Williams stopped development on their 2022 car much earlier than planned after realising it was a lost cause, outgoing team principal Jost Capito told Mirror Sport.
The once-great Formula 1 team has been enduring some particularly lean years of late. The 2022 season was one of the worst in recent memory for Williams, who scored just eight points across 22 races and finished rock bottom in the constructors' championship by some distance.
Capito has since been relieved of his duties, along with technical director Francois-Xavier Demaison. Williams have yet to announce who will replace them for the 2023 campaign and beyond.
Speaking prior to the news that he would be departing to the team, Capito reflected upon a season to forget for the team and told Mirror Sport what Williams had decided to do earlier this year to try to ensure more success in 2023.
"It was a very long and hard season, and still everybody is trying to recover," admitted the German. "We didn't finish where we wanted to, and we saw after the summer break that we wouldn't get up the grid from 10th, and so we focussed on next year's car.
"Let's see how it pays off. I think we have to have a better year next year. We changed a lot internally, how we engineer and develop the car and also the investment from 2021 – all that should be reflected in our performance."
Change at Williams is not just confined to the team's leadership. A new driver pairing will be fielded in 2023 with Alex Albon, in his second year after being brought back into F1 by the Grove-based team, partnered by rookie Logan Sargeant.
Asked why the American was selected over a more experienced option, Capito hinted the decision was made with Albon in mind. He added: "We're very excited about the pairing, because Alex now has a lot of experience.
"He likes to work with young drivers as well – he's keen to take the leadership on. He had the lead this year and he really grew in that role. He is very familiar with the team now, the team supports him and now is the right time to take a rookie on and give Logan a learning year in '23."
