Williams debuts 2020 FW43 at Barcelona
Rokit Williams Racing has launched the first images of its 2020 Formula One car, the Williams Mercedes FW43 two days before pre-season testing kicks off at the Circuit Barcelona-Catalunya.
After completing the last factory preparation on its new F1 challenger, the Grove-based outfit has revealed the first photos of its new machine with which it intends to embark on a new adventure in the 2020 Formula One World Championship.
The team will start the season with a young driver line-up. Starting his second season in the pinnacle of motorsport, George Russell will drive of of the FW43s. Following his five-year endeavour in the Formula 2 Championship, Nicholas Latifiti will join the British outfit for the 2020 F1 sesason after Robert Kubica left the team at the end of last season.
Last year, Williams endured its worst season in Formula One. It has not only slipped back to the back end of the field, but it has only collected a single championship point, courtesy of Robert Kubica who finished last year’s German Grand Prix in tenth following the post-race demotion of the Alfa Romeo drivers.
Speaking ahead of the 2020 season, Claire Williams, Deputy Team principal said that she hopes for better results this year based on the work her team has carried out over the winter break.
“This year marks a fresh start for the team. We have spent time addressing our areas of weakness and have ensured that we have the right people, structures, procedures and resource in place to deliver competitive race cars. We are all committed to re-building Williams and returning the team to competitiveness.”
Williams stressed out that the team’s hunger for success is intact despite the disappointment of last season. „As such, our 2020 campaign is about making progress. The fighting spirit is still very much alive, and this year, everyone will continue that fight until we get back to where we want to be,” she said.
The FW43 is an evolution of the FW42, with much of the development work carried out throughout 2019 feeding in to the design of this year’s car. Design Director, Doug McKiernan disclosed that the team mainly focused on solving the issues it has encountered last year with the FW42. This work included the development of the cooling systems, the overall weight of the car and several mechanical issues related for example to the brakes.
