Qatar GP: Mixed Sprint Qualifying for Williams Racing

By Williams Racing
November 29 2024

The opening day of the 2024 Qatar GP would see the Williams Racing Team finish with Alex Albon 12th and Franco Colapinto 20th after Sprint qualifying. Under the Sprint format both drivers would only get one practice session which made things that much harder, especially for Franco who was also having to learn the track as well as cope with a car that was not up to the latest specification. Alex would come away a bit disappointed but was encouraged by their race pace. For Franco it will be very much the case of using the Sprint to gain a better insight into his car prior to the main race qualifying.


Williams Racing Qatar GP Sprint Qualifying



	Franco Colapinto: "It was a tough day as from Free Practice we were struggling with the car. We didn’t really find the right direction to go in. I was losing time little by little through a lap in most corners which is always the most frustrating part because there are no big chunks of lap time lost in one place. The high-speed felt ok but when coming to medium and slower speed corners I was really struggling with the front end and balance. We tried to fix the issues with some setup changes after Free Practice, but it didn’t work as well as we wanted. However, with all the data we’ve gained from today and in tomorrow’s Sprint Race, I’m hoping we might be able to do something more interesting tomorrow in the main Qualifying session."

	Alex Albon: "Firstly, it’s been a lot of fun out there today. It’s a really nice track and very quick. We’re maybe a bit disappointed with the Sprint Qualifying result. We struggled in Free Practice with not quite getting the tyres in the right place and had the same issue in Sprint Quali, but I think most teams are struggling to find that magic window. I think we’ll be okay tomorrow. Our long run pace was really strong, so I’m optimistic."

	Sven Smeets, Sporting Director: "Having only one Free Practice before you start Qualifying always brings some challenges. We were struggling a bit to get the tyres in the right window in FP. Sprint Qualifying this evening was tricky and unfortunately Franco didn’t make it into SQ2. He can use the race tomorrow to find a better balance as he is struggling in the low and medium speed corners. Alex just made it into SQ2 and finished at the end in P12. Our race runs looked competitive this morning, so we are looking forward to the Sprint Race tomorrow and we will work hard overnight to try and find a better tyre prep for Qualifying tomorrow night."

Track: Lusail International Circuit, Qatar			Lap Length: 5.419 km

Pos	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3
12	A Albon	Williams Racing	1:22.705	1:22.526	-
20	F Colapinto	Williams Racing	1:23.423	-	-