It is never good to crash in F1, but even more so these days thanks to the cost cap strictly limiting how much teams spend on development and manufacturing. Outfits like Williams struggle more with issues like this because of their financial woes, and with three major crashes to both cars last weekend in Sao Paulo, the Grove-based team is set for nothing short of a nightmare.
Williams are in a dire situation from a manufacturing perspective. They are unsure whether they can rebuild both cars to the latest specifications due to a lack of spare parts for the newly introduced upgrades.
LAP 32/70: RED FLAG
With the Safety Car still circulating, Colapinto has crashed into the barriers
The remaining drivers return to the pits #F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/hcakPrw9ZR
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 3, 2024
Adding to their problems, they must pay over $2.46 million to cover the costs. Formu1a.uno reported that Alex Albon‘s car will require $857k in repairs, while Franco Colapinto‘s car — which has damage to the sidepods and suspension — will cost $1.6 million to fix.
As such, there’s serious doubt about whether they can take part in the Las Vegas GP without making significant mechanical sacrifices that would reduce their speed.
Albon crashed out in qualifying after he couldn’t brake properly at turn one. Meanwhile, Colapinto — after suffering a crash at turn 3 in Q1 — had a massive shunt when the rain intensified around lap 30 of the Grand Prix.
Williams has already endured several major crashes this season, thanks to incidents with Sargeant and Albon in Australia, Japan, and the Netherlands.
Under the budget cap, they’ll likely need to compromise on upgrades for the final three races and adjust plans for their 2025 car to free up funds for repairs from Sao Paulo.
Williams will have to cut corners for their budget management
Williams has struggled with sufficient cash to upgrade its infrastructure as well as produce a competitive car in recent years. While Dorilton Capital is steadily investing in the team to boost their financial health and cover these areas of expenditure, such crashes will set them back considerably.
From a development perspective, they risk losing crucial funds for their ambitious 2025 car project, aimed at attracting incoming driver Carlos Sainz and securing Albon’s long-term commitment.
Sainz would ideally want a car that is capable of competing for points at the very least. However, with Williams running a tight ship, he may have to get accustomed to being at the back of the grid for a while.
It will be interesting to watch how team principal James Vowles handles this precarious (uncalled-for) situation. After Brazil, he has already taken a meeting to discuss their approach and plans moving forward. Time will tell if these crashes from Brazil affect them drastically in the long term or not.
