Williams FW47 development shows promise as Sainz era begins
Williams F1 team reports their 2024 challenger, the FW47, will meet weight targets for pre-season testing in Bahrain, marking significant progress from last year's struggles. New signing Carlos Sainz is already making valuable contributions to development.
The Williams Formula 1 team is poised to start the 2024 season on stronger footing, with reports indicating their new FW47 challenger will meet crucial weight targets when pre-season testing begins in Bahrain on February 26.
Learning from past challenges
Last season's struggles with an overweight FW46 significantly hampered the team's performance, costing them valuable lap time throughout the early part of the championship.
Team Principal James Vowles had previously revealed the extent of this disadvantage, noting the car was "four and a half tenths a lap slower, every lap" due to carrying approximately 15kg of excess weight above the 798kg minimum requirement.
Technical progress
After focusing primarily on weight reduction rather than performance enhancement throughout 2023, Williams managed to secure four top-ten finishes in the latter part of the season, though their progress was ultimately hindered by significant crashes involving Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto.
According to Spanish publication Marca, the new FW47 represents a marked improvement, being both "on time and on weight" for the upcoming Bahrain test.
Sainz integration
Carlos Sainz, who replaces Colapinto for 2024, has already begun integrating with the Grove-based team.
The Spaniard recently completed running in Williams' 2023 car at Barcelona, demonstrating his commitment to the team's development. Vowles has been particularly impressed with Sainz's early contributions, noting:
"He's relishing it. You could see from the moment he jumped in the car in Abu Dhabi, his mind switched. This is where he wants to be, this is what he wants to do, he's part of our success story."
The partnership between Sainz and Williams appears to be yielding immediate benefits. Vowles highlighted the driver's impact, explaining they're now
"starting to chase milliseconds as opposed to the big-ticket items."
The team principal emphasized the positive momentum generated through new ideas and concepts in just a few weeks of collaboration between Sainz, Albon, and the engineering team.
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