Hello, and welcome back to this week’s blog post. I’m warning you now, this one will not be coming with any praise for the drivers, or the team, as both suck. I have never seen a team that cannot figure out their stuff the way this team does it. I have also not met a single person that calls themselves a fan of this team. Losses after losses after losses… I present to you: Williams Racing.

But first, you already know, some new terminology for ya. We know that every Formula 1 team has two drivers, though every team also has reserve drivers. These drivers will step in if one of the starting drivers is ill or injured. They also tend to take care of tasks like testing cars on the simulator and helping out with media and marketing tasks. These positions are mostly filled by drivers who weren’t picked up by any F1 team that season, or F2 drivers who are prospects.

Williams Racing

Not to be fooled by how much I trash talk this team, they used to be a top 3 competing team. This sadly ended around 2003, and the team has not won a single race since 2012. That means 10 years without a race win, without a fight for the championship and without any hope of things getting even the slightest bit better for them. Formula 1 is a money sport. You need sponsors or you will simply not be able to survive as a team. Williams doesn’t have many sponsors, which leads them to having less money for the season, as well as limited chances of messing up as they will not be able to pay for the repairs of the cars. If you come out of Formula 2 and decide to join the Williams racing team you’re basically signing a death warrant for yourself, unless you are signed to a drivers academy like Red Bull or Mercedes, who may choose to save you. This was the case with one of Williams old drivers:

George Russel

A phenomenal driver, though very much held back when he was still driving in the Williams. He made the impossible possible by sometimes even earning points for the Williams team which, I have to repeat, is an extremely rare sight. He was very lucky to be part of the Mercedes’ young drivers academy, since this helped him to be at the top of the list when they needed to fill their 2nd seat last season. George is currently driving for the Mercedes team and we’ve been able to see some intense differences in his driving and his scoring. He has never finished below the top 5 in any race in the 2022 season and has shown to be a very reliable and fierce driver. I hope that he continues to go far and am very excited to see how his 2nd season with the team will go for him next year.

Alex Albon

Alex Albon is an ex-Red Bull driver. He was out for a season as no one picked him up to fill a slot in their team, though Williams did just that when they were desperate in looking for a 2nd driver for the 2022 season, after Russel decided to join Mercedes. It can get very difficult for this team to fill their driver slots. This is due to the common knowledge that they will continue to remain at the bottom of the rankings, which makes it very difficult for the drivers to create a good reputation for themselves. Alex Albon did not really have another choice though, which means that if he wants to continue racing in Formula 1 he will take what he gets. Both Williams and Albon have also confirmed that he will remain on the team for the 2023 season.

Nicholas Latifi

Probably the worst driver on track. No joke. I’m sure I could beat him if I really tried. All this man does is crash before the race has really even begun, which is a talent in its own. He has only been in the sport since 2020 which makes this even worse. Williams has announced that they will drop Latifi at the end of this season, and I truly do not see any other team picking him up for the next season. There’s a lot better and more deserving talent out there that’s waiting to be showcased. He has scored 7 points in the entire 3 years that he’s been racing–this is less than what Max Verstappen earns in a SINGLE race. I do hope he finds something else since what he earned from F1 won’t sustain him forever. I wish him the best off track. <3

 

Williams is a lost cause. I understand that a lot of people don’t want to see the team leave Formula 1 due to all of the history they have within the sport, though I think it needs to be understood that this is not a valid reason to keep the team active in the sport. Car brands like Audi or BMW have been very interested in joining the sport, and I hope that Williams gets kicked so they can have a spot on track soon.