– The internal team collision between Carlos Sainz and Alexander Albon at the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort was a worst-case scenario for Williams – also with regard to the budget and further development, says Sky Sports expert Bernie Collins, who warns of serious consequences from the accident.
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“The first rule within a team is: Don’t touch your teammate,” Collins said during an appearance on the Sky Sports F1 Show. “That is practically the number one rule. Especially for a team struggling to bring upgrades and fighting financial problems.”
The native Northern Irishwoman knows what she is talking about: She began her Formula 1 career in the 2009 season at McLaren, where she rose to performance engineer. In 2015, Collins moved to Force India and stayed loyal to the team through its transition to Racing Point and later Aston Martin.
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After the end of the 2021 Formula 1 season, she left the team and became an expert and strategy analyst for Formula 1 broadcasts on Sky Sports and F1TV. Due to her experience, Collins can assess the current situation at Williams well: “Their car is overweight and not competitive enough.”
Expert warns: Budget cannot be added back
The collision between Sainz and Albon was not big, but could still have financial consequences for Williams. Because the team is already struggling with an overweight chassis, delayed development plans, and the massive restrictions imposed by the budget cap.
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“We hear Mercedes saying they don’t have enough money to bring upgrades,” Collins recalls. “You simply cannot lose parts, performance, or knowledge. That’s why I think they will have a big discussion about this.”
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But there will be no solution. “Whether it is deducted from their salary or not doesn’t matter, because it is already out of the budget. You cannot add it back to the budget and say, ‘Oh, the drivers took this part of the budget.’ That’s not how it works.”
Williams experiences “difficult weekend” in Zandvoort
“So it was a difficult weekend for them,” summarizes the expert, who – unlike team principal James Vowles – does not see strategy as the decisive problem. “And whether they chose the right strategy or not – only [Fernando] Alonso drove the other strategy.”
“So they had very similar strategies to the drivers around them. But the performance was missing, and it just seems that the car did not have the right weight, was not delivered on time, and did not have the right performance. So a lot is going on behind the scenes at Williams.”
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