As we set off for Barcelona for Formula One’s third and final testing session of the pre-season, which starts on Thursday, the team who generate most interest are Williams.
With apologies to Mercedes, Williams were my team of the season last year. They finished ninth in the constructors’ championship in 2013, ahead of only Marussia and Caterham, and scored just five points. In 2014, however, they scored 320 points and, in finishing third, left two Formula One giants in Ferrari and McLaren floundering in their slipstream.
They didn’t win a race but Valtteri Bottas looked a future world champion, while Felipe Massa, who appeared to be a driver in terminal decline at Ferrari, was revitalised.
Williams haven’t exactly caught the eye in the first two test sessions ahead of the new F1 season, in Jerez and Barcelona. For some, they have been flying below the radar. For others, they have been plain invisible, pottering about low down in the timesheets and leaving all the headlines to other teams. But that’s the point. It has been the relaxed, unfussy way they have gone about their business that has impressed me.
Rather like Mercedes, they didn’t appear that interested in setting fast times, unlike those show-offs from Ferrari and Lotus. The team even devoted an entire day to pit- stop practice; this is the black beauty in F1’s stable of dark horses.
They look in the mood to go one better than last year and emerge as the team that will push the invincible-looking Mercedes harder than anyone else, just as they did at the end of last season.
McLaren may not be competitive until later in the season and, while things have improved at Red Bull, serious doubts remain about the strength of their Renault engine. Ferrari, meanwhile, caught the eye in the previous tests, especially in Jerez and, despite all the turbulence, have made much progress. But it was difficult to draw any meaningful conclusions from their performances earlier this month.
Williams, unlike Ferrari, have had the quietest of winters after their early decision to stick with Bottas and Massa for this year. There is a confident feeling that their FW37 is a solid step forward from its predecessor and their chief test engineer, Rod Nelson, has promised an upgrade for Barcelona this week. Actually, he said that Williams would be making “a reasonable step”, but that’s in keeping with their understated approach.
Williams know they have a good enough car and a competitive engine, and have been concentrating on the little things to make progress this year. The early indications are that they have improved their downforce and are also looking after their tyres better than last year. But, essentially, they are thinking calmly and positively. Their approach is now that of a leading team, not a mid-table outfit. Bottas says: “We are more ready to maximise the potential of the car than last year.”
Meanwhile, Massa told Crash.net this week: “I think things are definitely much better. I think the team is much more prepared comparing now and one year ago. The team is working in a much better way and I think the team is more together. We had a fantastic championship last year but I think the team is more prepared now. I think the organisation is where we have improved a lot.”
There have been some changes behind the scenes. Massa’s race engineer, Andrew Murdoch, has been promoted to senior performance engineer. Dave Robson, who used to work with Jenson Button at McLaren, will be Massa’s new race engineer and will work under Rob Smedley, who is head of vehicle performance.
They key man, though, will continue to be the chief technical officer, Pat Symonds, who says: “Off the back of a great 2014 campaign Williams is determined to continue this positive momentum into the new season. I’m excited to get the new season under way. There is now more discipline in the way Williams works and everyone is more productive.”
No team looks better prepared for the new season than Williams, despite their limited resources. In the battle to decide who is second best – which could be what 2015 is all about – they look up for the challenge. And whatever they do achieve will be well received, for this is one of the great teams of F1.
