Vowles: If you have one machine, you don’t get a lot of data.

Of the Williams drivers, only Franco Colapinto was able to complete the second practice session in Las Vegas normally, because Alex Albon’s car had problems with the fuel system. After the session, James Vowles, head of the British team, commented on the situation on Sky Sports.

James Vowles: “Alex Albon’s car had problems with the fuel system, we took action, but that was not enough as there was a second problem, this time related to the electronics, but also related to the fuel system.

We are eliminating these problems, but something else worries me more: on such a track, every lap is important so that the drivers gain confidence and reach the desired level of speed. When you only have one machine active, you get a limited amount of data. In addition, Franco Colapinto himself has to get used to the new track.

The last few weeks have been difficult due to the spare parts situation, and in Las Vegas it is important that both cars run in the same configuration because this track is different from most others. It is an urban circuit, but it differs from Singapore or Baku in that the driving experience is constantly changing, as the grip level changes noticeably.

Everything is made worse by the fact that Pirelli has set a very high level of mandatory tire pressure. We saw that in these conditions during training some riders tried to find the limit in those parts of the track where they could push. However, qualifying should stabilize everything.

First of all, I would like to remind you that I am not just here to watch our riders do laps. Both she and our entire team plan to take every opportunity to earn points. From the stage in Zandvoort we can compete with our car for the qualifying final – this should also be the case this weekend.”