Three accidents and a lost place in the Constructors' category: Williams' costly Sunday at Interlagos

In Brazil, there were big winners – one naturally thinks of Max Verstappen et Alpine – but there were also big losers. And the team that lost the most was certainly WilliamsAt Interlagos, the British team experienced a real nightmare on Sunday alone, in qualifying and then in the race.

Already in the morning, the Grove team lost both of its cars in qualifying. In Q1, Franco Colapinto lost control of his car in turn 3 and hit the tire wall on the outside, ending his session prematurely. Alexander albon was well on his way to saving the day by making it through to Q3… but the Thai, who seemed very quick in the wet conditions, crashed his bike at the first corner, apparently due to a brake problem.

ALEX ALBON'S DESTROYED CAR 😳😳

The driver is fine, but the race against time begins at Williams to try to repair the car 🛠️#BrazilGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/yCAcIrE2Ew

— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) November 3, 2024

With qualifying postponed until Sunday morning, just five hours before the afternoon Grand Prix, Williams was unable to repair the problem in time. car Alexander Albon, forced to withdraw despite a 7th place on the grid… With only one FW46 present at the start, all the hopes of the Grove team rested on Franco Colapinto. In front of a crowd won over to his cause, the Argentinian was close to entering the points zone… but the rookie was caught out in the torrential rain that was falling on the circuit, under Safety Car regime, by smashing his car into the outside wall, on the climb towards the start-finish straight.

🚩RED FLAG🚩

Big shock for Franco Colapinto who loses his Williams on the pit lap 💥#BrazilGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/tUDaK7NH3o

— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) November 3, 2024

A cost-effective end to the season for Williams?

The bill for this black Sunday is steep for Williams: three cars damaged or even destroyed, zero points scored and an 8th place in the Constructors' Championship which has vanished following the incredible harvest ofAlpine in Sao Paulo. “The nature of Formula 1 is that you can have some of the most incredible feelings and results, but also some of the lowest moments you can experience in any sport. I think it’s fair to say that this weekend is the latter of those two., philosophized James Vowles at the end of this nightmarish Sunday for Williams.. We had three incredibly significant crashes within hours of each other and we have a huge amount of work to do to get back up to speed before we go to Las Vegas in a few weeks."

“We have to go to each of these weekends and give our best, while making sure that we are always looking towards 2025 and 2026, because that is where, as I have said from the beginning, our real focus lies. It is about laying the right foundations for 2026,” recalls the Team Principal of the Williams stable, already aware that Williams will finish, barring a major event, in 9th place in the Constructors' Championship since it is 27 points behind Racing Bulls. Nevertheless, the British manager wants to continue to believe in it... at all costs?

"Our rivals, Alpine, were fast [in Brazil], there's no doubt about it. They deserved those positions, but they scored a lot of points, which allowed them to move up to a very high position in the championship and drop us back to ninth. I never give up until it's time to give up, and it won't be until we're in Abu Dhabi and the checkered flag has fallen. We've got two fast drivers, and we've got a fast car.", says James Vowles. The Williams Team Principal's hopes could be thwarted by the budget cap, however, as Sunday's three crashes are likely to cost the British team millions of euros... and they could be forced to revert to old part specifications to finish the season.

ALSO READ > McLaren refocuses on Constructors' title: towards the end of team orders for Piastri?