Williams Season Review | One good weekend in a mediocre year

Williams - 6.3

Williams' car wasn't as bad as it was in 2019 and 2020, but it wasn't very convincing. The fact that Williams took a while to get into a rhythm was perhaps not surprising, as while many teams used all available development tokens to improve the car, the Grove-based stable decided not to use one token.

They scored their first point of the season in Hungary just before the summer break, and, in fact, it was a double points finish. Immediately after the break, the same happened in the Belgian Grand Prix. Russell also scored points in Italy and Russia, but then the fun was over.

The last seven Grands Prix of the season were mainly mediocre with the 12th place finish of Nicholas Latifi in Saudi Arabia their best result. Williams scored all of its 23 points in a run of five Grands Prix. After that, the other teams continued to develop while Williams stood still. The message for 2022 is therefore clear: be there from the start and maintain that level.

All GPblog team figures can be found here!

Internal duel

In the race duel the results of GP's where one of the drivers had a DNF are not included.

It should come as no surprise that George Russell has been the better of the two drivers. Still, Nicholas Latifi, who is considered by many to be a pay-driver, didn't do badly in qualifying. Especially considering he''s up against Russell, who is touted as a future world champion.

Russell: 7,1

In all stats Russell did what he had to do: beat his teammate. He also managed to get his first podium finish in Formula 1 this year. In Belgium he scored nine points for his second place in the race that never started at the circuit of Spa-Francorchamps. Russell's worst race was in Imola, when he crashed with Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas.

George Russell was the lead driver at Williams yet again this season and he certainly succeeded in that mission. His form earned him a move to current world champion Mercedes where he can compete with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. Russell will be missed by Williams over the next few years.

Latifi: 5,5

Latifi scored an average of 5.5 after 22 Grands Prix, which is barely satisfactory. The Canadian scored the maximum 10/10 once because of his great seventh place in Hungary, but there were no further outliers. Latifi's performance was consistent, not always bad, but always just not good enough for points. It's not like Latifi was a rookie, so someone with this kind of experience caould've expect something better on track.

He scored a 3.0 rating twice, Austria and Abu Dhabi, so Latifi averaged a mark of 5.5. For 2022, we can expect more from Latifi, as he will have to carry the team especially at the start of the season. Alexander Albon, as Russell's replacement, will need some time to acclimatise and get used to all the procedures at Williams.