Perhaps the biggest surprise of the Azerbaijan GP’s qualifying session was both Williams cars making it into Q3. The impressive result is completely contradictory to their start to the 2024 season. This recent result has given the team a heightened sense of self-belief. In fact, the team principal James Vowles has gone as far as saying they’re on the right path for the future.
The Williams boss said, “It’s fantastic to have two cars in Qualifying 3 for the first time this year. It’s a real positive that since the update we’ve been in Qualifying 3 every single time and that just goes to show that we’re on the right track and on the right direction.”
JV reflects on a successful quali in Baku, with both cars right in the mix for Sunday’s race
— Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) September 14, 2024
Vowles singled out Franco Colapinto for his incredible performance in his second-ever outing in F1. The young Argentine is delivering on the expectations he was brought in for. He also out-qualified his vastly superior and experienced teammate Alex Albon, something that has not happened in a long while at Williams.
It is also a welcome change after one and a half seasons of Logan Sargeant’s persistent struggles to match Albon’s pace. Colapinto replaced Sargeant at the Italian GP and hit the ground running with a decent P12 finish. And in Baku, he seems to have improved on the same and could score his maiden F1 points.
This increased competition within the team will surely help extract more positive results over the course of the remaining races. This scenario will also help the team slowly but surely edge toward their future goal of becoming a front-running team.
Williams is slowly making a steady climb toward the front
After being a shadow of their 90s self, Williams is on a steady climb to the front to bring back the glory days. The Grove outfit’s ambitious project attracted Vowles to the team. He has also made significant strides in the same direction with the car’s development part of the project. The ambitious plans also helped them retain Albon till at least the end of 2026.
However, the true testament of the team’s beliefs was highlighted when they successfully managed to secure the signature of Carlos Sainz. The Spaniard flirted with multiple teams after the Ferrari ousting. However, after months of deliberation, he decided to become part of the Williams project.
The Grove team’s plans might be slowly taking shape as evident in the Azerbaijan GP weekend performance so far. This steady climb could see the Grove outfit become a force to be reckoned with once again with the 2026 regulations on the horizon.
