Friday, January 12, 2007
Williams
The Drivers
Nico Rosberg was a revelation when he appeared in the first race of the last season. But what happened to him? Well the car became undriveable and he made some rookie errors. Unfortunately he tended to make mistakes on the days when he seemed to have a chance. If the car is faster but more importantly reliable then we could see a lot of Nico this year. Sadly for him he'll probably do some stunning drives that get him from 22nd to 9th and because he's still out of the points nobody will notice. A bit like Sato last year. A driver with potential for greatness. Lets hope the team doesn't let him down again.
Alex Wurtz has been hiding away at McLaren and Williams in testing roles rather like Anthony Davidson has been doing at Honda. He's a sensible driver who should be able to give the team some great feedback on the track. This might be a shrewd move by the team as the new rules mean that it will be the race drivers who do the testing on a Friday. Otherwise it's not the most inspiring choice. But he's a very nice guy and he'll be on itv a lot which will be good for the sponsors.
The team
A lot of change in the team over the winter. They have also moved Sam Michael off of the pit wall and back towards the factory which seems a smart move. Sam's a technical director who is too technical for his own good. He's never been a leader. Who they put in charge here will be crucial.
The problems
Reliability, reliability, reliablity.
Outside bet?
You don't want to bet against a Williams comeback. With new money at a team that's learnt how to spend efficiently, reliable engines and Nico being quick we could see a podium or two for the team.
More likely?
Best of the rest.
I'm a bit worried about Wurz too. They have a distinctly 'middle of the grid' driver line-up. Perhaps they wanted to cut down on wages to save for other areas?
There was some talk (even here I seem to remember) that Williams might become Lexus (a Toyta brand) and would therefore be allowed to compete with Toyota properly.
Really what should happen though is that Toyota should buy Williams and combine the two. Unlimited resources from Toyota and the knowledge of how to win from Williams.
Although to be honest it's been a while since Williams won anything, and I think the mighty powers of Frank and Patrick had been on the wane for a few years before BMW pulled out.
We have a lot of rookies this year who have shown an awful lot of promise. And Nico and Kubica from last year really sit with them in the age bracket. These two have a big advantage of having had more experience.
But I think Nico will be let down by the car again this year sadly. I don't think Williams position can really be blamed on him.
It was something to do with Rosberg needing to make it look exciting at Williams (but not in a falling off the road or engine blowing up kind of way!) to revive their fortunes.
I think what happens to Rosberg will be how people perceive what is happening to Williams, whether it is Rosberg's fault if he does badly or not.
It's a bit of glamour and pizzaz that they need if they want to pick things up again.
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