F1 Preview: Williams

"tomtom615" (tomtom615) 02/11/2014 at 11:00 • Filed to: F2014, F1 Preview

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For the next couple weeks, I'm gonna put out a preview for every F1 team for the 2014 season. I will try and be consistent and do it every weekday at 11:00 AM, but I know I'm lazy and may not get it every day, let me know what you think of my preview! Taking in mind that this is 3 days in a row, I would say I'm doing pretty well!

The Team:

Williams F1, finally a team I really wanted to write about!

Origins:

Frank Williams Racing Cars, Walter Wolf Racing

Team History:

Holy cow, telling the history of Williams would take a whole article, but I think I can partially sum up the impact of Williams in a few stats.

Constructor's Championships: 9

Driver's Championships: 7

Wins: 114

Ayrton Senna, Alna Prost, Damon Hill, Jaques Villeneuve, Nigel Mansell,Nelson Piquet, Keke Rosberg, Ralf Schumacher, and Jensen Button have all driven the FW coded Williams cars and the team is one of the greats in F1. Sadly, Williams has been on the decline since 2008 and finished 9th in 2013, a tie for worst in team history.

The Car:

The FW36 is Mercedes powered and the testing livery is in "Heritage Blue." Tradition continues in the car, as every Williams car has carried a sticker in memory of Ayrton Senna, since his death in 1994 in a Williams car.

Is the Nose a Gentleman's Sausage?

Yes, however it carries a Senna decal, so it is better than other Gentleman's Sausage noses

The Drivers:

Felipe Massa- Oh Massa, you're everyone's favorite hard luck kid! Massa started at Sauber in 2005 before joining Ferrari in 2006. He was quick early scoring 11 wins in 3 years at Ferrari and a second place in points in 2008. In 2009 he sustained head injuries after a freak accident hitting a part that had fallen off another car. Since that accident, he hasn't quite been the same driver. Massa hasn't recorded a win since 2008 and has finished in the bottom half of the top 10 in driver's points since 2010. Hopefully the change of scenery will spark the driver and team into improvement.

Valtteri Bottas- Bottas finished the 2013 season in 17th position as the highest finishing rookie. His shining moments were qualifying 3rd in Canada and finishing 8th at COTA. He was the 2011 Formula 3 champion and continues the tradition of "If you want to win, hire a Fin"

The Sponsors:

Ranstad, Experian, Kemppi, and Wihuri all serve as associate sponsors

Why You Would Like This Team:

Tradition, tradition, tradition. Williams used to be one of the premier teams in F1 and has a list of accomplishments few teams can rival.

My Expectations:

Williams will improve with a talent like Massa moving over from Ferrari, but not enough to greatly improve their points standing. They will have more points finishes and end the year with more than 5 points.

chicagoE36 > tomtom615 02/11/2014 at 11:49

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I'm really looking forward to seeing how Massa does at Williams. He's (at a minimum) a sentimental favorite.

DoctorDick > tomtom615 02/11/2014 at 12:44

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I've been getting laughed at by freinds, but I realy have a feeling Williams is about to come back in force. I don't think they'll win the championship, but I do see them gradualy moving upwards, towards those big points.

wrblue11 > tomtom615 02/12/2014 at 19:22

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Always been my team, but putting hope in massa feels... i dunno. i certainly wish him the best. if it rains every weekend we're in good shape with bottas tho.

Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) > DoctorDick 02/18/2014 at 11:57

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Yes, i've been getting that feeling too. Keep your eye on Williams. Something is brewing.