The 2023 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix was an afternoon to forget as the team experienced a tough race at Suzuka Circuit, with both cars forced to retire.
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Alex Albon
No car is strong enough to survive those kinds of crashes. A lousy start triggered it, so we needed to work on that, but then we were in the wrong position at the wrong time, and I got squeezed. I had damage from lap one, and it was pretty much game over, so it’s a shame. We tried to push on and see if the race would unfold and what would happen, as this race is a bit of a battle of attrition, but ultimately, we needed to retire the car.
Logan Sargeant
It was a hectic first few laps, for sure. I came out of the pit lane to a lot of debris on the track, worried about getting a puncture. From my side of the incident, I locked the fronts the second I touched the brakes at Turn 11. It’s my fault, but [Valtteri] Bottas must not have seen that I locked up before making the move. Unfortunately, we had to retire the car following the contact. It isn’t enjoyable for a track where we had the car in a pretty good place and decent pace, especially in qualifying, to come away, not even finishing the race. We’ll move on and focus on Qatar.
Dave Robson, Head of Vehicle Performance
We were forced to retire both cars today after both sustained early damage from contact with other cars. Both sustained front wing and floor damage, and whilst we could change the front wings, the floor damage worsened, and it was no longer possible to continue with either car. It is frustrating not to finish the race with either car, but we can now get back to Grove, regroup and get ready to tackle the Lusail International Circuit in Qatar, which we last visited in 2021.
Williams F1 Team best pictures:
Alexander Albon (THA) Williams Racing.
Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 17, Japanese Grand Prix, Friday 22nd September 2023. Suzuka, Japan.
Logan Sargeant (USA) Williams Racing.
Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 17, Japanese Grand Prix, Friday 22nd September 2023. Suzuka, Japan.
Logan Sargeant (USA) Williams Racing.
Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 17, Japanese Grand Prix, Friday 22nd September 2023. Suzuka, Japan.
Alexander Albon (THA) Williams Racing.
Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 17, Japanese Grand Prix, Saturday 23rd September 2023. Suzuka, Japan.
Logan Sargeant (USA) Williams Racing.
Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 17, Japanese Grand Prix, Saturday 23rd September 2023. Suzuka, Japan.
Logan Sargeant (USA) Williams Racing.
Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 17, Japanese Grand Prix, Sunday 24th September 2023. Suzuka, Japan.
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