LONDON: Williams provided a first glimpse of their new Formula One car yesterday with a confident prediction that it would be good enough to move the former champions back up the grid after a dire 2013 campaign.
“I’m confident that we’ll be closer to the front aerodynamically than we were last year,” said engineering head Pat Symonds in a statement.
The new FW36, in a blue and unbranded temporary livery, revealed the new slimline ‘anteater-style’ nose expected to be seen on most cars this year after regulation changes imposed for safety reasons.
Williams, who scored just five points last year and finished ninth overall, are the first of the teams to show their nose design - even if it will be changed for the first race in Australia on March 16.
Venezuelan driver Pastor Maldonado has been replaced by Brazilian Felipe Massa for 2014 with Finland’s Valtteri Bottas staying. The team have also switched from Renault engines to Mercedes.
Formula One is ditching the old V8 engine to a turbocharged V6 with energy recovery systems in the biggest technical upheaval for a generation of engineers.
Reuters
