Formula One car development blog

Williams was the first team at the Abu Dhabi young driver test to come out of the garage with a considerably different car compared to its current FW33. With regulations for 2012 mandating periscope exhausts to stop off-throttle blowing, the team is already trying a configuration to at least get some track data on the new layout.

As commonly seen during these tests, the Williams team has also added some sensors to verify its simulations. Just like at several Friday practices, torsio... Read more

Williams F1 have introduced another new front wing update at Korea. The British team have certainly taken up an aggresive front wing development programme this year, somewhat similar to what Renault did in 2010. Contrary to the Renault R30 though, Williams' car updates don't seem to move them upward the pecking order.

The new update is a slight modification of the Japanese GP front wing design. It shows a modified leading edge of the main profile, as well as the removal of a horizon... Read more

Williams have been trying out different rear bodywork on their FW33 car. The new layout is quite similar to what can be seen on the Red Bull RB7 as it creates a hole above and ahead of the beam wing to allow hot air get out of the sidepods.

With the new exit, the team was able to close the exit low above the diffuser, aiming to create a cleaner airflow onto the diffuser, instead of using the hot air that went through the radiators upstream in the sidepods.

What makes this so interes... Read more

Williams F1 started the season with high hopes after it was so proud of developing a new extremely low gearbox. This allowed the designers to clean up airflow at the central rear part of the car. While early performance measures during winter tests were still promising, a real race weekend quickly showed the car's lack of speed.

By that time, Williams were already working hard on a now exhaust solution. When Red Bull showed up at testing with their exhausts blowing around the diffus... Read more