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Williams

Williams hit back at unfounded Las Vegas GP rumours

Williams has confirmed it will be racing at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, as planned, despite unfounded rumours suggesting otherwise.

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Williams insist there is no truth to speculation suggesting the team will be unable to race at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

The rumour was triggered by unaccredited media reporting that due to the significant and costly crashes the Grove-based squad suffered over the Americas triple-header, it was unlikely to be able to complete a full F1 weekend in Nevada.

However, Williams has since disavowed any such hearsay, confirming to RacingNews365 that it will be racing in Las Vegas as planned.

Alexander Albon and Franco Colapinto avoided incurring damage at the United States Grand Prix, but over the subsequent Mexico City and Sao Paulo Grands Prix, the pair were involved in five major incidents between them.

First, the former had two heavy shunts at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. After tangling with Haas' Oliver Bearman in FP1, the 28-year-old's race lasted less than a corner when he collided with RB's Yuki Tsunoda.

Both Williams drivers brought out red flags in difficult conditions during the postponed qualifying session in Brazil, with Albon's crash preventing him from starting the grand prix later that day, owing to the extent of the damage.

Colapinto, meanwhile, made the start but failed to bring his FW46 home in one piece, colliding with the wall mid-way through the race at Interlagos, again causing a red-flag intervention.

On the whole, 2024 has proven costly for the nine-time constructors' champions, with crashes early in the season delaying development and hindering the team's progress.

Nevertheless, despite the reduced financial flexibility of F1's cost cap era, and the overall cost of the damage sustained in Mexico and Brazil undoubtedly being significant, Williams has put the issue to rest.

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