Formula One: Williams ready to divert attention towards 2011 car
The Cosworth powered team, Williams has finally declared that they are to divert all their attention towards making of the 2011 car from onwards.
The team has announced that they have completed the last and final project on its current car, as it concludes the wind tunnel to their current car.
The season started off amidst a lot of disappointment for the team, as their car was far from being competitive all through the season. However, the team got some momentum near the mid of the year after bringing some major up gradations.
Williams has kept on trying to improve its car and finally some good results were seen by mid season allowing their FW32 perform better. However, the most major update of the season is planned to be launched later this season at Singapore Grand Prix, for which the team has high hopes. With only six more races to go this season, the team hopes to wind up with improved pace and form that would be kept alive for the next season as well.
Sam Michael, the Technical director of the team said that the factory has prepared new Singapore parts which are out of the wind tunnel now. This indicated that the team has signed off all the work for this season and from now onwards would be concentrating for their next car as already declared by the team that they wish to come out more competitive for next season.
Michael, while talking to Autosport.com said, "We have one more upgrade for Singapore, and that is finished in the wind tunnel."
He further said that every single bit is aerodynamically designed however, the mechanical design and production process is yet to be completed which the team hopes to finish in no time.
Moreover, he announced, "In terms of the design priority though, from an aero point of view we are focused on next year now."
FIA has announced some major rule changes for 2011 season in terms of the car designing and manufacturing, including a complete forbidding of double diffusers as well as F-ducts. Moreover, all teams expect to see some major changes as Bridgestone, which had been supplying tyres to the sport since long has now announced to withdraw, while Pirelli has taken its place for being the sole tyre supplier next year. Michael finally pronounced that he thinks that there would be very little that could be carried forward from this year's design.
"It is a completely different car - it will be a clean sheet for everybody," he proclaimed.
As per Williams’ plans so far, they would be running KERS next year as well, while Michael told that the team is still thinking if they would want to go to the track next year with a battery or would they want to continue a flywheel system.
He also stated that, "We've got both options, but to be honest our priority will be a battery system," he did however explain that they did have capability to run a flywheel as well.
Currently, Williams stand at seventh place, having bagged a total of forty points, one place behind Force India that has fifty eight points under their belt with thirteen races of the season already gone.
The two Williams drivers, Rubens Barrichello and Nico Hulkenberg stand at eleventh and fifteenth places in the Drivers’ Championship having bagged thirty and ten points respectively.
Well, six races of the season are yet to go, and all the teams and drivers are becoming more competitive with every passing race.
Let’s wait and watch if the team would be able to bag some more points after introducing the developments in their car as anticipated by them.
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