The Marina Bay track was not expected to suit Williams, but Albon drove a strong race, and a stop for fresh tires under the virtual safety car – reflecting the strategy used by Mercedes – gave him extra pace in the final stages of the race.
Albon was 10th and closing in on Liam Lawson when Perez made contact while attempting to overtake in a late-race incident that was not shown on television.
The Red Bull driver subsequently received a five-second penalty and a penalty point on his license.
Albon recovered to finish 11th, but Vowles says he would have passed Lawson and then moved up to eighth when George Russell crashed on the final lap.
So the Perez incident actually cost Williams four points, while handing AlphaTauri one point via Lawson, and one to Haas via 10th placed Kevin Magnussen.
With seven races remaining, Williams is seventh in the World Championship on 21 points, ahead of Haas on 12, Alfa Romeo on 10 and AlphaTauri on five, with each place difference worth millions in prize money.
“A lot of points on the table have been taken away,” Volwes told Autosport. “It is frustrating that when you are in a championship that is fighting to the end and you are leading against your direct rivals in that championship, to have that taken away hurts.
James Vowles, Team Principal, Williams Racing
Photo by: François Tremblay
“And for no good reason either. It was a slot – there are sensible ways to overtake and this wasn’t the right way to do it.”
“For several laps before, Pérez was really on the inside and trying to get his nose in. It’s not a problem in itself, you have to use aggressive techniques.
“But Alex had already committed to the point of surrender. And it overlaps at the back and it was contact with the pontoon. There was no way this would work.
“So it’s incredibly frustrating. You like very thin margins. And that could be what decides the championship positions.”
On the positive side, Vowles said the race showed once again that the team is in good shape and making the right decisions.
“The main thing is I think you can see the team really giving it their all, and Alex giving it their all,” he said.
“We know we were down this weekend, but we made a series of really good decisions that didn’t necessarily all happen during the race – the decision to have two mids was made weeks ago .
Alex Albon, Williams FW45, leaves the pits after a stop
Photo by: Lionel Ng / Motorsport Images
“But all of that came to fruition when this VSC came out. And the ability to seize those opportunities is tremendous. And it was fantastic to see Alex fight again.
Vowles was encouraged by the fact that, traditionally, the Singapore circuit has not favored the team, suggesting that the car could be good at other races in the latter part of the season, with weekends sprint ends and the threat of rain at several sites added to the situation. mix.
“If you look at the history of this team, we haven’t had a car in Q2 in Singapore since 2016,” he noted. “So actually the issues are more fundamental to what we do as a base.”
“I think we will be competitive again, although maybe not at the level of Zandvoort. There are opportunities, but both ways, lots of opportunities for others to get a really good score, or for us to come away with more points.
“What I believe, if you look at the progress we have made as a team, is that we will now go into most of the races with Williams as the points-scoring car.
“Again, that was the case today. Yes, by adopting the right strategy. But basically, it’s part of the package for me.
“And we have to continue this momentum, we have to make sure that we show others that we are here to continue to learn and improve, and to fight if there is a point to be taken, and if not, to finish ahead of all our direct rivals in the championship.”
The Marina Bay track was not expected to suit Williams, but Albon drove a strong race, and a stop for fresh tires under the virtual safety car – reflecting the strategy used by Mercedes – gave him extra pace in the final stages of the race.
Albon was 10th and closing in on Liam Lawson when Perez made contact while attempting to overtake in a late-race incident that was not shown on television.
The Red Bull driver subsequently received a five-second penalty and a penalty point on his license.
Albon recovered to finish 11th, but Vowles says he would have passed Lawson and then moved up to eighth when George Russell crashed on the final lap.
So the Perez incident actually cost Williams four points, while handing AlphaTauri one point via Lawson, and one to Haas via 10th placed Kevin Magnussen.
With seven races remaining, Williams is seventh in the World Championship on 21 points, ahead of Haas on 12, Alfa Romeo on 10 and AlphaTauri on five, with each place difference worth millions in prize money.
“A lot of points on the table have been taken away,” Volwes told Autosport. “It is frustrating that when you are in a championship that is fighting to the end and you are leading against your direct rivals in that championship, to have that taken away hurts.
James Vowles, Team Principal, Williams Racing
Photo by: François Tremblay
“And for no good reason either. It was a slot – there are sensible ways to overtake and this wasn’t the right way to do it.”
“For several laps before, Pérez was really on the inside and trying to get his nose in. It’s not a problem in itself, you have to use aggressive techniques.
“But Alex had already committed to the point of surrender. And it overlaps at the back and it was contact with the pontoon. There was no way this would work.
“So it’s incredibly frustrating. You like very thin margins. And that could be what decides the championship positions.”
On the positive side, Vowles said the race showed once again that the team is in good shape and making the right decisions.
“The main thing is I think you can see the team really giving it their all, and Alex giving it their all,” he said.
“We know we were down this weekend, but we made a series of really good decisions that didn’t necessarily all happen during the race – the decision to have two mids was made weeks ago .
Alex Albon, Williams FW45, leaves the pits after a stop
Photo by: Lionel Ng / Motorsport Images
“But all of that came to fruition when this VSC came out. And the ability to seize those opportunities is tremendous. And it was fantastic to see Alex fight again.
Vowles was encouraged by the fact that, traditionally, the Singapore circuit has not favored the team, suggesting that the car could be good at other races in the latter part of the season, with weekends sprint ends and the threat of rain at several sites added to the situation. mix.
“If you look at the history of this team, we haven’t had a car in Q2 in Singapore since 2016,” he noted. “So actually the issues are more fundamental to what we do as a base.”
“I think we will be competitive again, although maybe not at the level of Zandvoort. There are opportunities, but both ways, lots of opportunities for others to get a really good score, or for us to come away with more points.
“What I believe, if you look at the progress we have made as a team, is that we will now go into most of the races with Williams as the points-scoring car.
“Again, that was the case today. Yes, by adopting the right strategy. But basically, it’s part of the package for me.
“And we have to continue this momentum, we have to make sure that we show others that we are here to continue to learn and improve, and to fight if there is a point to be taken, and if not, to finish ahead of all our direct rivals in the championship.”
