Concerns over FW25 performance

In a recent interview in the British Autosport magazine Williams spoke of the short comings in the aerodynamic package of the new car. He felt that the team had made gains in the mechanical aspects of the car but that the cars aerodynamics were proving to be an issue for the team.

Williams said: "We are not too strong at the moment. In very simple terms, it is a much better car, it is smaller and lighter and, as the drivers say, it turns in much better, but it is presently behind on aero, and presently is a word with emphasis.

"We started a bit late and we proceeded with one development part which didn't work, so we went backwards and that was the risk we took. It was a little bit adventurous for us maybe."

As for the teams chances in the 2003 season Williams did not write them off just yet. He added: "Absolutely not yet - with the grids being jumbled up anything can happen. I think McLaren and Ferrari will be at the front most of the time, but you never know."

As for Patrick Head he also has spoken of the teams disappointment over the new FW25. Head would also comment on the cars poor aerodynamics and how they were hindering the new car from showing the performance necessary to challenge both Ferrari and McLaren.

Head said: "I am of the view that our car isn't performing well enough. It's not going as well as we want it to and we recognize a few handling problems which we don't want to be there. We can measure a few aerodynamic characteristics that we think are driving these problems. I think we've got some work to do but I'm very confident that the car is a good step forward for us.

We are still in the process of exactly understanding the reasons and it could be as simple as a guide vane deflecting under load, which we might fix overnight. Or it could be much more complex. I don't think we're in any sort of trouble like Jaguar at the beginning of last year but we're not where we want to be and we're working hard on it.”

These problems can only be a source of much frustration for the team in that there is only one week left before the first race of the season. If the team can not find a quick fix they may be faced with having to cope with the sight of both the Ferrari's and McLaren's out performing for at least the first couple of races.