Williams will instigate measures from this weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix to reduce the excess weight on its 2024 Formula 1 car, worth 0.45 seconds per lap.
The Grove-based squad has endured a tough start to the campaign, with zero points from the first six races and the absence of a spare chassis complicating matters.
Williams cut deadlines tight with constructing the FW46, and boss James Vowles has documented how it endeavoured to cut down sizeable weight from the chassis.
However, that desire would prove to have consequences elsewhere, as Williams ended up adding on additional bulk in other areas to ensure that it remained on track.
Vowles has revealed that Williams has implemented lighter parts on Alex Albon’s car at Imola to begin the process of trimming the weight that has impacted lap time.
“The transformation we did between 2023 to ‘24 was that we took 14 kilos out of the chassis,” Vowles divulged.
“For anyone in the business that knows those numbers, you’ll realise that’s an extraordinary feat and the team did very well in doing that.
“However, the car this year that we’ve been running is about four and a half tenths a lap slower, every lap, by the fact it is still overweight.”
Vowles elucidated that an increase in weight becomes a natural compromise when limits are pushed, as Williams did to ensure its new chassis was in a better place.
“When things get delayed, weight gets added as one of the fixes to get you back on track,” he explained.
“We added an enormous amount of weight, despite the chassis being in a much better place.”
Vowles conceded that he’s restricted Albon, who has penned a long-term extension with the team, from expressing his frustrations over the matter in previous rounds.
“If you go back and look at timesheets, and take four and a half tenths off, you have a realisation as to why Alex has been sat here frustrated, because I’ve muted him,” he said.
“I wanted to have the opportunity here to say this is what we did, and this is what we’re doing to fix it.
“What’s not of interest to me is what’s happened. It’s how we move forward from this point onwards.
“So Imola is the start of weight reduction, that will now continue across the next six races fundamentally in order to get us back to where we need to be.”
Vowles has admitted there are no guarantees Williams will hit the 798kg minimum weight limit at the end of that six-race timeline, the side’s home race at Silverstone.
