The Williams Formula 1 car for 2024 has been overweight, resulting in a significant time penalty of almost half a second per lap. Team director James Vowles revealed at Imola that the FW46 has been losing 0.45s due to the excess weight. This means that the car has been approximately 15kg above the minimum weight limit of 798kg. To address this issue, the team is introducing updates aimed at reducing the weight of the car.
Weight reduction has been a challenge for all Formula 1 teams since the introduction of ground effect regulations in 2022. Red Bull, in particular, started this rules cycle with an overweight car. However, Vowles stated that most teams are now close to the weight limit, with Alpine managing to align their car through recent updates. Williams, on the other hand, remains an exception among the 10 teams on the grid.
In a candid explanation of Williams’ slow start to the 2024 season, Vowles admitted that the team has consistently started each season since 2019 with an overweight car. Although they managed to remove 14kg from the chassis for 2024, the late build process during the winter of 2023 resulted in excess weight being added elsewhere. Vowles acknowledged that weight has become a natural outlet for the team to compensate for lost time during the build process.
Vowles is determined to change the prevailing narrative of Williams and modernize the team’s practices and work culture. He has implemented fundamental changes, including improvements in infrastructure, recruitment efforts, and advancements in design and construction technologies. The team has also expanded its staff from 700 to 1000 people, with new hires from Red Bull and Ferrari soon joining to enhance the team’s capabilities.
However, Vowles emphasizes that the goal is not just to bring Williams up to current standards, but to surpass them and lead the way in F1. This transformation will take many years and the team is just beginning the journey. Currently, the team’s performance has been significantly limited by excess weight, and Vowles attributes the delay in solving this problem to the high costs incurred at the beginning of the 2024 season.
Williams has suffered significant damage to various components, including gearboxes, floors, front wings, and rear wings, which has further hindered their progress. Vowles is not proud of these statistics, but believes it is crucial to be open and transparent about the team’s challenges. The weight reduction process will begin at Imola and continue over the next six races to get the team back to where they need to be.
