Williams FW42

[skwdenyer]

Sad that the gear box casing is still cast aluminum, bespoke carbon case not happening this season I guess

Paddy Lowe has gone on record as saying that he’s come around to the Williams view on this - that the potential benefits don’t outweigh the cost.

So no carbon ‘box casing for the foreseeable.

[Morteza]

Via @AlbertFabrega

[Morteza]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dz2kyB9X0AElveB.jpg

What is the silver piece on the foot of the diffuser for? For a moment I thought it was a hole.

Sorry, I cannot see it
Here's a better photo. Where do you mean exactly?

[nacho]

Engine section looks pretty shrinkwrapped.

[FW17]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dz2kyB9X0AElveB.jpg

What is the silver piece on the foot of the diffuser for? For a moment I thought it was a hole.

Sorry, I cannot see it
Here's a better photo. Where do you mean exactly?
https://i.imgur.com/zpiv8NR.jpg

It is not visible in the pic you posted

It is visible in the pic I posted between the tyre and the pull rod, on the floor

[FW17]

Via @AlbertFabrega

At first glance it looks like the push rod is at a shallow angle, which could make it difficult to work, hope that is not the case

The steering arm could have been tucked along with the lower wishbone, I guess this works better

[DAMNINice]

I think it’s the start of the diffuser and the change of angle makes a reflection of the light that makes it brighter than the surrounding areas.

[roon]

Those front upper arms look like rear upper arms. Convex unshrouded mirrors formed like an airfoil... Didn't see that one coming. And extra from suspension arms? Interesting car. Heartening to see the amount of development and experimentation going on. They have nothing to lose this year, so why not.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dz2lH7UXgAAQE5S.jpg

How do they get away with the little flap on the trailing edge of the lower-wishbone? Thought each suspension arm had to be single section with axis +/- 5 deg from horizontal.

I like it, but just don't understand the legality.

Also, I thought the rules were pretty clear about having no redundant suspension members. Must be some wiggle room within the wording of how the shrouds can be constructed. Maybe it's a chase for wires or hydraulic tubing.

Edit: Looking at the rules just now. I think that's what may be--a chase for wires, tethers, and/or tubes. As such, they are not suspension components.

From the regulations:

10.3.1 With the exception of minimal local changes of section for the passage of hydraulic brake lines, electrical wiring and wheel tethers or the attachment of flexures, rod ends and spherical bearings, the cross-sections of each member of every suspension component, when taken
normal to a straight line between the inner and outer attachment points, must :

[tomazy]

Here is a piace missing in the bardgeboards I would imagine, you can see an attacment that does not attaches to anything today.

[Lotus102]

Nice details, but the whole thing looks pleasingly cohesive to me. I like how the mirror housing is designed to work with the bargeboard area, which itself looks a lot more sophisticated than last year even in its incomplete form. Suspension looks well thought out too. McLaren style pullrod mount on the upper wishbone? Does any other team have anything like the little outwash vane on the front wing? Sidepods look like a less aggressive but more elegant interpretation of last year’s concept.

[Jolle]

Where most cars look brand new and sleek, the Williams (together with the Renault) look like they've had a hard life already being taken apart and put together multiple times to make them "fit". Like a pre-production model.

[munudeges]

Paddy Lowe has gone on record as saying that he’s come around to the Williams view on this - that the potential benefits don’t outweigh the cost.

What that means is there are benefits, and there obviously always is when you move from aluminium to carbon fibre, but Williams can't afford it.

[ESPImperium]

Car has some nice details, however it is incomplete and sort of cheap in some areas for me, not a Williams car I've known all my life since i started watching F1 in 1992 as a 7/8 year old.

The gearbox is the same old technology from Williams, outdated by around 8 years when most were switching to a Carbon case and inner cassette as Williams have a Aluminium casing that also doubles as the cassette as well. Technology that even Lotus/Team Lotus/Caterham ditched after a year in the sport in 2011 for a Red Bull supply, even X-Trac switched to a carbon case in readiness for a supply for any team in 2014, but alas they never had a team to supply as McLaren, Williams, Mercedes, Ferrari and Lotus/Renault were the 5 main teams/supplyers of gearboxes then.

The front suspension looks heavy, clunky and unfinished.

I fear this car will be a second off the back this year, and as they lost a 31.25% of testing, call it a third of testing if you take it to the minute, the did a 23 lap shakedown, that's 107.065km. When most teams have their first 1,000km on the cards by now. They aint getting that time back. If i was Williams, id have taken out the FW41 to Barcelona for this week, given the drivers a car to just drive, hone your craft, and test the tyres with the old car, get data on them. Then brought the FW42 out over the weekend, give themselves a extra couple of days to get things a bit more correct, then go for it. Sauber did this in 2016 with the C35 as the C35 wasn't ready for the first week and they brought a C34 along and told the drivers to drive and hone their craft as its almost a tyre test. Only thing i suppose that was okay then was the stability in technical regulations year to year, as their year we don't have this as there's so much that has changed.

I just hope they can hand in there this year, its going to be a tough year for Williams fans.

[FW17]

So any new parts?

[Manoah2u]

Paddy Lowe has gone on record as saying that he’s come around to the Williams view on this - that the potential benefits don’t outweigh the cost.

What that means is there are benefits, and there obviously always is when you move from aluminium to carbon fibre, but Williams can't afford it.

good lord, not even able to afford a piece like that. how on earth are they going to manage this season.