Vowles: A weekend like this leaves a bitter taste

Williams Racing chief James Vowles has made no secret of being upset by the results of the weekend in Mexico City as his drivers were unable to earn anything for various reasons. Alex Albon crashed at the start and Franco Colapinto was penalized by the stewards for failing to overtake Liam Lawson as he battled for 12th position.

James Vowles: “It leaves a bitter taste after a weekend like this, because I know we could fight for the points with our car, and we were faster in the race than Alpine, but we didn’t have the best qualifying on Saturday.

We are talking about Franco Colapinto: with such a density of results, a small mistake led to him starting the race only in 16th place. But considering Alex Albon started from 9th position, I have no doubt he could compete well with the Haas drivers in Mexico City.

Of course we are angry because Alex’s car was seriously damaged and we didn’t earn any points, while our rivals did.

At the same time, Franco did well, did everything we asked him to do and his pit stop also went well. Colapinto was in a situation where he could fight for around 11th position, and although he probably wouldn’t have made it into the top ten, he could still make good progress.

And if we talk about the decision of the stewards to fine him, then, as always, you can express different opinions, but from my point of view he performed a completely correct maneuver.

Now for what lies ahead: After a weekend like this, it’s easy to give up and give in to despondency, but I prefer to remain optimistic. With our car we can still earn points in the remaining races, we have every chance to do so.

In Brazil we will have to hold another sprint on Saturday, and that gives extra opportunities. Franco has already proven that one 60-minute workout is all he needs to get up to speed, and Alex can be impressively fast when he’s fit.

We are already looking forward to the upcoming Sao Paulo Grand Prix, the final round of this series of three in a row, after which there are three races to go before the end of the season, and I know we can be competitive in all of them .”