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Williams Racing boss James Vowles believes the ERS setting change was to blame for Alex Albon’s crash at the Australian Grand Prix.
Due to the good compatibility of the FW45 and Albert Park, Albon was running smoothly in the points following qualifying for the first time this season, but he lost his rear on entering Turn 6 and overcame the gravel. Collision with wall. He was forced to retire.
Alex Albon out of Williams FW45 following crash at Turn 6 at Albert Park Circuit, Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix April 2, 2023
Shortly following the accident, Albon and head of vehicle performance Dave Robson explained that the cause was a curb contact at Turn 5, just before the incident, which caused the tires to heat up rapidly and lose grip. was
Perhaps the details were revealed through analysis at the factory. Five days following the end of the Australian Grand Prix, Vawles explained in detail the circumstances and factors that led to the accident from a technical perspective.
“What happened to Alex was hard to explain just by looking at the data. Going through Turn 5 and heading into Turn 6, he was running slower than he had been on the previous lap.
“Nevertheless he lost the rear and lost control of the car. There was nothing he might do.”
“In fact, this accident was the result of a gradual build-up from a few laps ago. I’d like to explain what happened.”
Williams F1 Team Principal James Vowles watches the situation in the garage during the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix on April 2, 2023.
“Turn 5 is a corner where you can easily go full throttle in qualifying, but it’s quite difficult in the race. We expected that corner to be lifted all the way.”
“But the car was doing well and we realized we might go flat out that corner, so we changed the distribution of energy deployment.”
“As a result, on the lap that ended the race, he was nearly 10km/h faster through Turn 5 than he had been on the previous lap.”
2023 course layout map of Albert Park Circuit (F1 Australian GP)
“It may not seem like much, but it makes a big difference in terms of tires, power, energy and tire temperatures.”
“I realized I was going too fast and had to lift a little bit, but he bulged out in that corner, with his left rear tire vibrating on the exit curb. ”
“At first glance it looks fine, but when the tires reach their temperature limit and the speed through the corners increases, you hit the curb even more. This creates a very high frequency.”
“Going into Turn 6, he didn’t have the rear grip that he had hoped in advance, and that’s what ended his race.”
