Williams hit back at unfounded Las Vegas GP rumours
Williams insist there is no truth to speculation suggesting the
team will be unable to race at the Las Vegas Grand Prix. The rumour
was triggered by unaccredited media reporting that due to the
significant and costly crashes the Grove-based squad suffered over
the Americas triple-header, it was unlikely to be able to complete
a full F1 weekend in Nevada. However, Williams has since disavowed
any such hearsay, confirming to RacingNews365 that it will be
racing in Las Vegas as planned. Alexander Albon and Franco
Colapinto avoided incurring damage at the United States Grand Prix,
but over the subsequent Mexico City and Sao Paulo Grands Prix, the
pair were involved in five major incidents between them. First, the
former had two heavy shunts at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
After tangling with Haas’ Oliver Bearman in FP1, the 28-year-old’s
race lasted less than a corner when he collided with RB’s Yuki
Tsunoda. Both Williams drivers brought out red flags in difficult
conditions during the postponed qualifying session in Brazil, with
Albon’s crash preventing him from starting the grand prix later
that day, owing to the extent of the damage. Colapinto, meanwhile,
made the start but failed to bring his FW46 home in one piece,
colliding with the wall mid-way through the race at Interlagos,
again causing a red-flag intervention. On the whole, 2024 has
proven costly for the nine-time constructors’ champions, with
crashes early in the season delaying development and hindering the
team’s progress. Nevertheless, despite the reduced financial
flexibility of F1’s cost cap era, and the overall cost of the
damage sustained in Mexico and Brazil undoubtedly being
significant, Williams has put the issue to rest.
team will be unable to race at the Las Vegas Grand Prix. The rumour
was triggered by unaccredited media reporting that due to the
significant and costly crashes the Grove-based squad suffered over
the Americas triple-header, it was unlikely to be able to complete
a full F1 weekend in Nevada. However, Williams has since disavowed
any such hearsay, confirming to RacingNews365 that it will be
racing in Las Vegas as planned. Alexander Albon and Franco
Colapinto avoided incurring damage at the United States Grand Prix,
but over the subsequent Mexico City and Sao Paulo Grands Prix, the
pair were involved in five major incidents between them. First, the
former had two heavy shunts at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
After tangling with Haas’ Oliver Bearman in FP1, the 28-year-old’s
race lasted less than a corner when he collided with RB’s Yuki
Tsunoda. Both Williams drivers brought out red flags in difficult
conditions during the postponed qualifying session in Brazil, with
Albon’s crash preventing him from starting the grand prix later
that day, owing to the extent of the damage. Colapinto, meanwhile,
made the start but failed to bring his FW46 home in one piece,
colliding with the wall mid-way through the race at Interlagos,
again causing a red-flag intervention. On the whole, 2024 has
proven costly for the nine-time constructors’ champions, with
crashes early in the season delaying development and hindering the
team’s progress. Nevertheless, despite the reduced financial
flexibility of F1’s cost cap era, and the overall cost of the
damage sustained in Mexico and Brazil undoubtedly being
significant, Williams has put the issue to rest.
Samuel Coop
Go to seatrade maritime