Williams Martini Tag

By Steve Aibel, Senior F1 Writer Testing in any racing series can be long, drawn out, and frankly, unexciting. TODAY WAS NOT ONE OF THOSE DAYS! With Ferrari bringing out the safety oriented Halo head protection system live for the first time, Williams making a strong statement concerning overall race pace, and Romain Grosjean spinning the Haas entry twice, Day 3 was filled with some interesting storylines as we approach the Barcelona test finale tomorrow. Kimi Raikkonen topped the timesheet with the fastest lap seen in testing so far! He alsoRead More

By Steve Aibel, Senior F1 Writer With 75% of pre-season testing complete, the paddock is voraciously checking items from their preparation lists to insure they are ready for the 2016 opener which is just over two weeks away in Australia. On Day 2 of testing, Valtteri Bottas led the time charts remarking that he is “feeling prepared and good in the car.” Bottas will hand over pilot duties over to Felipe Massa for the final two days of testing. Williams put the Fw-38 atop the leader board while in qualifying trim usingRead More

By Adam Tate, Managing Editor The second day of running in Barcelona once again saw Sebastian Vettel top the session for Ferrari. The four time champ lowered his best time from yesterday by two seconds after slapping on a set of Pirelli’s new ultra-soft compounds. Daniel Ricciardo had the second best time for Red Bull, also on the ultra-softs, but near 3/4th’s of a second behind the Ferrari. Sergio Perez validated Force India’s performance by putting in the third best lap of the day on the super-softs. Nico Rosberg took overRead More

By Steve Aibel, Senior F1 Writer Last year in Formula 1 there were essentially three classifications of competitor within the paddock. Race Winners: Teams capable of winning races Mercedes and Ferrari Mid-Pack: Teams capable of consistently scoring points Williams, Red Bull, Force India, Toro Rosso and Lotus (now Renault) Back-Markers: Lucky ducks who only scored points when they fell into their laps Sauber, McLaren and Manor And yes, it is an absolute travesty to see McLaren as a Back-Marker.  This year, expect to see a much larger group competing for points.Read More

By Adam Tate, Managing Editor Williams has revealed the first images of its 2016 design, the FW38. While it appears to be a clear evolution of its successful predecessor, major changes have taken place under the skin to help the team hold onto its new found place at the sharp end of the field, including improvements for slow speed cornering and running in the wet. Despite finishing third in the Constructor’s Standings in 2014 and 2015, Williams enters 2016 on defense. A resurgent Ferrari has supplanted them as Mercedes’ strongest challenger,Read More

Williams can confirm that following four successful years with the team, Susie Wolff will retire from competitive motorsport at the end of the 2015 season. Since being appointed as Development Driver in April 2012, Susie has worked closely with the team over the years before being promoted to Official Test Driver in 2015. Her role has seen her play a big part in the development of the FW35, FW36 and FW37 through extensive simulator work alongside getting behind the wheel for straight line aerodynamic tests and during numerous test days.Read More

Lewis Hamilton moved within touching distance of a third F1 drivers’ title as he took a dominant Russian Grand Prix victory ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, while Hamilton’s team-mate Nico Rosberg retired from the race with a mechanical failure soon after the start of the race. Hamilton’s 42nd win also saw him surpass boyhood hero Ayrton Senna’s career wins total. With Vettel second, Sergio Perez claimed his and Force India’s first podium finish of the year, the Mexican profiting from a final-lap collision involving Williams’ Valtteri Bottas and Ferrari’s KimiRead More

Speaking privately before today’s Italian Grand Prix, Hollywood legend George Lucas asked Lewis Hamilton why he didn’t go out and win a race by 20 seconds, today Lewis Hamilton did. In doing so, the performance of the year was shaded by controversy. Hamilton who had pulled away from Sebastian Vettel in second, had a 20 second lead going into lap 48 of 53 at Monza when he received a mysterious radio transmission instructing him to pick up the pace and not ask questions. Hamilton duly noted the instructions and uppedRead More

The Italian Grand Prix is special. A look in the team garages to see the likes of FCA boss Sergio Marchionne and Mercedes chief Dieter Zetsch reveals just how much the Italian round of the championship means to to teams. Just one look at the scarlet coated grandstands shows how much it means to the fans, the tifosi. Just one look at the drivers shows how much it means to them, their commitment, their passion. Qualifying at Monza is all about speed and today we were treated to a spectacularRead More

274 starts in 15 seasons with 15 wins, 50 podiums and a World Championship make Jenson Button the most experienced driver in Formula One today. Despite there being little left for the 35 year old Brit to prove, F1’s elder statesman isn’t ready to hang up his helmet just yet. Now in his sixth season with McLaren, Jenson has gone since 2012 with out a win as McLaren has gone from perennial championship contender to disappointing also ran. The early boom times with the team have now faded and theRead More