One year behind the game

The 2002 Formula One season was one where all those at WilliamsF1, and their fans, had high expectations of achieving further successes after those of the 2001 season. It was a season where WilliamsF1 should have been closely challenging Ferrari. But this was not to be with WilliamsF1 only achieving one race victory in 2002, compared to four in 2001.

But where did it all go wrong. The WilliamsF1 team certainly has the budget necessary to perform at the top levels of Formula One. They also have one of the strongest driver line-ups backed up by a talented design staff. The team also has exclusive use of the BMW V10 engine, model P82 for 2002, which was viewed by many as the best engine in Formula One during 2002. But such was the domination of the Ferrari F2002 chassis that WilliamsF1 was left realising that the steps forward made with the FW24 were far not big enough to keep up with their rivals.

WilliamsF1 Technical Director Patrick Head was quoted as saying: "The car we produced this year wasn't a big enough step from the car we had last year. But the car we had this year would have been able to beat last year's Ferrari. We are one year behind the game and the problem for us is not to be one year behind the game next year."

But where was the FW24 lacking. The most widely held view was that its chassis and aerodynamics were far less efficient than that of the F2002. Did this come about due to the departure of Geoff Willis a year ago, possibly as it did cause a restructuring of the WilliamsF1 aerodynamic department, and maintaining the right people in the organisation will always produce dividends, Ferrari been a case to prove this point.

But given the poor performance of the FW24 maybe WilliamsF1 was happy to move forward without the service of Willis. With a new aerodynamic team the 2002 season would see several aerodynamic improvements introduced, such as the new front wing and the modifying of the rear bodywork.

His departure from the team may have seen some changes but it did not have the same impact as when Adrian Newey left the WilliamsF1 team. The team even to this day must still be feeling the loss of his talent. Those now in the position of designing the new FW25 for 2003 certainly have a huge task of raising the performance of this car by considerable margins.

This helps to explain BMW's desire to have more extensive technical relationship with the WilliamsF1 team, as the task in hand is certainly one that is going to require the resources of both WilliamsF1 and BMW. This lack of integration between the two partners has been something for which the team has come in for some constructive criticism. Many claim that Ferrari has the edge because it has this integration across all facets of the design and development of the cars.

One should also not forget Gavin Fisher, WilliamsF1's Chief designer. He also has to face the fact that the FW24 was not the step forward that the WilliamsF1 team required to challenge Ferrari. The FW24 with its P82 engine was known to have the longest wheelbase of the F1 cars as a result of the length of the BMW engine making the design of a compact car very difficult. Hopefully the new P83 engine will allow Fisher more freedom in the designing of the new car.

Even with all these issues the 2002 season, as frustrating as it was for the WilliamsF1 team, did still see the team finish second in the Constructors championship and third and fourth in the drivers title. BMW WilliamsF1 was the best of the rest in 2002.

If one looks back at recent WilliamsF1 history the last golden era for the team was when they were using Renault engines. It took the team four years before they secured championships with Renault. BMW has been with WilliamsF1 for three years, so there is every chance that in 2003 the team will have another period of success.