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So far in the Australian Grand Prix, three second drivers have retired either through mechanical issues or through accidents. Heikki Kovalainen was seen coasting back to the pitlane at the very start of the race, his McLaren not sounding entirely functional. On lap 17 of the race, the second retirement of the event went to Kazuki Nakajima, who lost his Williams at the exit of T3. A punt in the barrier brought out the first safety car of the season. Continue Reading

The final two days of testing at Jerez only saw McLaren and Williams participate, the other teams deciding they had done all they could in preparation for the season opener in Melbourne. Both teams were represented by the same driver each day; Heikki Kovalainen and Kazuki Nakajima sharing the circuit in Spain. The times set were initially off the pace from previous days, but by Thursday afternoon both drivers found speed and got the times down to a respectable 77s. Continue Reading

Not since 1997 have Williams won a drivers championship, the last race victory happening 2004 courtesy of Juan Pablo Montoya. In the time that has passed, Williams have declined in performance, failing to keep up with the big-budgeted monsters of Ferrari and McLaren. However, innovation, determination and passion keep Williams at the race tracks, and while 2008 wasn’t exactly a successful campaign, there were positives to take away from the year’s racing. Continue Reading

David Coulthard’s Brazilian Grand Prix came to an early end when the Scot tangled with Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima as the field went through the first corner on the first lap of the race. It appeared as though Rosberg just caught Coulthard, sending the Red Bull driver into spin. Unfortunately, Nakajima was on the inside and Coulthard clouted the second Williams. Although both Williams continued, Coulthard was unable to return to the track as his car was damaged. Continue Reading

Williams announced a couple of days ago that their driver line-up for 2009 will remain unchanged. This means that the FW31 will be piloted by the Australian and Singapore podium-placed driver Nico Rosberg, and Toyota-backed Japanese star Kazuki Nakajima. While the Oxfordshire-based team are in praise of Rosberg and his two fantastic podiums, it is worth mentioning that Nakajima, although perhaps anonymously, has driven surprisingly well this year. Continue Reading

Following on from Hamilton’s win on home soil, there was much to discuss as drivers endured a difficult British Grand Prix. Mark Webber rued his early spin that cost him dearly, Fernando Alonso ran well despite losing out by remaining on the same set of tyres and David Coulthard departed his last British race early with a coming together with Sebastian Vettel. Rubens Barrichello was over-the-moon at claiming a podium for Honda and Nick Heidfeld hopes his recent lack of form is now behind him as he took second for BMW. Continue Reading

Every season brings with it a few young hopefuls, eager to learn and show off their driving talent while trying not to get swamped among the media, PR, and general business of racing motor cars. These particularly entrants are known as the rookies, and presuming Super Aguri stay with Sato and Davidson, 2008 will see two brand new stars join the grid, and a further two who have completed only a few races between them. Continue Reading

Williams haven’t won a drivers or constructors championship since 1997. Their last win came in Brazil at the end of the 2004 campaign. As the team start their eleventh season of championship drought, the fourth year of victory drought, a lot of hope is being echoed around the grandstands and online forums that this year will see some better performances. Team owners Frank Williams and Patrick Head must surely wondering when the rain of champagne will fall their way again? However, celebrating 30 years in Formula One as well as a few other landmark statistics being met this season, maybe a bit of luck will land on the plucky privateer’s laps. And like the team’s many thousands of fans the world over, I’m hoping the FW30 will be one of great progress and improvement, pushing the team further towards the top on the road to recovery. Continue Reading

As Clive was so keen to point out earlier, Kazuki Nakajima has topped the timing sheets on the third and final day of testing at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya. Nakajima, a driver of only one race so far, set a time of 1m22.153s and beat not only his more experienced team mate Nico Rosberg, but also the Ferraris and McLarens. Both previous days of testing had been a wash out, but the Williams duo had looked quite strong this week with Rosberg topping out on the first day. However, on a finally dry track and with more teams running, Nakajima popped in a time when it mattered. Which according to Clive, shows his real pace and why many fans might be a little surprised by his form this upcoming season. Continue Reading

Williams have abandoned their test programme at Barcelona this weekend and are heading back to Grove a day early following the problems that have arisen with their front wing. On the first day of the test Kazuki Nakajima suffered a mounting failure on the wing and ploughed off the circuit at high speed. The team immediately suspended Nico Rosberg from running until they had figured out exactly what the problem was. This morning the team ran both cars having repaired Nakajima’s chassis by flying parts out to Spain on Frank Williams’s private jet. However, the squad aren’t entirely convinced the issue has been resolved are instead returning to the factory to prepare for the Jerez test next week. Continue Reading