Alex Albon admits he is more concerned by Williams’ pace loss between practice and qualifying in Mexico City than being denied a place in Q3 by a deleted lap time.

Williams appeared in strong shape heading into qualifying after Albon wound up second in two of the three practice sessions, only 0.070s behind Max Verstappen in FP3.

However, Albon struggled throughout qualifying with the balance of the FW45, even querying to his race engineer at one stage that his car might have developed a problem.

Albon managed a fine last-gasp effort in the second stage to secure a spot in Q3 but his lap was then deleted for exceeding track limits at Turn 2, dropping him back to 14th.

Having been shown replays of the incident, Albon has challenged the stewards’ call.

“I spoke to Dave Redding [Williams Team Manager] and they showed an external view of the shot of me in Turn 2 and my rear tyre still looks like it’s on the white line,” he contended.

“Maybe I’m wrong, I’d like to be wrong, would make me less frustrated. I hope in a weird way I do have track limits but from what I saw I didn’t’.”

He added: “For me, the problem is they made the white line thicker, what they did in Austin, it’s a great initiative to stop track limits, they then move the bollard which is okay but if you miss the bollard through Turn 2 surely that should be self-policing, as soon as you miss the bollard it should be legal.

“The snapshot they did of me was while my car is halfway in the air… technically I’m not track limits as my four wheels are off the ground!

“Even the snapshot they have my rear tyre is on the white part of the kerb so you can’t even tell what the white line is or what’s the kerb.”

Albon concedes that the bulk of his frustration resides with Williams’ sudden slump in pace, having looked to be assured top 10 contenders before qualifying.

The ex-Red Bull affiliate insists that the Grove squad must strive to understand the issue that left him treating his qualifying runs like “race laps” to preserve the tyres.

“More frustrating than that is just the lack of pace. Four-five tenths slower than FP3. Lost a lot of grip out there,” Albon bemoaned.

“I need to review it, the other drivers struggled, but for me it was from Turn 1 lacking rear grip, and as you lack the rear grip it escalates, as you start sliding more and then the tyre becomes out of control, my laps were more like race laps I had to do so much tyre management through my quali laps just to keep the rears alive in Sector 3.

“It’s something we need to review, because it was the same last year, same in FP1 to FP2 yesterday, and it’s happened again.”

To this point, Albon has been stumped to provide a logical reason for Williams’ contrasting Saturday fortunes around the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit.

“Ambient temperature is similar, morning to afternoon, but the grip loss for us is quite significant,” he underlined. “We need to review it.

“I actually think it was coming to us, by Q2 run two I was in a much better place and thought finally Q3 here we come but it never came.”

Logan Sargeant and Williams have been penalised for incidents during qualifying for Formula 1’s Mexico City Grand Prix, with all other drivers cleared.

Sargeant was issued a 10-place grid penalty after he was judged to have overtaken Yuki Tsunoda during a yellow flag period caused by a spinning Fernando Alonso.

Sargeant did not set a lap time during qualifying and was consequently set to start from last place anyway, effectively nullifying the sanction.

However he was handed two penalty points for the incident, bringing his rolling 12-month total up to six, which is halfway to a race suspension.

Williams was also penalised, in the form of a €20,000 fine, of which €10,000 is suspended, after the team conceded that it left its jack unattended in the pit box.

The piece of equipment was struck by AlphaTauri’s Tsunoda as he exited the garage.

Elsewhere Max Verstappen, George Russell and Fernando Alonso were all cleared after being investigated for impeding at pit exit.

There were separate incidents in which drivers were slow to leave the pit lane during the session.

“The Stewards consider that the entire set of incidents occurred as a direct result of the implementation of the minimum lap time between SC2 and SC1 which is designed (correctly so, in our view) to avoid dangerous backing-up of cars on the circuit during qualification,” read the stewards’ report.

“We note that there are contrary requirements on drivers in that they must respect the minimum time, they are attempting to create manageable gaps to cars in front, yet they are also required to avoid unnecessarily stopping at the pit exit or driving unnecessarily slowly.

“It was also particularly noted that the Race Director accepted that these contrary requirements exist. All parties including the Stewards are firmly of the view that it is better to have the potential of cars backing-up in the pit lane or at the pit exit, instead of the potentially dangerous situation of large speed differences on track.”

It was also outlined that a more beneficial long-term solution should be sought.

Lewis Hamilton was also cleared of allegedly failing to slow for yellow flags during Q1.

Williams Head of Vehicle Performance Dave Robson admits it was “quite a big surprise” when Alex Albon wound up second in FP1 at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

Williams profited from two post-race disqualifications at the United States Grand Prix to secure a double points haul, including Logan Sargeant’s first Formula 1 point.

However, the Grove squad have failed to finish inside the top 10 on the road at the past four rounds, and Albon was downbeat about Williams’ prospects in Mexico.

However, he wound up second fastest in Friday’s opening practice hour, only 0.095s adrift of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

Asked if Albon’s FP1 effort provided an unexpected shock to the team, Robson said: “Yes, quite a big surprise, if I’m honest. We still don’t fully understand why. 

“I think it’s quite clear that Alex was very confident and happy in the car, right from the first lap, which makes a big difference. But obviously, the debrief is going on now. I’m not exactly sure whether they’re able to pick it apart. But yeah, it’s definitely a surprise.

“A nice way to start the weekend but a bit of a surprise.”

Albon was unable to maintain that pace into the second session, slipping back to 14th and 0.760s away from the ultimate pace.

But the Anglo-Thai driver denies that Williams’ pace dissipated, contending that his plight down the order could be attributed to other teams further optimising their cars.

“I don’t think we were slow in the second session,” he argued. “I think we had a good first run. Definitely better than expected.

“I think we just hit the ground running and a lot of drivers in cars out there weren’t optimised. I think we were already in the window from the first lap we drove. We started FP2 in the same rhythm, we were quick on the test tyre and then I just didn’t do a good lap on that Soft tyre run.

“I don’t think we are top five or maybe top ten, but I think we can fight for Q3 tomorrow.”

Albon asserts Williams have exceeded expectations at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez due to the progress the British side has made over the past 12 months.

Pressed on if the team had expected to be as quick as it seems, he replied: “Definitely not.

“But yeah, I mean to be honest I think this is one of the circuits where it feels bad for everyone with this kind of downforce. It feels like we are sliding around, it’s a bit of a Monza-kind of circuit and we don’t seem to do bad at those circuits.

“It’s a big step from last year. The car feels completely different so let’s see.”

The ex-Red Bull affiliate reiterates that Q3 can be a realistic possibility for Williams provided both the car and himself can extract more time ahead of qualifying.

“Maybe I’ll eat my words but there’s a couple of tenths in me, a couple of tenths in the car and then we will be okay,” he concluded.

Williams junior Franco Colapinto will make the step up to Formula 2 for the season finale in Abu Dhabi and will compete in the series full-time with MP Motorsport in 2024.

Colapinto has picked up four race wins, five pole positions and 10 podiums over the course of his two-year Formula 3 stint which began with Van Amersfoort Racing in 2022.

The 20-year-old made the switch to MP Motorsport for this year, picking up points in 14 out of 18 rounds this year to be rewarded with fourth place in the standings.

“I am very excited and grateful for this opportunity,” Colapinto said following the announcement.

“We’ve been working really hard to secure a seat in F2 so this is a dream come true. To be able to do it with MP Motorsport makes it even more special.

“Thanks to Sander and Henk [at MP Motorsport] for their trust and continuing to support me. Being part of the Williams Racing Driver Academy this past year has been an incredible experience and I can’t wait to jump into my F2 car in Abu Dhabi.”

“MP are proven race winners in the category, and staying with them feels absolutely right. It’s a familiar atmosphere for me, and it will be to our advantage that we know each other so well as I enter my debut season in the category.

“I very much look forward to the fresh challenge of a new series, with a brand new car to help develop. I can’t wait to get in the car in Abu Dhabi and then work with the team to be ready for a long and challenging 2024 season.”

With Jehan Daruvala and Dennis Hauger currently occupying race seats with the team, it is not yet clear which driver will step aside to make space for the incoming Argentinian.

However, it has already been confirmed that Daruvala will depart F2 to compete in the upcoming 2023/24 Formula E season, where testing has recently commenced.

“It’s great news that we are able to announce Franco’s promotion to our F2 team so early” said MP Motorsport Team Principal Sander Dorsman.

“This will give us a headstart in our preparations for an exciting 2024 F2 season in which we all start from zero, with the new F2 car offering everyone a new baseline to work from.

“Retaining Franco helps us to maintain stability in that transition, apart from the fact that he’s become a member of the MP family and is an extremely quick and talented driver.”

Logan Sargeant credited an “overnight” change on his Williams car that culminated with him scoring his maiden Formula 1 point at the United States Grand Prix.

Sargeant crossed the line in 12th place but was promoted two places post-race when both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were disqualified for excessive plank wear.

That meant the rookie achieved his first-ever top 10 finish in the top flight, becoming the first American driver to score points in F1 since Michael Andretti 30 years ago.

“It’s amazing to score my first point in F1 on home turf after the challenging weekend I’ve had,” Sargeant reflected. “I’m so proud of this team and myself for the hard work and progress we’ve been making this season.”

Sargeant had endured a challenging start to his second home round of the year, winding up last and five-tenths adrift of team-mate Alex Albon in Friday’s qualifying session.

The 22-year-old was again rooted to the bottom of the timesheets in Saturday’s Sprint Shootout, only gaining one place through a retirement in the later Sprint race.

Although set-up changes were forbidden under parc ferme regulations, Sargeant highlights that a system change enabled him to make a step forward for the main event.

“We worked hard overnight to find a direction with the car that was going to be positive, and we found that,” he revealed.

“We couldn’t change a lot as the car was under parc ferme, but we worked on the systems side using the tools on my steering wheel to help move the car in the right direction.”

“The pace was so much better today, and I was driving really well.”

Both Williams cars already gained a quartet of places on the grid when Aston Martin and Haas elected to withdraw their cars to the pitlane to conduct set-up changes.

But Sargeant failed to capitalise at the start, ending up behind the Haas of Kevin Magnussen after an error at the first corner.

“I had a great start but was unfortunate to catch the sausage kerb in Turn 1 and went into anti-stall which cost me a couple of positions,” the Williams driver explained.

While the two Aston Martins made their way through, Sargeant navigated his way back past Magnussen and overhauled Daniel Ricciardo through the pitstop sequence.

Fernando Alonso’s late retirement would grant him an additional place before Sargeant overtook Nico Hulkenberg to claim 12th, which then became 10th hours later.

“We fought back and I gave it my all every lap,” Sargeant concluded. “We made steps in the right direction that we can build on and move forward as we head to Mexico.”

He added: “It’s an awkward track in terms of max downforce but you’re at such high altitude you’re basically running low downforce, something to get my head around, fortunately it’s a normal race weekend which is a positive for myself, I did FP1 last year, got along with the track quite well.”

Meanwhile, Albon ensured Williams amassed a double points haul for the first time since the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix.

The Anglo-Thai racer extracted 27 laps from a single set of tyres to come home 11th on the road, despite picking up a five-second time penalty for a track limits infringement.

“I’m very happy for the team and especially Logan for scoring points today,” Albon said.

“We had our luck, but we were there to take it! My race felt a little compromised without any new Mediums, as we used them all yesterday in the Sprint.

“We also struggled with the Hards, forcing us to run our used Mediums.

“Nonetheless, to walk away with points is great for the team as we close out the remainder of the season.”

Williams three-point haul strengthened its hold on seventh position in the Constructors’ Championship. The Grove side now uphold a 10-point advantage over Alfa Romeo.

Williams Team Principal James Vowles says the appointment of new Chief Technical Officer Pat Fry will have a “real effect” on the team from 2025 onwards.

Fry departed Alpine earlier this year and was snapped up by Williams to take on the role of CTO, with his duties officially commencing on November 1.

Speaking to the official Formula 1 website, Vowles commented how the effect of Fry’s appointment is all about the long-term gains, with the development of next year’s car well underway.

“We’ve brought together a really good group of individuals at Williams, and we are working together,” he said.

“In part, I have sadness because I have to start letting go of that side of things.

“With 2024 though, the dye is pretty much set in the direction of travel.

“This chassis will already, by the time he comes through the door, be most of the way produced. It has to be.

“That’s what the timelines are for these things, which means you define some of the big elements to things.

“The aero package again will be most of the way through development, even though it’s going to be for next year.

“But the impact – and I’ve said it all along – I’m not interested in short term, I’m interested in the long term.

“So, he will already, in the 2024 season, have a positive effect but that real effect will kick in in ’25, ’26, [2027].”

In Fry, Williams is getting hold of one of the most experienced members of the Formula 1 paddock.

His F1 journey began in the 1980s with Benetton, before a switch to McLaren which saw him remain with the Woking-based outfit until 2010.

From McLaren, Fry headed to Ferrari, where he spent five years before a brief spell with struggling minnows Manor.

From Manor, Fry headed back to McLaren in temporary capacity, before heading back to Enstone, seeing through a period of transition as the team shifted from Renault to Alpine branding.

The addition of a CTO was one of the primary short-term goals of Vowles’ when he took on the role of Team Principal at Williams earlier this year, tasked with overseeing the long-term revolution of the once-great title-winning team.

In 2023, Vowles’ first year as Williams team boss, things have started on a positive trajectory, with the grove-based outfit sitting seventh in the Constructors’ Championship on 23 points, by far eclipsing the team’s final tally of 8 points last season which saw it finish last in the standings.

The next short-term task for Williams will be taking on the penultimate Sprint weekend of the year in Austin, Texas, with the event just days away (October 20-22).

Alex Albon documents that Williams’ aim next year is to replicate the levels of growth Aston Martin and McLaren have made during the 2023 Formula 1 season.

After bringing up the rear of the field for the fourth time in five years last term, Williams is on course to record its best placing in the Constructors’ Championship since 2017.

The Grove outfit currently sits seventh in the standings on 23 points – all scored by Albon, who has continued to rebuild his reputation following his short-lived Red Bull spell.

Albon asserts that Williams’ progress, which has seen it accumulate more points this season than it did through 2022, stems from pursuing the right choices over the winter.

“The upgrade package that we had on the car for Canada was already, by February, being designed and in some parts being made,” Albon told RacingNews365.

“We didn’t have many upgrades coming this year. In fact, Canada was really our last major one. So when you do it like that, it frees up more time to focus on next year’s car.”

Despite Williams making headway, Albon insists that the team’s ceiling has been capped by limitations that have existed in its machinery through several regulation cycles.

Albon reveals that he has been aiding with the development of the 2024 car since April to try and finally rectify those balance issues.

“I’ve [been] working on next year’s car since April,” he explained.

“This largely consists of simulator work, to try to mitigate some of these constant balance issues we’ve been having for the last four or five years.

“That’s been a big focus for next year.”

However, Albon points to McLaren’s situation as evidence that a car can become more competitive without necessarily solving some fundamental problems.

Despite the Woking team developing into podium contenders, Lando Norris has urged McLaren to make its F1 cars “easier to drive”.

“If you listen to Lando and Oscar’s [Piastri] comments, they’re not saying that the car itself has improved in terms of the balance,” Albon continued.

“They just say there’s a bit more downforce to the car and they’ve made a huge step, but not in the way the car drives.”

Williams Team Principal James Vowles, who stepped into the role on the eve of this season, outlined that the British camp’s route back to the top remains a five-year project.

Albon is convinced that Williams’ decision to abandon developing its current car throughout this year will enable it to get a headstart on its competitors for next season.

The Anglo-Thai driver has pinpointed the success Aston Martin and McLaren have enjoyed at varying stages of this year as the formula Williams should aim to emulate.

“It shows the ambition of the team. It shows where we think we need to improve, and that just doing upgrades through the year is not really going to get us to that point,” Albon clarified.

“Aston Martin is a great example of designating time and focusing on giving yourself a bit more of a buffer to improve the car. You need to think more long-term.

“We don’t want to be finishing eighth in the Constructors’, we want to be finishing fifth or fourth and that takes a big leap forward,” explains Albon.

“I don’t think McLaren did much to their car from pre-Silverstone, then they’ve just come in and hit the ground running.

“It seems like the top teams are still doing micro-updates, but the midfield teams are just putting in these big ones.

“A lot of that is due to the cost cap, but also for the midfield teams it’s more efficient to do it that way.”

Williams Team Principal James Vowles says the side is prepared to give Logan Sargeant the remainder of this season before deciding if he will retain his seat for 2024.

After AlphaTauri confirmed Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda last month, Williams remains the only team on the grid yet to announce both its drivers for next year.

Vowles has previously expressed that the Grove squad has outlined the targets Sargeant must hit in order to return alongside current team-mate Alex Albon.

Asked in Qatar whether Williams will be able to make a decision on Sargeant’s future imminently, Vowles said: “No, I suspect it’ll be to the end of the season.

“I think we’ve already committed to the direction of travel we’re in, he has targets to that and it’d be wrong to go against that decision point. So end of the year.”

Sargeant has struggled extensively throughout his rookie campaign, with Albon responsible for accumulating all of Williams’ 23 points so far in 2023.

The American newcomer has also got caught up in a variety of incidents, most recently in Japan when he sustained a hefty crash at the final corner in qualifying.

His team suggested that his shunt in Suzuka masked a promising outing, leading Sargeant to admit that he would leave some margin in Qatar to ensure a cleaner weekend.

Vowles asserts that Sargeant possesses the underlying pace but must reduce the untimely errors to be able to deliver it on a more regular basis when it’s most needed.

“He and I talk at least once a week, if not multiple times a week,” he added.

“The pace is there. That’s the thing that we wouldn’t be able to fix or repair – but what happens is, when it comes down to the crunch time, there are elements of inconsistency that creep in, and in form of that, goes into an accident sometimes.

“In Suzuka the lap he did was, line-on-line on the data with Alex, but obviously it’s marred by the fact that the last corner, he had far too aggressive a throttle application and there was a crash, and a significant crash as a result of it.

“What we’re working with him on is actually the progression up until that point, he dialled it from two seconds away from Alex to within a tenth in FP3 – in fact he was faster in FP3. And it’s actually keeping that mindset all the way through that we’re trying to do.”

The ex-Mercedes Strategy Director also believes that Sargeant has been negatively impacted by the reduced testing time rookie drivers are granted in the modern era.

With only three days of pre-season testing allocated to all the teams this year, Sargeant was only afforded one-and-a-half days in the FW45 before his debut grand prix.

“We have – and I’ve said this publicly – a responsibility to invest in our rookie drivers,” Vowles continued.

“We’ve put him there, and we’ve given him nearly no testing mileage. I’m used to 30,000km, not 850km. “But what we want to see is continued progress and now a focus on making sure we keep that consistency in there, which will then deliver results.”

Vowles reckons that Sargeant’s encouraging pace from the outset in Bahrain hindered his development as it downplayed the scale of the adaption period in the top flight.

Pressed on if he sensed there was frustration creeping in for Sargeant, Vowles countered: “I think from him the frustration has been there for many months actually.

“He went into Bahrain – probably the worst thing that can happen – he went into Bahrain overlapped with Lando [Norris] in terms of Q1, and he thought perhaps the challenge in front of him may not be as significant as it really is.

“What you then saw after that time… and Alex has grown, I think, across this season, and the gap started to grow, as you found a driver that’s now frustrated, his normal tools aren’t producing the quality of lap-time that was there previously.

“He knows how to win. He’s won in Formula 3, won in Formula 2 but applying that now in Formula 1 and then not achieving results creates more and more frustration – and then that ends up with over-driving, fundamentally. That’s the dialling back bit.”

Williams Team Principal James Vowles has outlined why it is “strongly against” the addition of an 11th side on the Formula 1 grid.

Ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix, the FIA confirmed that it had formally given the green light to Andretti Formula Racing’s bid to join F1 as early as the 2025 season.

However, the American entity must now negotiate commercial terms with Formula One Management, meaning its future place is by no means secure at this stage.

Andretti, along with every other proposal, has been met with stern resistance by the sport and its 10 teams, who are concerned by the end-of-year prize pool becoming smaller.

Despite F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali claiming every team is worth “almost billions”, Vowles predicts that at least half of the current 10 teams still aren’t financially stable.

Among that group is Williams, which is why Vowles suggests an extra team should only be accommodated once every outfit can boast that it has reached that point.

“My thoughts are very clear. Williams is against the addition of an 11th team. And very strongly against,” he declared in Qatar.

“But I’ll explain the reasons behind that and why. My responsibility is to 900 employees within my company. If you go look at Companies House, you can go look it up for Williams, we’ve submitted it now, you can see that we’re lossy. We’re very lossy.

“In fact, compare it from ’21 to ’22, you’ll see that losses are in the tens of millions more. Compare it to ’23, which you won’t see but I’ll guarantee you, it’s multiples above that.

“The reason why is we’re investing in this sport, to become better. We believe in where the sport is going, we believe in the direction of travel of the sport. In order to do that… the reason why is we actually have, I think, a sustainable entity for once.

“Teams are working more and more together, we have close racing as a result of things – but it should be known that this isn’t just us that are not financially stable. I’d say probably half the grid aren’t. I think the addition of an 11th team is a sensible thing – but only at a point where the 10th team on the grid is financially stable.

“I’m fortunate to have owners that really believe in what we’re doing and to invest in what we’re doing – but we need to take care as a sport to make sure we look after that.

“Everyone says we’re in a good place – we are in some regards, but now those facts down the line, that this is tens of millions, or, in fact, hundreds of millions you’ll see shortly, being invested to make the sport better, it becomes very clear why we’re very careful about diluting what we’ve already got – because it’s just more losses on the table.”

Earlier this year, Andretti announced that it had teamed up with General Motors for its F1 endeavours in a move which would see the Cadillac name prop up in the sport.

Vowles admits that he would welcome GM “open-armed” and would be open to the possibility of Williams securing an alliance with the American automotive company if Andretti’s bid doesn’t materialise.

“Now, we’ve been clear from the beginning, more than happy to bring in new entities, but the pie has to grow as a result of it, not shrink, and so far it’s just shrinking,” he reiterated.

“For clarity on that, that’s not against either Andretti or GM, quite the opposite. I welcome GM open-armed, and Williams welcomes GM open-arms and I hope to forge a relationship with them, should things not work out. They are an incredible entity that I think will make the sport better.

“So, it’s not that we’re close-minded to more people coming into the sport, but what we’re very careful on is protecting the sport we have right now.”

Pressed on whether that hinted that Williams had held any negotiations with GM, Vowles retorted: “No, no, we don’t. We obviously have a Mercedes power unit in the back. We have nothing agreed yet for ’26.

“My point was more that an organisation, an OEM like GM absolutely would be welcome in our sport, and we would give welcome arms also to them at that stage but they’re clearly linked to Andretti. It’s not a question of that and we’re not in talks with them at the moment.”

Both Williams drivers have been cleared by Formula 1’s medical team after suffering from the stifling heat present during the Qatar Grand Prix.

The gruelling humidity the drivers were exposed to on Sunday evening at the Lusail circuit witnessed several struggle inside the cockpits of their cars across the 57-lap encounter.

Sargeant, who was already nursing illness in the lead-up to the race, was one of the worst impacted, prompting Williams Team Principal James Vowles to invite him to retire early.

After initially insisting he would continue, Sargeant pulled into the garage at the end of Lap 42.

“Following Logan’s retirement from the Grand Prix, he has been assessed and cleared by the medical team on-site after suffering from intense dehydration during the race weakened by having flu-like symptoms earlier in the week,” Williams noted in a statement.

Meanwhile, team-mate Alex Albon also required a trip to the medical centre, having encountered trouble climbing out of his car in parc ferme, necessitating his mechanics to step in.

“Alex was taken to the medical centre to be treated for acute heat exposure. He has now been assessed and cleared by the medical team,” Williams added.