F1 News
Williams admits: 'It made no sense to continue developing the 2022 car'
- GPblog.com
Williams chose not to develop the car further in 2022 when it became clear that the gap towards the rest of the field was too big. It is therefore hoped that the team can make a big step next season, otherwise there is something wrong within the team, according to former team boss Jost Capito.
Apart from an eighth place in the 2021 constructors' championship, Williams has performed dramatically over the past five years. Again last season, the British team finished in last place. Although Alexander Albon, Nicholas Latifi and Nyck de Vries managed to scrape together a few points, it was not enough to get away from the last place in the championship.
Capito will leave Williams as team boss at the end of 2023. Who will succeed the German is not yet known. Before his departure, Capito admitted to FormulaPassion.it where things went wrong for Williams in 2022. The failure was partly due to the team's decision to stop developing the FW22 early.
Williams gave up quickly
"When you see that the gap to ninth and eighth place is too big, it makes no sense to continue developing on this year's car. Then you would be tenth and you would miss the chance to start working on next year's car. So when we realised that we would be tenth regardless of the gap, we put everything on next year's car. We did that shortly after the big update at Silverstone," Capito is quoted by the Italian medium.
Williams will have to make a big move in 2023 if it does not want to finish last in the championship again. "Williams has to take a step forward in 2023, otherwise something is really wrong. We are not at the level of the others yet," Capito ends. Together with Albon and new recruit Logan Sargeant, the team will try to achieve that goal. An announcement on Williams' new team boss is also expected soon. Among others, Susie Wolff's name has been mentioned several times as a potential candidate.