Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto praised the extensive repair job by the Williams mechanics after both drivers suffered heavy damage during the Formula 1 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Colapinto crashed the car twice, first in Qualifying and then again on Lap 32 of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, the latter shunt being quite severe.
Albon had his shunt during the final Qualifying session reportedly costing the team nearly two million pounds in repairs, leaving Williams with a “tremendous amount” of work according to boss James Vowles.
However, arriving at this weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix, Williams had fixed both of its cars and even managed to keep the same specifications it had in Brazil.
Asked about the repair job, Albon said despite the “huge effort”, Williams does not have a lot of spare parts remaining now until the end of the season.
Albon told media, including Motorsport Week: “Yes, it’s been a huge effort, I would say, not only to get them here ready but also in the same specification as Brazil.
“It’s fair to say there’s not many spare parts left for the rest of the season but at the same time, it just shows you the quality that we have back at the factory and here at the racetrack.
“It’s been a huge effort to get it all done on time and of course, that’s a lot of time spent after work hours and over the night to get these cars ready.
“We’re still fighting in a championship battle, it feels a bit more disconnected without people scoring so well last race out but it’s great to see the hunger and desire from everyone to get the cars ready.”
Colapinto: ‘They are the heroes of the week by far’
The last thing you’d want as a driver after having a costly shunt is to be racing at a street circuit, but Albon is not letting the lack of spare parts affect his driving this weekend.
“I feel like these things are always upon us,” he added.
“It was the same thing in the first few races of the year when we had one spare chassis.
“The moment you start to think about spare parts and driving under the limit is actually normally when you start making mistakes.
“We’ll go about it as a normal weekend of course not taking crazy risks, especially on a Friday but we’re here to race, we’re here to do a good job, we’re here to score points.
The 28-year-old’s team-mate, Colapinto, showed his appreciation towards the team after the quick turnaround to get the cars ready for Vegas.
He said: “Unfortunately for the team, we left the race [in Brazil] with a lot of damage.
“But the boys in the workshop have been working so, so hard to get the cars back here in Vegas.
“In the latest spec, the cars are looking great, the guys did a fantastic job in the factory, so I’m very proud of them.
“They are the heroes of the week by far, so yeah, very great.”
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