FEBRUARY 6, 2002

How good is the new Williams?

There have been rumblings from Spain that the new Williams FW24 chassis is not as competitive as the team had been hoping it might be - despite the fact that the car is setting good testing times.

THERE have been rumblings from Spain that the new Williams FW24 chassis is not as competitive as the team had been hoping it might be - despite the fact that the car is setting good testing times. Ralf Schumacher and Gerhard Berger have both commented that the car is something of a disappointment. The first tests of a new F1 car usually give a very good impression of how the car will do and although the Williams is beating most of the opposition at the moment, it is not a long way ahead of the opposition as had been hoped.

The Williams aerodynamic team is believed to be looking at ways to improve the package. A similar thing happened at the start of 2001 when the team was outpaced in Australia and Malaysia. An intensive aerodynamic program produced much more downforce for the car and from Brazil onwards the car was on the pace.