Missed Opportunities for BMW WilliamsF1

For the WilliamsF1 team their target was to at least finish second in the constructors title behind Ferrari, which they did. In 2002 we were greeted with one race victory in Malaysia for Ralf Schumacher and several pole positions for Juan Pablo, with the memorable run of five pole positions in a row.

The BMW WilliamsF1 drivers would finish thirteen times on the rostrum during the season. The team was also at the top in the reliability rankings, ahead of even Ferrari. The 2002 P82 BMW V10 engine would set performance records during the season.

When the partnership of BMW and WilliamsF1 took to the track there was a target of getting back into the position of been one top teams within four years. This goal was easily accomplished in 2002.

But at the same time these accomplishments should be judged in light of the many disappointments that the team suffered during the season and also the teams inability to challenge the Ferrari team. There were numerous occasions when the team appeared to be on the verge of beating Ferrari only to be let down by various problems ranging from tyres through to driver error.

Liam Clogger, Media Manager, WilliamsF1 summed up the 2002 season by saying: "The natural competitive instinct and track record over fifteen years means that WilliamsF1 could not possibly be satisfied with their achievements in 2002.

Nothing short of claiming championship titles negates this highly self-critical tendency, but it is also fair to say that the team did advance its progress in the championship from the third place recorded in 2001 to being the closest challenger to Ferrari in 2002.

From this perspective, the team secured one of its essential targets for the year, and assuming the slope of the performance curve is upward, then the team remains on course to claim a title in 2003.

However, it cannot be ignored that the margin of performance improvement
required to catch and beat Ferrari in 2003 is significant. The team would acknowledge shortcomings in its performance during 2002, and as a consequence the winter preparation period will be one of the most intense in recent history.

As far as assessing the year in its different elements, our package (chassis, tyres and drivers) all performed well within the context of finishing second in the championship, but it would also be true to say that we failed to consistently extract maximum performance from all areas, otherwise we would have beaten Ferrari."

For the WilliamsF1 team the winter break will see the team focus on achieving the goal of surpassing Ferrari in the 2003 season.

BMW has already started this process with their new BMW P83 engine already been tested bench tested in July with track testing commencing in Barcelona last September.

The next major step in the path to challenging Ferrari will be the new FW25 chassis for the 2003 season. There has already been much discussion as to the approach to adopt in the design of this new chassis. Some feel that a radical approach is necessary to challenge the Ferrari team.

As to what we will see when the car is launched next year is very much an unknown. But for the WilliamsF1 team there is only one way the team can go and that is to beat Ferrari and secure the constructors title in 2003.