Williams unveil the new FW41
- Published on 15 Feb 2018 20:11
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- By: Fergal Walsh
Williams became the second team to offer a glimpse of a 2018 car after it showcased its new challenger in London on Thursday evening. The car, which will once again be powered by Mercedes, keeps its red and blue Martini stripes which it has run with since 2014.
It also features the halo, F1's new mandatory cockpit protection system. Teams have been allowed to design the halo to blend in with the liveries, with Williams opting to paint the device white. It also has Rexona sponsoring on the inside, which will be visible from onboard cameras.
The car was presented in a rendered form, meaning a wait is needed before we see all the minor details. However, it is clear that it possesses Ferrari-style aero shapers sitting in front of the sidepods, but they have been painted black in an attempt to disguise the design. It is the first car that Williams has produced since Paddy Lowe joined the team as chief technical officer.
The FW41 will be piloted by Lance Stroll, who heads into his second season in F1, and Sergey Sirotkin who makes his F1 debut this year. Sirotkin spent two full seasons in GP2, finishing third in the 2015 and 2016 seasons, and was previously Renault's test and reserve driver.
Robert Kubica will also hold an official role with the team, his first job in F1 since his life-threatening rally crash in 2011. Despite missing out on the race seat for 2018, the Pole will be the Grove squad's test and development driver for the season ahead.
Fergal Walsh
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Replies (13)
Login to replyKean
Posts: 692
Aero around the front floor, front wing and sidepods are blacked out just like on the HAAS, let us hope it's only to hide their specific aero solutions for the time being. Hopefully, come testing, we wont see these black areas on the cars.
Numnum
Posts: 4,863
I’m really curious on what Sirotkin can do.
Will he slaughter Stroll?
I was never a fan of the livery.
f1fan0101
Posts: 1,804
Looks nice, pretty much what I was expecting
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
I mostly expected it to remain the same, minus sharkfin plus halo. This was a pleasant surprise. This year could very well have my favourite designs so far.... I they were just willing to replace the front with something prettier...
ajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
Very limited view of the car, what is this thing of releasing one or two poorly lit pictures?
Anyway, did anyone else think that it felt like a travesty of life to see Robert Kubica next to Stroll, Sirotkin, and Kubica was the reserve driver?
Barron
Posts: 625
They are hiding some new aero pieces from the competition. It’s not too late for another team to copy stuff if they think it’s worthy. Also my opinion on Robert is that he will be feeling very proud to be back in F1 and standing tall with the team after all his Herculean efforts.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
It looks really cool. Lots of neat curves.
RogerF1
Posts: 501
I like the shape and good job to get all the Pirelli logos the same way up.
s_ya
Posts: 21
Beautiful car, Williams good luck !!!
Major Tom
Posts: 152
Like the livery - shame about the weakest driver pairing on the grid. Looks like another disappointing season.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
I think Toro Rosso begs to differ.
ajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
Hardly the same. Pierre Gasly is a GP2 champion, F3 runner up. Former F1 reserve driver. Hartley is a WEC champion, Winner of Le Mans 24h. True, they did not look great at the end of 2017, but Toro Rosso was in disarray, Renault engine was a mess, and both guys got dropped onto cars in the middle of the season. So no, definitely not the worst pairing in F1.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
True, but remember that at the end of the day, previous merits doesnt mean alot in F1. Vandoorne and Stroll both have decent merits from earlier series, yet they havent exactly impressed. Not that any of them had great cars mind. And I agree that it isnt fair to assess TR's lineup yet, I dont and wont for another while, but at this rate we dont really know if Williams' lineup really is that bad either.