Formula 1
F1 2022 car run highlights visibility concerns, say Williams duo
Williams duo Alex Albon and Nicholas Latifi say their first experience of a 2022 Formula 1 car has highlighted how visibility could be more restricted with the new bigger tyres.
Jonathan Noble
Edited: Feb 17, 2022, 11:48 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
The pair completed a shakedown of their Mercedes-powered Williams FW44 at a wet Silverstone on Tuesday, as the squad unveiled an all-new livery for the season ahead.
And although the rules restricted their running to 100 kilometres in total, and the day was hit by rain, both drivers admit concerns that visibility with the new 18-inch wheels and tyre deflectors could be more limited have been realised.
Latifi said: “The visibility, it definitely is worse in some corners. I guess it just depends on the kind of corner, how much you are steering into the corner and where your gaze is going.
“I think that'll just be something that everyone has to get used to. But there are definitely instances where you do see less for sure.”
Williams FW44
Photo by: Williams
Albon reckoned that running on a wide-open track like Silverstone was not such a problem, but believes that street circuits could be more of an issue.
“Today, we had kind of the worst of it with a dark, gloomy, wet day at Silverstone, but it wasn't too bad,” he explained.
“I think we're going to struggle more when we go to street tracks. When we come towards Monaco, Baku Jeddah, that's going to be the tricky ones.
“On open tracks, you can see far ahead of you. With the blind spots of the tyre and all the deflectors, it takes away a lot of that immediate view as you're looking into the corner.
"So what you end up doing is you're looking actually further around the corner.
“However, on a street track, obviously past a wall, there's only more wall, so you can't see much around it. I think that's going to be the tricky one.
“And also combat driving, I think, that's also going to be something a little bit trickier to see where you are, where the front wing is and where your tyres are. That might be a little bit more tricky.”
Read Also:
- Why Williams revealed new F1 livery on show car
- What sets the Williams FW44 apart from its F1 2022 rivals so far
- Williams F1 no longer family business after "critical changes"
While the shakedown and conditions did not allow either Williams driver to understand much about the new 2022 F1 machinery, Latifi did suggest he already could feel how much heavier the new cars were.
“It was really tricky to get any kind of proper feeling of the car but it definitely feels very different to the last year for sure,” he said. “It feels like you're driving a heavier car.
“But beyond that, I was nowhere near the limits. We're kind of just making sure everything's running, making sure the seat's comfortable and any little adjustments you want to make on that.
“So besides that, I'm not really picking and reading too much into anything else that I felt.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Red Bull lands record $150m cryptocurrency sponsorship deal
Next article Sullivan: Masi “works like a dog” in F1 race director role
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Jonathan Noble
Brundle awarded OBE in King’s New Year’s honours
Formula 1
Formula 1
Brundle awarded OBE in King’s New Year’s honours
The new rules dilemma that will define the 2025 F1 season
Formula 1
Formula 1
The new rules dilemma that will define the 2025 F1 season
Verstappen issues Red Bull title warning in push for RB21 progress
Formula 1
Formula 1
Australian GP
Verstappen issues Red Bull title warning in push for RB21 progress
Latest news
MotoGP Australian GP: Marc Marquez recovers from crash to take pole at wet Phillip Island
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
1 h
MotoGP Australian GP: Marc Marquez recovers from crash to take pole at wet Phillip Island
No factory Honda bikes in Australian GP as Luca Marini withdraws due to virus
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
2 h
No factory Honda bikes in Australian GP as Luca Marini withdraws due to virus
"We're just a step behind" - what McLaren is trying to solve with its final 2026 upgrades
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
2 h
"We're just a step behind" - what McLaren is trying to solve with its final 2026 upgrades
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe