Team analysis | Williams knocks on the door of the middle table

2021 F1 season

In 2021, George Russell and Nicholas Latifi remained the drivers at Williams. It was the second year of the two young drivers, and 2020 CEO Jost Capito continued to have faith in the two drivers who had not scored any points for Williams at that point. Fortunately for the Grove-based team, that statistic changed in 2021. Simon Roberts was fired as team principal in 2021 and Capito took on this role in addition to the CEO role and has since been assisted by Francois-Xavier Demaison and the team seems to be on the rise.

Then in August of 2021, the team finally scored points again in the chaotic Hungarian Grand Prix. Latifi and Russell crossed the finish line eighth and ninth, but after Sebastian Vettel 's disqualification both drivers gained another spot. Williams' highlight came on the soaking wet weekend of the Belgian Grand Prix in 2021. In the rain, Russell qualified in second position. The race was never run, so the second starting spot was enough for the first Williams podium since 2017.

In total, Latifi managed to score points twice and Russell a total of four times. In total, this yielded 23 points and an eighth place among the constructors.

Winter Tests

A big motivator for the team, Russell, has since left Williams for an opportunity with top team Mercedes. Finding a replacement for a talent like Russell was never an easy task and eventually the team settled on Alexander Albon. The Thai was without a seat after he was replaced by Sergio Perez at Red Bull Racing in late 2020.

Williams covered a total of over 3,000 kilometers in the Barcelona and Bahrain winter tests. This makes the team a good mid-tier team. It leaves big teams like Alpine and McLaren behind, something they will be satisfied with in Grove.

The only real blemish on Williams' winter tests was Latifi's car, which went up in flames on the second day of testing in Bahrain. The damage was so extensive that the team could only drive twelve laps that day. Otherwise, the team was continuously in the top-ten in terms of times, except for the last day.

Williams in 2022

In 2022, Williams will want to build on the small successes achieved in 2021. The team needs to put elimination in Q3 of qualifying behind them for good and try to get into Q1 as often as possible. Although that will be less easy now that 'Mr. Saturday' Russell has left for Mercedes.

Scoring points in four different Grands Prix as the team did in 2021 will not be enough for Williams in 2022. For the British, eyes will be on the rear of the midfield: Aston Martin, AlphaTauri and Alpine.

Latifi was defeated twice over by Russell in 2022. Especially in qualifying, the Canadian had little to contribute. It was 20-2 in favor of the Brit. Against Albon, Latifi gets new opportunities and he will have to do his best not to have such a bad record behind his name again.

Expectations

Williams may just become the surprise of 2022. The team is on the rise with the new management led by Capito. Money should also not be a problem anymore and except for one problem the car seemed pretty reliable during the winter tests.

Albon and Latifi will be pulling out all the stops to connect with the midfield in 2022 and take the next steps to move up the ranks. Winning and weekly podiums are really not in it for the time being for the team that has 114 race wins behind its name.

Although Williams seems to be on its way back to the midfield, the team should not forget to look back. Alfa Romeo and Haas F1 had difficult test weeks, but will be keen to make things as difficult as possible for Williams in 2022.

Read the previously published team analyses here:

• Alfa Romeo
• Haas F1