WILLIAMS REVEALS 2017 CAR IMAGES
Team’s FW40 is first new car to break cover
Williams has become the first team to release teaser images of its 2017 challenger, the FW40.
Named in honour of Williams’ 40th anniversary, the new car is the first to give us a clear indication of what the new-style 2017 field will look like. While the images are still just early renderings, they give an idea of the impact the new car dimension and aerodynamic regulations will have.
Williams retains the thumb-style nose design, which first became a feature in 2014, but has fitted a much wider front wing in accordance with the new rules. The tyres for this year are at least 25 per cent wider, meaning teams have had to work harder to produce a front wing capable of diverting the airflow wide of the tyres’ outside edge. Williams also appears to have planned for an aerodynamic S-duct, with an inlet in the nose tip and an exit vent placed alongside the front wishbone mounts.
The rear wing has been remodelled to sit lower and wider, and follows a similar design to the part Ferrari fitted to its test car late last year to accommodate the wider rear Pirelli rubber.
The sidepods are another big area of development. With bodywork now allowed to be 200mm wider than before (1600mm, up from 1400) teams have greater scope for flared and sculpted sidepods.
Williams retains a ‘Coke bottle’ design to smooth the bodywork tightly back to the gearbox and rear assembly. The first design uses a host of small turning vanes mounted on top of the sidepods’ leading edge together with large turning vanes either side.
The images show nothing of the development of the new rear diffuser, which is expected to be a large area of focus for teams.
Williams has signed ex-ferrari man Dirk de Beer as its new head of aerodynamics. De Beer was formerly chief aerodynamicist at Ferrari.