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Williams will take a step towards becoming a Mercedes 'B team' in 2019.
The once-great British team now has the slowest car on the grid, with its last champion Jacques Villeneuve saying Williams is effectively "dead".
Mercedes could be the solution.
"The Ferrari-Sauber model shows that such alliances can be very important in the future in order to remain competitive," Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff told Le Figaro.
Auto Motor und Sport reports that, behind the scenes, it is more than just talk.
"Next year, the Grove team will use the Mercedes gearbox and rear end," correspondent Michael Schmidt claims.
However, Williams remains determined to stay essentially a full F1 constructor rather than a Haas-like satellite of a bigger team.
Indeed, there were signs of progress at Hockenheim, where the stalling diffuser problem was solved and a new front wing worked as expected.
"It did what we expected it to do," confirmed technical chief Paddy Lowe.
"Unfortunately, there's a lot more to do. The more we dig, the more weaknesses we reveal."
It appears that Williams has accepted the need for help, deciding to buy not just the power unit but also the gearbox and rear suspension from Mercedes.
Lowe continued: "We'll have more new parts in Hungary and also Spa. The front wing at Hockenheim was very noticeable, and the updates in the next races will not be as significant.
"But I would suggest that Hockenheim was a sign of real progress."
Grand Prix of Belgium
G. Zhou
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Replies (7)
Login to replyBhurt
Posts: 320
Best (and only?) shot at long term survival for the team I would imagine. It's a logical step to take.
samuelw
Posts: 21
IF cars are simpler next year.
surely williams can get back on top of these issues..and better points scorer.
the complexity of the cars have gone too far again.
front wing and air flow has gone bonkers..
unless you are a manufacturer your stuffed..
losing massa also has been costly in my opinion..
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Hardly surprising really.
Hombibi
Posts: 137
Does anyone believe that this is ever going to change? Too many vested interests to change much. If at all change will be slow, unless they suddenly lose their market. It it not innovation or competition that drives this sport. And those that have the biggest interests stand most to lose. Thus not much will change year on year. Hopefully enough..
boudy
Posts: 1,168
I believe that they are suffering from an bad lineup combined with an average car. As long as Williams can survive I am OK with it.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Make it a bad lineup with a bad car. Even in an average car bad drivers can perform about as good as Sauber has so far.
F1todayfan101
Posts: 120
That's a blow for them, they have always prided themselves on their gearbox tech but it consumes so much time and money that this is a sensible thing to do. There will be a few people twiddling thumbs however... it's time for the team to downsize and get back to sorting out the roots for future success.