The jubilation and sorrow Williams experienced in its 2021 F1 recovery

“If you need to compromise my race to help Nicky, do it. Prioritise Nicky.”

The radio message from George Russell after the early-race chaos in August’s Hungarian Grand Prix was a sign of the breakthrough moment he knew was within Williams’s grasp.

Nicholas Latifi sat a heady third following a red flag for the Turn 1 crashes and some tyre mix-ups off the restart. Russell had also battled into the points, but knew the bigger chance lay ahead for his Canadian team-mate. While both would go on to score points in Hungary, acting as the latest major step in Williams’s revival and reconstruction, there were more ups – and downs – to come as it finally ditched its ‘basement team’ tag after three difficult years.

“There were really high highs and very low lows,” says Williams team boss Jost Capito. “We went through a lot of various emotions for the team throughout the season.”

The performance swings were partly expected. Williams entered the season believing that its car, the FW43B, would be peaky and very wind-sensitive due to its aerodynamic concept, and doubted it could be a regular points-scoring force. But after making some decent progress through 2020 and getting closer to the lower midfield, the plan was to continue its gradual steps forward with an eye on the future.

The team found itself falling into a habit of being in the right place at the wrong time. Whenever it executed perfect races, there would be 20 finishers or a lack of drama ahead. Russell put in star displays in France (finishing 12th on merit) and both Austria weekends. He ran eighth in the first Red Bull Ring race before a pneumatic pressure issue forced him to retire, and then reached Q3 on mediums one weekend later before being denied a point in a late battle against Fernando Alonso.

Russell narrowly missed out on a first point in Austria to Alonso, underlining how far Williams had come

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Russell looks back fondly on that run of form, even if there were no points.

“That was a period where everything was coming towards us and coming our way,” recalls Russell. “I felt great inside of the car. I would say the two Austrias and Paul Ricard were probably the best [races of the season].”

Capito also noted the improving atmosphere as belief grew that a breakthrough would soon come.

“When we started to have 11th position, and we saw that we can race with some cars in the midfield, of course it gives a boost,” he says. “You improve more if you’re in the position that you can fight with other cars and race others – and this is also what we found with race drivers: they’ve got a completely different motivation if they’re just running around at the back of the field or if they can be in a fight.”

"As we were in the position to take the points, and finish in the points with both cars, then we started saying, 'OK, can we do more?'" Jost Capito

And then came Hungary. Ironically, it took Williams’s worst qualifying result of the season – Russell 17th, Latifi 18th – for it to be in the right place. The first-corner chaos in the wet took out the frontrunners and, as the midfielders dodged each other, Latifi and Russell were able to sneak through to third and seventh respectively once the race had restarted and everyone had switched to slicks.

It was then that Russell gave his powerful radio call. He’d seen this story before for Williams, and didn’t want to let this opportunity slip after over two years of trying. But there was no need to compromise his race in the end. Both drivers kept cool to cross the line seventh and eighth, giving Williams its first points in over two years, and its best result since the 2017 Italian GP.

PLUS: Why unseen Hungary heroics could be Latifi's making

There were wild celebrations in the pitlane as the team moved to the dizzy heights of eighth in the constructors’ championship. Russell even shed a tear as he conducted his media pen interviews, knowing how much it meant to the whole team. At long last, Williams’s efforts had been rewarded.

Double points score in Hungary was Williams' first in several years and lifted the team above Alfa in the constructors'

Photo by: Williams

Capito looks back on the race as a result Williams fully deserved for its “brave decisions” during the GP.

“If you are in the position to take the points then if you can’t take them then you haven’t done your job,” he says. “But as we were in the position to take the points, and finish in the points with both cars, then we started saying, ‘OK, can we do more?’”

Yes, Williams could. With the summer break complete and a Mercedes contract signed for 2022, Russell showed exactly why he is set to shine next season, with a wet-weather lap of the gods at Spa. Perfect preparation allowed him to nail the lap and grab second on the grid, three tenths off Max Verstappen on pole.

Amid the sourness and rightful anger that many F1 fans felt on Sunday at Spa, when rain limited running to two processional laps behind the safety car, Williams had cause for celebration. Russell’s stunning lap meant he was second when the race was called, giving the team a podium and, thanks to Latifi in ninth, another 10 points to all but secure eighth in the standings.

PLUS: How Russell left Mercedes with little real choice over his F1 promotion

More points at Monza and Sochi – the latter after another wet qualifying masterclass put Russell third on the grid – helped keep Alfa Romeo at bay.

“We’ve finished P10 in the championship three years in a row, so to finish P8 with more points on the board this year than the last three combined is a massive achievement,” declares Russell. “Hopefully it catapults them to even more success next year.”

Even if he’s not in a Williams next season, Russell will have played an integral role in any success it does enjoy in 2022. He helped to energise the team and keep it moving from its lowest moments in 2019. He also hopes that Latifi, who has “really come along well” this year, has a “more stable and consistent car and his true pace will be able to shine”.

Team boss Capito congratulates Russell on his second-fastest time in qualifying at Spa

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

The foundations being laid for Williams’s future did not just come with its on-track achievements this year. Upon taking over as CEO last December, Capito was clear in his push to make changes. He set out a 100-day plan to complete a top-to-bottom review of the team and its operations, identifying areas to improve as the Dorilton ownership put an end to any financial concerns.

The biggest thing Capito identified was a need for clear leadership and some internal restructuring, finding that the team had been working in silos too much. He wanted to ensure “one leadership, under somebody who has a lot of motorsport experience in all kinds of engineering, rather than car engineering or car development”, in the hope of bearing fruit in 2022 and beyond.

It led to the departure of Simon Roberts and the arrival of Francois-Xavier (known as ‘FX’) Demaison, who Capito worked with at Volkswagen in the World Rally Championship, as technical director.

"There’s only so much you can do with the pace of the car we have, so we’re just trying to lay the foundations on that front, so when we do have a more competitive car and competitive package we’ll be able to capitalise on it" Nicholas Latifi

“The way we’re operating as a team is definitely much better,” says Latifi. “We’ve been taking more risks at various points, which has been shown by some of the good performances. There’s only so much you can do with the pace of the car we have, so we’re just trying to lay the foundations on that front, so when we do have a more competitive car and competitive package we’ll be able to capitalise on it.”

Latifi will be joined at Williams next season by Alex Albon, who won the race for the seat amid significant interest in the driver market. The rules reset for 2022 may offer an opportunity to the entire grid, but for Williams it’s the chance to further its recent progress and put its malaise firmly in the past.

PLUS: The impressive attitude that earned Albon his second F1 chance

But 2021 will not be a year of solely good memories for the team. At the end of November, its founder, Sir Frank Williams, died at the age of 79, sparking an outpouring of tributes from the F1 world. He had been one of motorsport’s most influential and important figures, battling adversity to turn his humble team into a multi-championship winner.

Entering 2022, the team carrying the Williams name will maintain and channel his fighting spirit as it looks to build on this season, when important breakthroughs showed that the good times may not be so far away again.

Williams appears to be on an upward trajectory once more as it seeks to honour the memory of its founder

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

No escaping ‘Class C’ fight for Alfa Romeo

“Good on performance, bad on results,” was team principal Frederic Vasseur’s assessment of Alfa Romeo’s 2021 season as it slumped to ninth in the standings, dropping below Williams despite arguably having a faster car.

It had all started so brightly. With a better Ferrari engine, Alfa Romeo targeted a return to the midfield proper. Antonio Giovinazzi and Kimi Raikkonen ran on the fringes of the points in the opening rounds, and got on the board in Monaco and Baku. Giovinazzi’s Monaco display in particular, where he reached Q3 and came home 10th, bred confidence.

“But then we had a tough period in the summer,” said Vasseur. “Perhaps we were on vacation!”

He may joke, but it was a run of races where Alfa Romeo saw itself slip further away from points contention. In Hungary and Belgium, as Williams capitalised on the drama ahead, Raikkonen brought home just a single point.

Some strong late-season displays offered points in Russia, Mexico and Saudi Arabia, but it was never going to be enough, even as it largely outpaced Williams.

“It doesn’t matter to be faster if you’re not scoring points,” says Vasseur. “It’s a bit frustrating for the team. We had a feeling that we did a step forward in terms of pure performance, but we didn’t achieve and didn’t score the points.”

Raikkonen rode into the sunset eager to get a “normal life”, hanging up his helmet after an F1 career spanning 20 years, while Giovinazzi was dropped to make way for an all-new line-up of Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou in 2022.

It’ll be the start of a new era and a chance to escape the lower-midfield but, as Alfa Romeo found out this year, having an advantage on paper means nothing without points to back it up.

Autosport's in-depth 2021 Formula 1 season review supplement will be available on Thursday 23 December, free with our 124-page Christmas double issue

Giovinazzi netted points in Jeddah, but it wasn't enough to save his Alfa Romeo seat or eighth in the constructors'

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images