It could be an exciting year for one of Formula One’s most successful teams in history, Williams. Following a rebranding, not just in name to Williams Martini Racing, but in engines, they have switched providers from Renault to Mercedes, there is a lot of excitement surrounding them in 2014. A slight change in their driver line-up adds yet more to the excitement. A brand new (and good looking) livery makes the car arguably the sexiest on the grid.
Following a disastrous year in 2013, which yielded just five points, and their main driver Pastor Maldonado accusing the team of sabotaging his car, and subsequently jumping ship to Lotus, deputy team principal Claire Williams (daughter of founder Sir Frank) took the decision very early on in the year to shift focus to the 2014 car. This appears to have been the right decision, as the car has looked very handy in testing.
Perhaps more importantly was the switch to Mercedes’ new power-train for this season. This subsequently persuaded Felipe Massa (ex-Ferrari) to join the team. Also adding to the driver line-up is GP2 frontrunner Felipe Nasr. Remaining at the team are Valtteri Bottas and Susie Wolff (wife of shareholder Toto Wolff and daughter of Paul Stoddart, former Minardi team principal), who at Silverstone will become the first woman in many years to take part in an official Grand Prix session.
Drivers:
19 – Felipe Massa
Having been Fernando Alonso’s whipping boy for 4 years, Ferrari finally axed Massa last year. He will be looking for a fresh start at Williams. So far, judging by his body language, he seems happier than he has been in about 5 years, and it would be nice for him to get a few wins to prove that he’s still got it. He showed great qualifying speed last season still so I expect him to be strong there.
77 – Valtteri Bottas
Out qualified and outscored highly rated (yet erratic) Pastor Maldonado last season, the Finn quietly went about his business yet raised eyebrows with a stunning third in Canada, in a car not capable of it. Expect great things from this young Finn. Should he beat Massa in the way Alonso did, eyebrows will definitely be raised.
40 – Felipe Nasr
Despite not winning any races in GP2 last year, Nasr kept the title fight going until the last round, but missed out and finished fourth in the standings. He has signed on as Williams’ reserve driver, but will continue in GP2, where he is a clear championship contender. This young Brazilian could be in F1 within a year or two.
TBC – Susie Wolff
As part of her role as a development driver, Wolff will contest in two free practice sessions this year at the British and German rounds. However, with Simona de Silvestro taking a development role at Sauber, her time as F1’s first lady could end soon.
Williams, at this stage look to be frontrunners. They look as good as almost any other team at the moment bar Mercedes. So we can expect podiums and maybe even wins early on in the season from them. Whether the team are able to keep up with the likes of McLaren, Ferrari, and perhaps later Lotus and Red Bull once the Renault engine is up to scratch or not we’ll have to see. But should Williams score plenty of points early on, which given their driver line-up, they are capable of doing so, they could well finish in the top 3 in the Constructors’ standings, which would be worth a lot of money to the team, which they will be able to use to develop the car further for 2015. Maybe one day Williams will become one of Formula One’s biggest and most powerful teams again.
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