If the arrival of a new technical regulation in Formula 1 generated the feeling that the order of forces could change from one season to another, the 2022 championship proved that climbing within the grid is more difficult than it seems. On the other hand, there is the opposite path, the one where the performance from one year to the next simply tumbles. And that’s exactly what happened to williams🇧🇷

sold to Capital Dorilton In August 2020, the team expected better days after the ordeal of recent seasons. Since scoring 83 points in 2017 and finishing the championship in fifth place, the English outfit have made a bitter appearance in the category and amend a dismal streak of cars that don’t offer the slightest bit of competitiveness.

From fifth in 2017 to last in 2018, Williams has remained for the past three straight years, with the lowest of the 2020 season – when he simply failed to add a single point in 17 races. However, Dorilton Capital completed the purchase of the team in the second half of this year and brought the illusion of better days as the investment could once again become at least compatible with its close rivals in F1.

Indeed, even if the weight of the non-GP Belgium 2020 is very high in the 2021 score, the 23 points and the eighth place left the impression that at least the march had a starting point, with the aim of passing for join the midfield at a time when Formula 1 was preparing for a technical revolution.

In the end, the rule changes made the rivals much better than Grove’s team. Alfa Romeo and Haas, who finished behind the English in 2021, are clearly up a notch for 2022, with a sixth-place finish for the Swiss team and an eighth-place finish for the American team. Williams, on the other hand, falls: back to last place, with only eight points conquered, the traditional British team are 27 goals behind on the penultimate place Alpha Tauri🇧🇷

With Alexander Albon Back in F1, Williams fielded a car that immediately placed itself as the worst on the grid in 2022, in a season that offered far fewer unpredictable scenarios than in recent years. To get an idea, just Lando Norris managed to get on the podium outside of the top three teams, at Imola, the only time this happened during the year. For the rest, just Red Bull🇧🇷 Ferrari and mercedes celebrated the first three places.

In the end, the settlement may even have made the cars able to chase each other closer. However, the time gap between the teams was increasing, which was starting to see a real chasm between ‘F1 A’ and ‘F1 B’. For Williams, this abyss is getting closer and closer, more precisely between the team and the Top 10🇧🇷

Albon tried, he added four dots in extremely complicated situations, with a car that even offered some resistance to rivals on the straights – taking advantage of the Mercedes engine -, but became an extremely easy target in the curves, especially in the slower sections.

The team’s situation might even be a bit better, but Nicholas Latifi might add little to his worst year in Formula 1 – as the Canadian himself described it. In a season reserved for the decision to stay or not on the grid, the Canadian succumbed to the pressure and accumulated the errors, absolutely far from the level presented by Albon.

Latifi has only appeared – in a positive way – at two points in the season: the surprising lead in FP3 in Hungary and his only two points, with ninth place in the Japanese GP. Still, it’s important to be fair: even if he were on the same level as his teammate, ‘Nick’ could hardly lead Williams to anything other than last place.

The only real positive of Williams’ season was, in fact, an almost namesake of the Canadian. Nyck de Vries took over the cockpit of Albon’s car – suffering from appendicitis – in the Italian GP and stunned the paddock, with a ninth-place finish and two points on his debut. At that point, Latifi was still a draw in the championship and couldn’t keep up with the Dutchman, which all but sealed his exit from Formula 1 at the end of the year.

Ultimately, De Vries signed AlphaTauri for the next year. In other words, even the good things that happened to the team in 2022 ended up being fleeting, practically a stepping stone for the Dutchman to seize a more competitive opportunity.

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In 2022, the team’s best result was ninth place, achieved three times: in Miami, Italy and Japan. In addition, there were two tenth places in Australia and Belgium. Very, very little.

Of the ten teams in the championship, only two have gone the whole season without fighting for positions in the constructors’ championship: mercedes and williams🇧🇷 While the German team was clearly the third force throughout the year and was not threatened by fourth-placed Alpine, the Brits never left the impression that it would be possible to get out of the last place.

For the next year the team looked inward: instead of going for a money-making driver like Latifi, Williams closed with the house money Sergeant Logan for 2023, with Albon confirmed for one more season. The little – or almost no – evolution of 2022 really leaves little hope that history will be different next year, but Formula 1 still holds great emotions.

Be that as it may, the tradition of a team with 16 Formula 1 world titles in its history [sete de Pilotos e nove de Construtores]🇧🇷 114 wins and more 300 catwalks is not compatible with his moment. Contrary to expected development, Grove’s team only saw their rivals advance — at the same time they declined and could clearly see the impact on the final standings.

assistant captainteam leader and Francois-Xavier Demaison, technical director, have already left Williams after the end of the season. The English side have yet to announce their replacements, but judging by the work done in 2022, the changes will need to be profound for a different outcome to be found next year.

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