Welcome to race week and the all important first sign of the 2024 cars as the Formula 1 fraternity is unleashed on the Bahrain International Circuit for Round 1.
With months of meticulous planning and development behind us, anticipation at the Grove will see the FW46 race against nine of our competitors for the first time.
Having learned the lessons from last week's pre-season test, Alex, Logan and the team now face the first weekend of competition and we've identified five things everyone should be looking out for at the Bahrain GP.
Pecking order predictions
The first race of any season is no ordinary Grand Prix event; It's a litmus test of teams' hard work during the offseason and before.
It provides a more realistic benchmark than testing, as all teams will push their 2024 entries to the limit rather than conducting internal test runs of their own accord.
Unlike the remaining rounds, teams can treat the free practice sessions as additional test sessions to get a final understanding of their new cars, but that will stop on Friday.
Qualifying will be the first moment of the season where absolute pace is key, while each track has its peculiarities and some fare better than others, we will have the first indicator of where Williams Racing will sit within the grid.
Get ready for 2024…
Ready to race?
Unlike the controlled environment of pre-season testing, race weekends introduce variables that we can't simulate but affect the final speed of our car – namely, the other 18 drivers.
At all times, any team can practice race runs and not all practice time is spent preparing for traffic or other strategies, even during warm-up laps for qualifying simulations at testing.
Our ability to adapt and respond to these ever-changing dynamics will be as vital as the speed of the FW46 and our two drivers driving them.
We challenge semi-regularly for a top-10 spot in 2023; Could we be there more often in 2024?
Let's talk tires
Pirelli is not bringing any new compounds for the upcoming season, and there are no new rules governing tire use.
However, these four wheels are the only point of contact with the car circuit, and maximizing their performance is the only universal truth for every team.
Tire use varies by car and driving style, so as the FW46 is a completely different beast to the FW45, we need to understand how Pirellis react to our new car and learn how to fulfill the potential of both.
Check out Logan's Bahrain track walk
A year later
James and Logan enter their first races for Williams Racing at the 2023 Bahrain GP, and each their first in new jobs.
Each has an additional year of experience as a team principal and Formula 1 driver respectively, and watching their progress as they progress through their careers will be something to watch.
The problem for each of them is that they played well when they debuted a year ago: James scored a point for his new team, and Logan scored an excellent P12 finish in his first race!
New cars for our F2 Duo
Alex and Logan aren't the only Williams Racing drivers competing in new machines in Bahrain this weekend.
Williams Racing Driver Academy members Zach O'Sullivan and Franco Colapinto will embark on their first Formula 2 championship campaign after graduating from Formula 3 last year.
While this will mean a new car for their new season, there is an all-new Formula 2 car for even the returning drivers to get a handle on.
That change means Zach and Franco will be able to make the most of this chassis shake-up during Friday and Saturday's races to kickstart their F2 campaign in style at the Saghir circuit.
