Williams did not disrupt the concept of the FW43

Arriving late at the first tests in Barcelona in 2019, then constantly relegated to the last positions with only one point at stake during the German Grand Prix with an incredible scenario, the Williams FW42 will not go down in the annals of Grove single-seaters.

Despite this lack of performance, the British structure did not wish to significantly modify the initial concept of its car to develop the FW43.

“We paid great attention to understanding the problem areas of the FW42 and we carefully chose which parts of the car to develop, those which would give us the most performance for the resources we have, comments design manager Doug McKiernan.

The main concept behind the FW43 is that it is a continued development of the FW42, without any fundamental concept changes to the package.

The most important indicator that we are on the right track will be the level of correlation we have between our tools to design the car and what the track data will say. We have healthy development in the wind tunnel, and we have found reasonable improvements in cooling efficiency.

The team addressed the mechanical issues that affected it in 2019, including the brakes and the overall weight of the car. We have made good progress in these areas and will continue to focus on them as the season progresses. »

With “fewer resources deployed for new concepts” as indicated by head of engineering Adam Carter, Williams will also be able to approach the construction of the new concept as calmly as possible. car 2021.

But for Claire Williams, Team Principal-Assistant of the English team, 2020 should already constitute a new stage in the history of Grove after a year 2019 where Paddy Lowe notably left the ship.

“This year marks a new beginning for the team, says the daughter of founder Frank Williams. We spent time studying our weaknesses and ensured we had the right people, structures, procedures and resources in place to deliver competitive race cars.

We are all committed to rebuilding Williams and returning the team to competitiveness. As such, our 2020 campaign must be one of progress. The fighting spirit is still very much alive, and this year, everyone will continue this fight until we get back to where we want to be. »