Tag: Frank Williams

F1 2017: The Case for & against Robert Kubica

It’s been no secret that the Williams F1 team has been evaluating Robert Kubica over the last several months. Still, there is no announcement from the team on who will fill the second seat alongside Canadian teenager Lance Stroll.

Kubica is no stranger to Formula 1 as his previous stints at Renault and BMW Sauber can attest. The Polish driver burst onto the F1 scene in 2006 with a pedigree and level of talent most drivers could only dream of. Both his spells with Sauber and Renault were underscored with tremendous speed and an easy prediction that he could one day become world champion. In 2011, a horrific crash at the Ronde di Andora rally partially severed his right forearm and devastated his Formula 1 career.

While he labeled a return to F1 as “nearly impossible” he reverted to competitive rally racing. The dream of F1 was never far away from his thoughts and the rumours of a possible return began to spread through the F1 paddock. Subsequently, Renault drafted him into the car for a day of testing following the 2017 Hungarian grand prix. The test, according the Renault who’d named Kubica as a possibility for 2018, was used to assess his capabilities. While no definitive data was shared from the test Renault would cease any interest shortly thereafter. Since then he’s completed three days of testing for Williams who are also considering Russian driver Sergey Sirotkin.

The case is easily made for Robert Kubica. He was blindingly quick in F1 and had all the makings of champion. His story is a goose bump-inducing achievement of the human spirit and there’s little doubt that if Kubica were to make an F1 return it would be one of the greatest comeback stories in all of sports. And to sweeten the pot even further he also comes with a nice chunk of change from Polish oil company Lotos.

But the question about his competency continues to linger. It’s clear at this stage that if Williams were fully confident in Kubica’s capabilities they’d have already signed him up. It’d certainly be one heck of a PR win. Nonetheless PR isn’t at the forefront of Williams’ decision. Instead, it’s having two drivers with the ability to score vital points that ensures that Williams continues to earn vital prize money as they aim to return to the forefront of F1.

The other driver in the running is 22-year old Sergey Sirotkin who also comes with a lucrative incentive from Russian backers. Rest assured that the fact that any sort of financial aspect must factor into the selection a driver doesn’t sit well with Frank or Claire Williams. Racing and Formula 1 is in their DNA but the nagging reality of the financial burden of F1, as an independent team, is a chronic symptom of a far too expensive sport. And it forces a team like Williams into considering a sponsor-backed driver like Sirotkin who likely wouldn’t have registered on the Williams’ radar without it.

The expectation is that Kubica will be announced as a Williams driver for the 2018 season and if it eventuates the team would’ve have made the call based on the belief that is capable enough. Devoid of pressure the opinion from outside the Williams team has distinctly romantic note. After all, one of the biggest reasons we love sport is for the romance of it all, for human stories and achievements. But is that enough?

Images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport.

December 5, 2017
Meet Williams’ 2016 Challenger – the FW38

The Williams F1 team have unveiled their 2016 Formula One season challenger, releasing images of their Mercedes-powered FW38, ahead of the first pre-season test in Spain next week.

The team had promised that the 2016 car would be “significantly different”. The FW38 still sports a very familiar nose and the livery is also mostly unchanged but the sidepods and rear do appear to have had some facelifting. More updates are scheduled to come ahead of the first race in Melbourne with Deputy team principal Claire Williams insisting that the FW38 launched today is “by no means the final product”.

Valtteri Bottas will debut the car in the pit lane at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya at the pre-season test, before handing over to team-mate Felipe Massa in the second half of the week.

The FW38 will once again be powered by a Mercedes engine – a significant factor in the team’s two third-place finishes in the Formula One Constructors’ Championship over the last two years. The FW38 will retain its Martini sponsorship. The team are confident that the FW38 can deliver what it takes to challenge the front running teams.

“Williams has started to cement our position back amongst the front running teams after finishing third in the Championship in the past two seasons,” said Williams Team Principal Sir Frank Williams.

“This has been a great achievement given the resources of those around us. Staying where we are will be a challenge in itself, but we are determined to keep improving because only winning will ever be good enough.

“We have a very stable team going into 2016, with Felipe [Massa] and Valtteri [Bottas] teaming up for a third successive season. They work well together and both have the ideal blend of speed and consistency. Our technical team has also remained very consistent which will be to our advantage and we have some of the best engineering minds on the grid at our disposal.

“We have a busy couple of weeks of testing coming up to learn more about our package and to refine the car ahead of the first race. We will have to wait until Melbourne to find out exactly where we stand in the pecking order but I’m confident that our hard work over the winter will stand us in good stead.”

Deputy team principal Claire Williams added: “2016 promises to be a very competitive year in Formula One and there will be a number of strong teams who have us in their sights. We are confident that we have made a step forward over the winter and that the FW38 will build on the strengths of the FW37 and address some of its weaknesses. We started design work on the car earlier than normal and hopefully this extra development time will stand us in good stead.

“The car we are launching today is by no means the final product. We are already planning updates for Melbourne and will be pushing for constant improvements over the course of the season. Williams enters 2016 in a strong place. We have a great team of people and over the past two years we have started to regain our competitive edge. Now we need to build on that and take this team back to where we all want it to be.”

Photo Credits: FW38 images courtesy of Williams Martini Racing

February 19, 2016
Williams F1 Team launch first images of FW37

The Williams F1 Team has become the first team to reveal its 2015 Formula One title contender, with a computer rendered image of its FW37 appearing on the front cover of this month’s F1 Racing magazine.

Following that, the team followed up with images of the Fw37 on their website along with a statement from the team.

Ahead of the imminent launch of Force India’s new livery later today, the Williams team, who finished in third place in the 2014 Constructors’ Championship, showed off the FW37, which features a revised front nose in order to comply with the 2015 regulations and rule changes.

The FW37 will be piloted once again by Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas, and the car will again be powered by Mercedes engines.

Minor changes to the Martini-based livery are seen including new the appearance of new sponsors Rexona, Avanade and Hackett.

“The notion for the FW37 was to look closely at the FW36 and its performances,” said Williams Martini Racing’s Chief Technical Officer Pat Symonds in a statement on the team website. “We then went about recognising what had worked well and identifying and resolving the areas that we felt needed to be improved. Although the aerodynamics of the car were impressive there is always room for improvement particularly as we handle the new 2015 nose regulations,” he continued.

According to the statement the design of the FW37 has stemmed from the performance of the FW36 but the conceptual ideas came long before the 2014 successes.

“The first conceptual stage of the FW37 came before the FW36 had turned a wheel,” Symonds continued. The main element to this is understanding the rule changes and how they will affect the design of the car, from here we can start see if our ideas will fit within the regulations”.

The Williams team managed to rack up nine podiums throughout the 2014 season and also enjoyed a front row lockout at the Austrian Grand Prix. They placed third in the Constructors’ championship and are looking to continue their climb up the ladder.

“The desire to beat Ferrari to third place in the Constructors’ in 2014 meant we pushed our development through to late autumn, but the size of the team is now at a point where it was able to sustain this development whilst still working on the FW37,” Symonds said.

The layout phase of the FW37 was completed by the summer break in August, according to the team. Work on the new front bulkhead was a main priority for the designers and aerodynamicists due to the changes to the regulations for 2015.

“The change in regulations offered us a slight headache,” Symonds explained. “The new front bulkhead and nose geometry had much more of an impact than we had initially anticipated and the effect on the aero was profound. The team have worked hard on pulling back the deficit these regulations have made for us”.

But, the team has its eyes on more podiums this year and Williams is hoping to catch Mercedes with their FW37 this season.

“The more rule stability there is, the closer the field gets. I hope as a team we are more capable of maintaining the forward momentum to catch Mercedes, than the teams behind us are of catching us. It’s not just about stable regulations but also about the team and every individual that works here moving forward and improving.”

Frank Williams, Team Principal concluded the team statement saying that, “The team had a fantastic season last year, we are aiming to replicate this development over the winter and to start the 2015 season in a strong position. We have an enormously talented group of people here at Williams who want nothing more than the team to do well. This passion produced a great turn around in fortunes for the team in 2014 and everybody has worked tirelessly to continue that climb up the grid.

“We have added a few more high profile names to accompany the incredibly supportive group of partners we have,” Frank Williams added. “After a very strong first year with Mercedes we are looking to further develop the relationship as we look for more podiums in 2015. I feel this year will be equally as exciting as the last and look forward to seeing the FW37 on the grid at the first race.”

January 21, 2015
Williams F1 Announce Martini as their Title Sponsor

The iconic Martini brand returns to Formula One as the title Sponsor of the Williams F1.

Martini, the world’s leading vermouth and best-selling Italian sparkling wine, will have the iconic red, blue and white colours on the Williams FW36 for the 2014 season.

“We are thrilled to welcome Martini to the Williams family and officially launch Williams Martini Racing,” said Sir Frank Williams, Founder and Team Principal.

“Williams and Martini share a rich history in the world of motorsport, and the values of our two brands and our shared passion for racing make this partnership a natural fit. It will be great to see the distinctive stripes of Martini Racing return to Formula One once again in unison with Williams.”

“The decision to partner with Williams was a natural one for us as it provides an unparalleled opportunity for the Martini brand to connect with consumers through one of their lifestyle passions, Formula One racing,” said Andy Gibson, Chief Marketing Officer of Bacardi and President of Bacardi Global Brands, who oversees marketing for Martini other premium brands in the Bacardi portfolio. “Martini will give consumers a taste of life in the fast lane, bringing a renewed sense of Italian style and glamour to the track and beyond. Williams Martini Racing provides a powerful, integrated marketing platform and delivers dynamic opportunities that will strengthen the Martini brand.”

March 6, 2014
Williams Q & A with Felipe Massa

Following confirmation that Felipe Massa has been signed to drive for Williams in 2014 alongside Valterri Bottas, it’s time to catch up with Felipe about his thoughts on his move to Williams, the 2014 driver line-up and the season ahead.

Q. Felipe, you have been confirmed as a Williams F1 Team driver for the 2014 season, your first time with a British team. Does it feel like you’re making a new start in your career?

It does feel like a new start in my career. I had a great time at Ferrari but now I’m very happy to be joining Williams for 2014. I’ve always watched them and followed them as a team, especially in the successful years so I’m very proud to now be driving for this team and to start a new chapter in my career.

Q. You had other options aside from Williams; tell us a bit more about what attracted you to the team?

It was the best option for me; it really is a team that wants to grow and is determined to get back to where they were in the past. I want to help the team with this and I think it could be a very successful era.

Q. 2013 has been a difficult year for the team. Why are you so convinced that things can improve going into 2014?

Everything is changing in 2014; it is like a restart for everybody and you need the resources and personnel in place to make sure you’re on top of this. From what I see and hear at Williams, everything is in place to go in the right direction and to keep moving forward.

Q. How impressed are you with the facilities at Grove on your first day here with the team?

It is my first day here and I’m just trying to get to know the facilities and the area, but everything is very impressive; there is a great set up here and there’s no reason why we can’t build on this to push hard for next season.

Q. You have a new teammate next year in Valtteri Bottas; what do you know about him and how excited are you to work with him?

He’s proved this year to be a very good driver and very quick. Pastor was always very quick, especially in qualifying, so to keep pace with him in the first year is impressive. I’m looking forward to using my experience to help Valtteri develop further and to work together to do well as a team.

November 12, 2013
Williams F1 Team and Mercedes Announce Long Term Engine Deal

The Williams F1 Team and Mercedes Benz have announced an engine agreement for 2014.

The agreement covers the engines and the Energy Recovery System (ERS), which will be able to deploy ten times more energy than the current KERS. The new ERS will harvest energy from the exhaust turbine and rear axle. The transmission and the chassis will be supplied by Williams.

Williams founder and team principal, Frank Williams said, “I’m delighted to announce our new association with Mercedes-Benz for the 2014 Formula One season and beyond.”

“We are also pleased to conclude this agreement early in the season and we very much look forward to working with Mercedes AMG HPP (High Performance Powertrains) in developing our 2014 race car,” said Deputy Team Principal, Claire Williams

Toto Wolff, Executive Director of Mercedes AMG Petronas and shareholder at Williams, concluded by saying, “It is a win-win situation for both HPP and Williams, which will ensure HPP is able to supply at least three teams on a long-term basis under the new regulations and could open interesting new perspectives for technology transfer.”

May 30, 2013