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Williams will launch its 2024 F1 Car on Monday, February 5, and after a long time, it seems optimistic about what the future holds.
The team went through a lot of financial turmoil until it was taken over by Dorilton Capital. Since then, it tried to grow a bit with George Russell as the standout performer in 2020 and 2021.
The 2023 F1 season, however, was the first one where the fruits of the labor were more visible in terms of results. The team became a more consistent points scorer. In Alex Albon, it found a driver who could get results out of the car in a manner that not many drivers would have.
Williams finished the season P7 in the championship behind Alpine, a team that scored two podiums in 2023. Heading into the 2024 F1 season, what are some of the key targets that it would have in mind as it launches its challenger for the season? Let's take a look.
Top 3 pre-season targets for Williams in the 2024 F1 season
#1 Keep hold of Alex Albon
Talking about the pre-season targets, Williams arguably has a major one already even before the season begins. That target is selling Alex Albon the dream of what the team could be as it continues to progress.
The 2024 F1 season could be one of the most entertaining seasons in a long time. So far, as many as 13 drivers have not put pen to paper on their futures beyond the upcoming season.
With Lewis Hamilton announcing his departure from Mercedes and moving to Ferrari, Albon has been already linked with the empty seat. Not only that, he has also been linked with multiple teams already and there is no doubt he would be high on their shortlist.
The last couple of seasons have shown Albon's importance for Williams. He has been the ace points scorer for the team and without him, the team is likely to struggle.
In this scenario and with such a massively dynamic driver market, James Vowles will hope to hold on to the asset that has delivered the most in the last 12 months.
#2 Become a consistent points scorer
Keeping the driver and team setup aside, the focus for Williams this season has to be on building more all-rounded machinery as compared to its predecessors.
The new regulations have seen the team build a car that is brilliant in a straight line but has been found wanting on the rest of the track. While this will help it win quite a few points, the car still needs work.
A team cannot have a car that works only on a few tracks and is vulnerable to the others, especially if it aspires to progress through the field in the future.
This is where Williams' latest signing Nick Fry is important. The former Alpine man has been responsible for building quite a few good cars over the years and his experience is going to be immense.
Williams' next step in its progression is for the cars to get more rounded and that is likely what Vowles will look to achieve with the team.
#3 Try to target Alpine
The status that Williams reached last F1 season was that of being the lead backmarker.
Last year, the field that had a lead group of five teams in Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren, and Aston Martin. They were followed by Alpine as the sole midfield team and then the bottom four backmarkers of which the Vowles-led squad was the leader.
The next step for the team is to challenge Alpine this season. The French team is also coming into the F1 season on the back of a tumultuous winter where Bruno Famin has eventually taken over the role as the head at Enstone.
While V-CA-RB, formerly known as AlphaTauri, threatens to disrupt a few things, Williams will be targeting progress and look to make Alpine its next scalp.
