All F1 teams are gradually confirming the dates on which they will unveil their cars for the 2018 season. The last team to confirm their car launch has been Williams, who will unveil the FW41 the 15th of February, earlier than anybody else.
Williams Racing has confirmed the date when their car for the 2018 season, the FW41, which will make its race debut in March, when the season begins in Melbourne and will be the first one designed under the direction of Paddy Lowe, who re-joined the team on March last year. Lowe has assured that Williams has made ‘substantial changes in some areas of the car for the upcoming season.
In the last few years, Williams has based its design philosophy on taking advantage of the power of the Mercedes engine and having a car with low aerodynamic drag which works better on high-speed tracks. This meant that the team usually performed well on tracks such as Monza or Baku and struggled in circuits like Monaco or Hungaroring. In the last season, the team finished fifth in the Constructors’ Championship between Force India and Renault.
Their goal for 2018 is to defend that fifth place and be able to beat McLaren and Renault, who are expected to make a significant step forward. Williams will also face the challenge of achieving so with the youngest driver line-up, formed by 22-year old rookie Sergey Sirotkin and 19-year old Lance Stroll. Robert Kubica will be the most experienced driver on the team and he will play the reserve and testing driver role for the team.
Williams is the fifth team to confirm their car release date after Ferrari and Mercedes (22nd of February), McLaren (23rd of February) and Toro Rosso (25th of February). The Grove-based team is, so far, the team that will unveil the car first, which means that the rumours that suggested they could miss the first week of testing have now been denied.
