Williams endured a frustrating 2024 Formula 1 season as the team took a step back from the year prior.
The Grove-based outfit opted to retain Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant in 2024 after finishing seventh in the Constructors’ Championship in 2023. The former put in some impressive performances to score 27 of their 28 points last season, while the latter only scored his solitary point thanks to Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton’s disqualification from the United States Grand Prix.
From the off in 2024, it was clear Williams‘ package was not as strong compared to its predecessor, but Albon was still able to push the FW46 to its limits and fight for Q3. Meanwhile, Sargeant showed little progression from 2023 and had multiple costly crashes that led to his dismissal after the Dutch Grand Prix.
Franco Colapinto replaced him and immediately impressed with two points finishes in Baku and Austin, But the Argentine also proved to be crash-heavy, suffering multiple accidents in the final few races that ultimately led to RB pulling out their interest in Colapinto, having previously lined him up as a Sergio Perez replacement.
The 21-year-old’s crashes were so costly that Williams even had to borrow parts from Aston Martin to fix his car for the Las Vegas Grand Prix after his incident in qualifying. Williams finished the season in ninth in the standings with just 17 points.
| Position | Constructors’ Standings | Points |
| 1 |
McLaren Racing |
666 |
| 2 |
Scuderia Ferrari |
652 |
| 3 |
Red Bull Racing |
589 |
| 4 |
Mercedes-AMG Petronas |
468 |
| 5 |
Aston Martin F1 Team |
94 |
| 6 |
Alpine F1 Team |
65 |
| 7 |
Haas F1 Team |
58 |
| 8 |
Visa Cash App RB Formula One Team |
46 |
| 9 |
Williams F1 Team |
17 |
| 10 |
Sauber F1 Team |
4 |
Heading into 2025, the team are building for the future as they hope to get back to the front of the field after a dramatic decline in recent years.
Despite a torrid season on the track in 2024, there was one ‘tremendous’ thing Williams did off of it that stands out for team principal James Vowles.
James Vowles lauds the ‘tremendous’ signing of Carlos Sainz for 2025 that left him emotional
Albon will stay with Williams in 2025, and the Thai driver will be joined by Carlos Sainz, who makes the move from Ferrari after being replaced by Hamilton.
The Spaniard is a major coup for Williams as he comes with experience and the ability to fight at the front – he scored two wins and nine podiums in 2024. Sainz has signed a £8.5m-a-year contract that runs until 2026, but the team have the option to extend the deal further for 2027 and 2028.
The 30-year-old had been a target for Williams ever since it was announced he would be a free agent at the end of the year. Speaking on the official Williams YouTube channel, Vowles reflected on the moment as the one he liked the most in 2024 as he could not bottle his emotions up when he announced the news to the factory in Grove.
“The interesting part of what I liked most about the 2024 season wasn’t really anything much on track,” he said.
“It was more about what was happening back in Grove, back in the UK, back in the factory in terms of process systems, technology, people also coming and joining us, because every single individual that was there, you could just see a step up within the organisation.
“But I think if I had to choose an individual moment, it was when we announced Carlos joining the team to Grove. I wish I could have bottled up that emotion that came with it, but it just meant a tremendous amount to every single individual within the team that Carlos was with us.
“And now we have a fantastic line-up with Alex and Carlos.”
Carlos Sainz got his first outing with Williams in the Abu Dhabi post-season test
After finishing second in his final race with Ferrari at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Sainz got straight to work with Williams as he ran in the post-season test with the team at the Yas Marina Circuit.
Sainz had to wear plain white racing overalls as he is still contracted to Ferrari until the end of the year. The same applied to Nico Hulkenberg at Sauber, while Esteban Ocon could race in his Haas overalls as Alpine released him from his contract to join the American team early.
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While the times from the session are nothing to go by in terms of an order for 2025, it was an encouraging first outing for Sainz at Williams. The Spaniard was second fastest in Tuesday’s test behind his now former teammate Leclerc.
The future is exciting for Williams as they boast a strong driver pairing in Albon and Sainz who are capable of delivering solid results. The only concern is whether the team can improve in 2025 ahead of the major technological changes coming in 2026.
Sainz’s arrival has allowed Williams to focus on developing the team forward and push the boundaries to get them back to the heights they once were at in F1. Whether the Spaniard can perform in the FW47 next year is another question.
