2017 Williams Martini Racing Team - Mercedes

[LookBackTime]

Hey look back, can you include some links about Rob Smedley being not happy? All I've read was that he's thinking of getting less hands on in the race weekends. And Claire Williams saying how much a team like Williams needs him...

My interpretation of his comments for "he's thinking of getting less hands on in the race weekends"!

[ME4ME]

Getting less "hands on" could of course mean gardeling leave.

[Sevach]

http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/merce ... ch-858449/

Now they are all but calling it.

[ringo]

Paddy could reveal the secrets of the mercedes works team engine modes to williams, and possibly the cooling layout benefits.

[Sevach]

Paddy could reveal the secrets of the mercedes works team engine modes to williams, and possibly the cooling layout benefits.

He got started as "systems guy", both on Williams and Mclaren, so i think he would bring solid knowledge in this area indeed.
Suspensions too.

He's a guy who isn't going to design a car "by himself" but brings a solid base, so if James Key comes as well it would make for a brilliant tech department.

[Fifty]

I wonder if this is part of a trade maybe for Bottas?

[LookBackTime]

Damon Hill ‏@HillF1
Me and Harry Potter. 1993 @paddylowe #F1

[LookBackTime]

Technical head Lowe could follow Rosberg out of Mercedes

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-motor ... um=twitter

[LookBackTime]

Lowe expectations…
December 12, 2016 by Joe Saward

It has been clear for quite a while that Paddy Lowe, the Executive Director (Technical) of the Mercedes AMG Petronas team, has been finding it rather difficult to agree terms for a new deal with the über-successful Brackley squad. The word is that his demands are rather more than the team is willing to give – financially and otherwise. The bad news for Paddy is that the team has been in a pretty comfortable position since Ferrari made the extraordinary move of falling out with its technical director James Allison, which put him on the market in July 2017.

Lowe and his team have already dealt with the design of the new Mercedes for 2017 and so Paddy could be replaced without too much drama, with James then stepping in a few months later, in time to have an influence on the 2018 car.

Lowe wants to move ever upward in his career and if Mercedes doesn’t want to play ball and Ferrari is not really interesting to him, the most likely destination for Lowe is Williams, where his F1 adventures began back in 1987 when he was recruited by Patrick Head because of his skills in the realms of electronic control systems.

So, it is not a great surprise to hear such rumours because, let us not forget, back in 2013 Lowe was originally bound for Team Willy before Toto Wolff snaffled him away to Mercedes, when he himself was making the leap. That worked out well for both of them, but if they cannot now agree terms for the future, Williams is a good option for Lowe, as the team has money to spend (thanks to the generous nature of the Stroll Family) and a technical team that could benefit from some sprucing up. The team has made little real obvious
progress since 2014 and has now slipped back from third in the Constructors’ in 2014 and 2015 to fifth this year, embarrassingly behind Force India, which should not in theory be able to hold a candle to an F1 legend such as Team Willy.

With the right engine and a good facility, Williams ought to be able to beat Force India, but it has not been doing do and that means it is time for some spring cleaning in the technical department. There has already been talk of ex-Ferrari aero boss Dirk de Beer joining Williams, and with Pat Symonds creeping up towards retirement age, it is a good moment to shake the tree.

Lowe’s first job in F1 was at Williams between 1987 and 1992, at which point McLaren popped a major cheque in the post and made him head of R&D after Williams’s utter domination of the 1992 season, thanks largely to clever electronic systems. This led to some clever stuff on McLarens in 1993 and beyond and Lowe pecked his way up the order at McLaren to become Technical Director in 2011.

Lowe’s Mercedes contract runs out at the of the year and this means that there is no requirement for any gardening leave, which means that he could start at Williams on January 1. The new FW40 is already done but Lowe’s ambitions are a little bigger than that and Williams might be in a position to offer him the kind of management role that transcends engineering. He’d probably like a bit of equity as well, but the team is not likely to offer him more than share options, which it can easily do as it is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

Some media are suggesting that this might be a package deal to help Mercedes secure Valtteri Bottas, but this doesn’t really make sense as Mercedes has no control over Lowe’s future, unless it gives him what he wants, so cannot offer him to Williams in exchange for Bottas, or something along those lines. one of the reasons is that Martini needs to have a driver who is old enough to drink alcohol in every country, while a little bird has also suggested that Stroll’s contract might specifically name Bottas as his team-mate, thus ensuring an experienced driver to set up the cars, and a known entity who ought to beat a Canadian rookie. what he doesnt eant is to be beaten by another rookie…

https://joesaward.wordpress.com/2016/12 ... ectations/

[Paul]

That line about Martini is funny. They should consider going into dairy if they want to be in F1 in a few years.

[LookBackTime]

Martin Brundle
Expert Analyst @MBrundleF1

Mercedes and Williams both in need of experienced Valtteri Bottas
Why 2017 rules overhaul places premium on experienced drivers and means Williams won't let Valtteri Bottas go easily

Sky F1's Martin Brundle believes Mercedes face a challenge to prise Valtteri Bottas away from Williams with Pascal Wehrlein still a likely occupant of the prized 2017 seat.

Sky Sports understands Williams have rebuffed Mercedes' initial approach for Bottas with the Grove outfit determined to keep hold of their established team leader.

But were Mercedes to succeed in luring Bottas away to replace the newly-retired Nico Rosberg, Williams would then be faced with their own 11th-hour quandary ahead of a season in which the sport's aerodynamic rules are being drastically overhauled and driver experience is set to be a valuable asset.

Brundle says a Mercedes move for Bottas makes sense for them, but believes the 27-year-old nine-time podium finisher is also particularly valuable to Williams given the inexperience of the Finn's 2017 team-mate.

"Next year is going to be one of massive development and new aerodynamic regulations that seem almost endless in opportunity," the former driver and Sky F1 pundit told Sky Sports News HQ.

"You need a fully-experienced driver, and ideally two of them, to max out every weekend. We are probably going to see the biggest amount of car development we've ever seen in a season from the big teams and that is why they'd prefer to have a driver like Bottas who is not going to be learning the ropes and is going to give more feedback.

"But, of course, Williams need that even more because their other driver in Lance Stroll is a complete rookie, we don't know how he is going to go yet. He hasn't done GP2, he's not really been doing too much on these Pirelli tyres, so Williams need to keep hold of Bottas.

"I can't see any other option in the end than Mercedes putting Wehrlein in the car."

The unexpected nature of Rosberg's decision to quit F1 has left Mercedes in a "very difficult situation" according to Brundle with all other experienced drivers currently signed up to other teams for 2017.

With Mercedes still likely to be vying for the sport's top honours next season, Brundle says the world champions need a driver who can step straight into the seat alongside Lewis Hamilton and be competitive.

"They've got their own driver programme, of course, with Pascal Wehrlein and Esteban Ocon, who they put into Force India, and you'd think they'd automatically go to that junior line-up," he added.

"But they need somebody alongside Hamilton who can score victories, can score lots of World Championship points and maybe take the championship itself."

[tomazy]

What about this, Bottas goes to Mercedes, and a retired world champion gets out of retirement to drive for Williams with a nomber 1 on his car next year

[LookBackTime]

F1 - Lowe to Williams, Allison to Mercedes - report
"He could replace Pat Synods"


Paddy Lowe looks set to leave Mercedes and return to Williams.

At the weekend, McLaren denied reports claiming Lowe, 54, was actually set to vacate his post as Mercedes’ technical chief in order to return to another of his former employers.

Now, Germany’s Bild newspaper says Lowe actually seems headed to Williams, where he began his F1 career in 1987.

"He could replace Pat Symonds, who is contemplating retirement," said Bild.

Reports indicate that Lowe’s replacement at Mercedes will be James Allison, who earlier this year left Ferrari following the sudden death of his wife.


http://motorsport.nextgen-auto.com/Lowe ... 12266.html

[LookBackTime]

Quite interesting article !

Symonds says Williams must not let Bottas go to Mercedes

By: Pablo Elizalde, News Editor
31 minutes ago

Williams technical chief Pat Symonds says retaining Valtteri Bottas next year is "crucial" for the team, amid speculation linking the Finn with a move to Mercedes.

Bottas has emerged as one of the leading candidates to replace world champion Nico Rosberg alongside Lewis Hamilton in 2017 following the German's decision to retire after clinching the title this year.

Williams has hired teenager Lance Stroll to partner Bottas following Felipe Massa's retirement.

Losing Bottas would mean an all-new line-up for the Grove-based team, something Symonds reckons would be far from ideal.

"People often underestimate the importance of continuity in a team," Symonds told Gazzetta dello Sport. "The driver is the final element needed between the engineers and the data.

"You can replace one with another, but you need to have a reference point. This will be especially true in a season in which they change the rules – and we will have Lance Stroll as a rookie with no experience in F1.

"Keeping Bottas will be crucial. Losing him would have a heavy impact on the team."

Ferrari wrong to let Allison go

Symonds also told the Italian newspaper that rival squad Ferrari made a mistake in letting technical director James Allison leave during the 2016 season.

"I believe so. I do not know the internal issues, but I worked many years with James and I have enormous respect for him," Symonds added.

"He is an intellectual, a superb engineer and a team leader who brings people along. I think Ferrari today would be better if there he was still with them."

The Briton reckons Ferrari's new horizontal structure, introduced after Allison left, will not work out.

"This idea does not work, trust me," he added. "McLaren has recently introduced a non-pyramid structure, but in F1 there are engines and technicians who have strong opinions.

"There are people who know how to work in teams, but they also need to then take individual decisions to indicate the direction to follow. Ross Brawn was terrific at that, at the time of Ferrari – as was Rory Byrne, who is still in Maranello. Ferrari can make it, but it must have a strong leader."

Symonds also revealed Ferrari had tried to hire him in the past, the last time two years ago.

"Yes, three times: the first was when [Ross] Brawn went to Ferrari in 1996," he said. "But I was chief engineer at Benetton and I was about to become technical director, so I had no way to move.

"Then in 2012 with Stefano Domenicali and finally, in 2014, when I was already at Williams. But at all times, for different reasons, I always thought it was not the right place for me. "

Additional reporting by Franco Nugnes

http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/symon ... es-859260/

[LookBackTime]

I have gotten the section below from autosport.com
Read first the section above this post.

Keeping Mercedes F1 target Bottas "crucial" for Williams
By Ben Anderson @BenAndersonAuto
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.ph ... s--symonds


RED BULL MERCEDES' BIGGEST 2017 THREAT

F1 teams are working on 2017 cars based on the incoming technical regulations, aimed at making cars significantly faster with beefed up aerodynamics and wider tyres.

While Mercedes has dominated the last three seasons following the introduction of turbo-hybrid engines, Symonds believes Red Bull could end that with further gains from its supplier Renault.

"The new regulations are not a guarantee of overtaking moves and spectacle," Symonds said.

"[Bernie] Ecclestone has pushed for us to build cars four seconds a lap quicker, but in order to see real battles you need more balance in performances, and therefore rules stability.

"However, the dominant team may change. Red Bull, after its 2015 crisis, has again built a great car.

"If the Renault engine makes another step forward, in my opinion they will be favourites for the title."