Tag: Williams

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2014 Bahrain Grand Prix in pictures

2014 Bahrain Grand Prix

It took almost 58 years for Mercedes to repeat its 1-2 podium result from 1955. And after doing so in Malaysia last week it took just seven days to do it all over again in Bahrain, a world away from the era Juan Manuel Fangio once ruled.

Lewis Hamilton collected his second win on the bounce and it seems the only thing that can stop the two Mercedes AMG drivers will be each other. If they keep up that spectacular on track dicing it won’t be too long until the pair come to blows.

After the break you can relive the first night time race in Bahrain and the 900th grand prix of the modern era.

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2014 Malaysian Grand Prix in pictures

2014 Malaysian Grand Prix

Can you believe it’s over 58 years since we saw a Mercedes driver on steps one and two of a Formula 1 podium, that was at the final race of the 1955 season, the Italian Grand Prix.

Back in 1955 Mercedes won 70% of the races in the season and Juan Manuel Fangio won the third of his five world championships. The mighty W196 silver arrow was powered by 2.5 litre straight eight producing 220kW at 8500rpm.

Now, some 21,386 days after the last Mercedes 1-2, the podium feat has been repeated. Not at a legendary racetrack in Europe, but in Malaysia. Using a 1.6 litre turbocharged V6 engine mated to an arsenal of energy recovery systems that would make Fangio’s head spin. That’s if he knew what the hell it all meant in the first place.

At least we know Juan Manuel would have loved logging into AUSmotive to relive the race in pictorial form. And that’s what you can do after the break as well.

“What’s that Juan; how can you see all these photos?”

“It’s called the internet.”

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Quick reference guide to the 2014 F1 season

We’re just a couple of sleeps away from the start to the most unpredictable Formula 1 season in recent memory. Is anyone else excited?!

Judging by pre-season testing form we’ll be lucky if half of the 22 cars entered in Melbourne finish the race. Remember, too, there’s just five complete power units available per driver all year, so we suspect reliability will have a big say in the outcome of both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships.

After the break you’ll find a full calendar with start Australian Eastern start times, a list of all the drivers and their new permanent numbers along with links to all of the new cars for 2104.

Right now it looks like the Mercedes power unit is the weapon of choice, with Renault proving the least reliable. Let’s see what happens between now and 23 November when double points are up for grabs at the final race in Abu Dhabi.

For easy reference be sure to save this link: ausm.tv/f1guide2014

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Formula 1

Williams Martini Racing FW36 as art

Williams FW36 artwork by Cale Funderburk

It’s only been a week since Williams announced its new title sponsorship deal with Martini but already you can buy some pretty cool artwork through the Society6 website. Created by Cale Funderburk the treatment of the FW36 is graphic and simple in its execution. And we reckon it looks pretty good.

[Source: WTF1]

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Formula 1

Wlliams Martini Racing FW36 livery launched

2014 Williams Martini Racing FW36

The Williams F1 Team was expected to announce a new sponsorship deal with Martini and that confirmation came through overnight. With that news comes a host of images bringing us the latest interpretation of the classic Martini racing stripes, as applied to the 2014 FW36.

Sir Frank Williams spoke with optimism about the season ahead as well as the team’s new commercial partner. “2014 is going to be a fascinating season, with regulation changes of this scale often shaking up the grid and creating opportunities for teams to make a good step forward,” he said. “Over the winter we have proved our ambition by making a number of positive changes; we welcome a new driver pairing, new senior technical personnel, and a number of new commercial partners for 2014.

“In Martini we have a brand that shares a passion for motor racing and winning championships. This partnership is a milestone in our history and we look forward to working closely with MARTINI over the coming years.”

More photos of the new Martini livery and the full press statement from Williams Martini Racing can be seen after the break.

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Formula 1

F1 winter testing: Bahrain II day 3

Felipe Massa topped the timesheets for Williams on the second last day of pre-season testing overnight. His time of 1:33.258 is the quickest lap posted at Bahrain in seven days of testing.

“We did a lot more performance work in the car which is something that we haven’t done so much of so far,” Felipe explained. “I’m really happy with the car and feel we found a good balance. We did so much work on the set-up but it is very important that we go to Australia prepared.

“You can never be sure that you are 100% ready for the first race, but I feel that what we have done in these days testing has been important for making sure that we have a car that can not only get to the end of the race, but that will have good performance as well.”

Meanwhile, at Red Bull it was a total disaster. Sebastian Vettel was three hours late onto the Sakhir circuit and when he did finally emerge he could only manage half a lap due to an “electrical fault”. Red Bull worked on the car and got him out again, this time though, he didn’t even make it to the end of pit lane. The fault was pinned down to a “leak” according to Andy Damerum, Race Engineering Co-ordinator. And that was the end of Sebastian’s day!

“We can just hope for a better day tomorrow and then to have a decent start to the season in Melbourne but at this stage obviously reliability is still a big question mark,” a forlorn Vettel said. “It’s difficult to say how long it will take to remedy. I think some things will just come down to the fact that in two weeks’ time we’ll have lots of new parts on the car.

“We’ve had some damage because of the problems we’ve had here and the parts aren’t available overnight, so from that side I think things will get better over the next couple of weeks. We obviously haven’t done much running but from the little we have done has been quite promising, so I think once we get going the speed should be OK.”

Elsewhere things were better for Nico Rosberg (1:33.484) who overcame an early engine change to complete 103 laps and set the second fastest time. A couple of seconds back was Kimi Raikkonen (1:35.426) in the Ferrari, who managed 87 laps but was still unhappy with his lot. Thank goodness he didn’t go to Red Bull!

Two F1 rookies were next in the always impressive Kevin Magnussen (McLaren, 1:35.894) and Daniil Kvyat (Toro Ross, 1:36.113). For a brief moment Kvyat’s time was on top of the lap charts but he’ll be more than happy with his 81 laps, the most time he’s had in an F1 car so far this winter.

Nico Hulkenberg (1:36.113) oversaw another solid day for Force India with the sixth fastest time, while Jules Bianchi (1:37.087) and Marussia will be enjoying the rarified air found further up the order than they’re used to being.

Marcus Ericcson (1:38.083) totalled 117 laps which tends to mask the issues being suffered by the Renault-powered teams. Caterham has covered the most miles of the Renault teams so far this the pre-season, they’re just way off the pace.

Ninth fastest was Romain Grosjean (1:42.166) who got an early shower after just 33 laps and seeing the Lotus E22 fail due to an MGU-K fault.

Then came the woes of Adrian Sutil who smoked the engine of his Sauber C33 after just one lap and the lapless Vettel right at the bottom of the timesheets.

One day of testing left and a lifetime of problems facing Red Bull. Can they recover?

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Formula 1

Williams Martini Racing to become reality?

Martini-Brabham at 1975 Dutch Grand Prix

One of the world’s greatest motorsport liveries looks set for a revival with word Martini is tipped to become the title sponsor for the Williams F1 Team.

Apparently Martini looked at deals with other F1 teams, including Ferrari and McLaren, but the carrot of full naming rights dangled by Williams seems to have done the trick.

Nothing official has been announced yet but confirmation is expected after a Williams shirt was briefly published on an F1 merchandise website.

Martini’s last exposure in F1 was from 2006–08 when they had a minor placement on Ferrari’s car. However, full naming rights brings hope we’ll get something more akin the the Martini Brabham pictured above during the 1975 Dutch Grand Prix.

Williams will launch their racing livery before the Australian Grand Prix which is just over four weeks away. They will no doubt appreciate the heightened anticipation that launch will now bring.

[Source: Autosport | Pic: Martini]

UPDATE 7 March: See the new Williams Martini Racing livery here.

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Formula 1

F1 winter testing: Jerez day 4

Felipe Massa, Williams FW36

Felipe Massa’s career could be headed for a resurgence after setting the fastest time (1:28.229) on a damp final day of testing in Jerez overnight. The FW36 has been near the pointy end all week and the decision of Williams to switch from Renault to Mercedes power for this season is proving to be inspired.

“We managed to do many more laps today than we have in the last three days which is important,” Massa said. “Today we didn’t have any issues with the car which I think is also another step forward.

“Overall, I’m happy with my first days with Williams and I’m pleased with what I have seen in the team this week. For sure it is important to be competitive, but testing is testing, and we now need to look to prepare for Bahrain and then towards the first race, which is the most important thing.”

Once again the three Renault-powered teams struggled to gain any meaningful track time and that, more than anything, is the major story from this first taste of the new regulations. At least Daniel Ricciardo (1:45.374) managed to lock in a flying lap time for Red Bull, albeit the slowest time of the day and one of just seven laps completed.

Fernando Alonso (1:29.145) has given Ferrari fans cause for optimism with the second fastest time and a large haul of 115 laps, the most of any driver on day 4. Third place was Daniel Juncadella (1:29.457), an impressive debut for the Force India reserve driver who no doubt relished all of his 81 laps.

Kevin Magnussen (1:30.806) notched up 110 laps and recorded the fourth fastest time of the day. Hot on his heels was Lewis Hamilton (1:30.822) splitting his driving duties with teammate Nico Rosberg (1:36.951) who set the eighth fastest time. Again, the Mercedes duo combined to complete an impressive tally of 132 laps.

The sixth and seventh quickest times of the day were set by Jules Bianchi (1:32.222) in the Marussia MR03 and Adrian Sutil (1:36.571) in the Sauber C33.

After Rosberg came the struggling Renault-powered trio of Kamui Kobayashi (1:43.193) with 54 laps, Daniil Kvyat (1:44.016) just nine, and as previously mentioned Daniel Ricciardo managed only seven.

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F1 winter testing: Jerez days 1 and 2

Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel

After two days of winter testing in Jerez what have we learned about the Formula 1 class of 2014, specifically these horrid looking new cars? Well, not a lot to be honest.

On day 1 most teams struggled and only 93 laps were completed by the teams in attendance, and none at all by McLaren. Kimi Raikkonen (1:27.104) was fastest in his return for Ferrari and ran the most number laps on the day at just 31. Lewis Hamilton (1:27.820) sent his Mercedes towards the top of the lap charts in his 18 laps before sending it into the wall after a front wing failure.

“We had a lot of new things to learn today,” Raikkonen said afterwards. “Even if we would have liked to do more laps, I think that for a first day it was alright. Towards the end, when the track was damp, we chose not to take any risks. Now we have a lot of work ahead of us, but all in all, we are pleased with our first day.”

After the leading two drivers times spread out with not much insight to be gained, other than there’s a lot of work to do. Sebastian Vettel and Marcus Ericsson, for example, only ran installation laps and didn’t set any times at all.

Things have become a little clearer on day 2, with all Renault powered teams experiencing problems while Ferrari and Mercedes powered cars gained an early advantage. Overnight rain saw Pirelli bring forward their designated wet weather session and trucks were sent out to ensure the track had sufficient water for testing purposes.

Jenson Button and McLaren had a good day, registering the fastest time in the morning’s wet session and also in the afternoon (1:24.165) when the track was dry.

The 2009 world champion spoke enthusiastically about the MP4-29 afterwards, too. “Of course, it’s still early days, and there’s a lot of work ahead of us,” Button said. “We need to work on both braking and traction; but that excites me, because there’s a lot of potential to adjust those parameters.

“The new braking system is very complicated, and getting it right will be tough. But these are all things we can work on: there’s nothing about the car that unsettles me, and there’s plenty of scope to explore the set-up. It will just take time.”

Kimi Raikkonen (1:24.812) was on the pace again during his 47 laps, cutting more than 2 seconds from his day 1 best. Valtteri Bottas (1:25.344) has had limited running during his two days, just 12 laps in all, but he has been third quickest on both days.

While only fourth fastest on day 2, Nico Rosberg (1:25.588) and Mercedes were happy with their lot. Rosberg racked up an impressive 97 laps, 44 more than his nearest rival, including some beneficial long runs.

“Every lap is important to get used to the new systems and it helped a lot that I have worked on this already in the simulator,” explained Rosberg. “We don’t know yet where we are compared to the other teams, but we can be quite happy after the first two days of testing here in Spain. Now I look forward to getting back in the car on Friday.”

Meanwhile the Renault powered cars managed just 19 laps between them (11 for Caterham, 8 for Red Bull and 0 for Toro Rosso). On day 1 only 19 laps were registered for the Renault runners as well (15 for Toro Rosso, 3 for Red Bull, 1 for Caterham), which will be cause for early concern.

Lotus isn’t an attendance at all for the Jerez test, choosing to wait until testing moves to Bahrain. Marussia is hoping to run its car tonight.

Photos and lap times are available after the break.

UPDATE: Pics from day 2 have now been added below.

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Formula 1

2014 Williams FW36 revealed

2014 Williams FW36

Williams has revealed a series of renderings showing their 2014 F1 car, the FW36. And as you can see we have confirmation of our first finger-style front nose. It looks a bit like an anteater, too.

There’s a couple of firsts for Williams here: it’s the first time the team has worked with a Mercedes-Benz engine power unit and the first time they’ve run an 8-speed gearbox.

Chief Technical Officer, Pat Symonds, explains some of the challenges in designing this car: “There’s a lot more technology on the cars this year. We’ve had turbo-charged engines in F1 before; what’s different this time is that it is much more than just an engine change, it is a completely different system. We’ve gone from a slightly hybridised normally aspirated engine to a fully integrated hybrid power unit with novel technology at its heart.

“Overall the cars will need more cooling this year. The demands on water and oil cooling may be slightly diminished, but the ERS system is significantly more powerful and hence needs more cooling. We also have to cool the charge air from the turbocharger compressor which requires a substantial intercooler.”

Williams has given a rough timeline for the design of the new car, which we’ve listed in dotpoint form below:

  • CAD data for 2014 power unit received from Mercedes mid-way through last season
  • FW36 design phase completed by mid-September 2013
  • New gearbox run on dyno in early-November 2013
  • Launch spec aero packaged finalised in early-December 2013
  • Transmission mated to power unit on dyno in December 2013
  • FW36 crash test passed before Christmas 2013
  • Melbourne-spec aero package approved in early-January 2014

UPDATE 29 January: Williams has tweeted a pic of the car from the team’s pit garage at Jerez (see below).

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Formula 1

Taking F1 liveries back to the future, again

F1 retro livery

Applying old skool paint schemes to modern day F1 cars isn’t a new idea. But it will always be a very cool idea. We’re sure you’ll agree these creations, published by Escape Artist and based on a McLaren MP4/28, are a great example of retro style.

Looking at the Tyrrell 007 livery, for example, we wonder why more racing teams don’t take a simpler approach to their base colours. How good did the retro-inspired Greens-Tuf DJR Falcon look at Bathurst this year, as another example.

That said, the Brabham BT49 and Lotus 49 liveries are our favourites from this batch. How about you?

[Source: Escape Artist via Motor Sport Retro]

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Formula 1

Ayrton Senna’s death still haunts Adrian Newey

Ayrton Senna

The death of Ayrton Senna, almost 20 years ago, still sits uneasily with Adrian Newey, chief designer of the Williams FW16 used during the 1994 season. “What happened that day, what caused the accident, still haunts me to this day,” Newey told the BBC.

Controversy has shrouded the events of Senna’s death with Newey and Patrick Head brought before Italian courts to answer charges of manslaughter. The focus of the trial centred around the failure of the steering column in Senna’s car. While both men were originally acquitted in 1997, Head was later found guilty in a 2007 retrial. Head avoided a penalty due to the statute of limitations being passed.

Newey spoke about Senna’s death in revealing interview with The Guardian back in 2011. Then, Newey speculated that a puncture may have been the reason Senna left the track. “The car bottomed much harder on that second lap which again appears to be unusual because the tyre pressure should have come up by then,” he said. “Which leaves you expecting that the right rear tyre probably picked up a puncture from debris on the track. If I was pushed into picking out a single most likely cause that would be it.”

Newey didn’t repeat that theory in his recent BBC interview, saying “no-one will know” if a mechanical failure or driver error caused the crash.

“There is no doubt it [the steering column] was cracked,” Newey said. “Equally, all the data, all the circuit cameras, the on-board camera from Michael Schumacher’s car that was following, none of that appears to be consistent with a steering-column failure.

“The car oversteered initially and Ayrton caught that and only then did it go straight. But the first thing that happened was oversteer, in much the same way as you will sometimes see on a superspeedway in the States—the car will lose the rear, the driver will correct, and then it will go straight and hit the outside wall, which doesn’t appear to be consistent with a steering-column failure.”

Senna’s accident happened in only his third race for Williams, acknowledged as the premiere manufacturer in F1 at the time, coming off the back of repeat drivers’ and constructors’ championships in 1992 (Nigel Mansell) and 1993 (Alain Prost).

“I guess one of the things that will always haunt me is that he joined Williams because we had managed to build a decent car for the previous three years and he wanted to be in the team he thought built the best car—and unfortunately that ’94 car at the start of the season wasn’t a good car,” Newey admitted.

[Source: BBC Sport | Pic: Williams/LAT]