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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

Day one of the Barcelona test wound up earlier with wet weather interrupting many of the runs and hindering progress for the teams present. Currently, only Williams, Toyota, Red Bull and Renault are setting times with Super Aguri shelving plans to join their rivals earlier in the week. Rosberg comfortably went to the top of the timing sheet, setting a 1m30.675s, just shy of two seconds quicker than team mate Kazuki Nakajima. 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

Testing got underway again today at Spain’s Circuit de Catalunya, but the session was stopped just short of 11.30am local time when Kazuki Nakajima speared off the track and into the barrier. The incident happened at the circuits first corner, and according to reports it seems as though his Williams FW30 just went straight on, over the asphalt run-off area and into the barrier on the outside of the corner. Kazuki was able to get himself out of the damaged car unaided and appears to be unhurt. The accident happened at the tracks fastest point; his Williams would have been travelling at about 180-190mph as he approached the braking zone, although the actual impact speed is not known at the moment. Continue Reading

This post was inspired by Quofda, a new site set up by the 9rules crew where they ask a question each day and bloggers answer on their own sites. I had considered answering today’s question on my personal site but quickly realised just how relevant it is to Formula One, and reminded me of one of my sadder memories of the sport. The link to the question is just below, along with my answer. So without further ado, here goes… Continue Reading

Following this mornings subdued roll out of the Williams FW30, the team have released a few more photos detailing various parts of the car and Sam Michael has spoken to the media. Williams hope this new car will be a step forward in performance and help push them closer to the Renaults and BMWs, currently occupying the best of the rest zone behind Ferrari and McLaren. The car’s interim livery is also particularly special, thanking the 519 strong workforce at the team for their support and contribution to the ongoing success of the squad, as well as detailing some of the key sponsors over the 29 years of competition. Continue Reading

As far as launches go, this has to be the lowest-key roll out ever. Williams had stated previously that they weren’t too concerned about not holding an official launch party for their new 2008 challenger, citing reasons of there’s nothing to announce. Nico Rosberg is on a long-term contract, Kazuki Nakajima was confirmed last year, Toyota are still the squad’s engine partner and little else has changed, aside from the car. So instead, Williams opted to simply roll the new FW30 car out of the garage and get on with testing. Which, due to dense fog at Valencia this morning, lasted one lap. Continue Reading

2008 will mark the thirtieth year of competition for the Williams team, a landmark worth celebrating considering how successful the private team have been over the years. And celebrate Williams will, with the announcement today that the team will be running six different liveries over the course of the winter test sessions. Formula One teams occasionally use different colours during the winter as often sponsors change between seasons and an interim livery is used while these are negotiated. McLaren have used orange and Honda often painted in plain black or white. It is more of a gimmick now, but it is good to see Williams doing something a little different. Continue Reading

This is a question that has been bugging me for a couple of years now, and one that won’t go away or receive a satisfactory answer. My question centres around Toyota’s continued involvement in Formula One despite a lack of results, made worse by the enormous amount of money the motor manufacturer pours into the team each year. They have achieved very little in the five years they have competed, and the end of the tunnel appears to still be shrouded in darkness as deadlines have recently been made regarding the future of the team. I have been unable to answer the question myself, but perhaps you, dear readers of BlogF1, could enlighten me… Continue Reading