reasons but also to be able to compare the performances of its two drivers at Silverstone. Currently last in the constructors' championship with only 3 points, the team is aiming for an improvement of almost a second with this new aerodynamic package. A very ambitious goal but necessary to get back into the peloton. For comparison, during Free Practice 2, Albon drove one second faster than Latifi on the clock.