2011 end of term report – Williams Cosworth

Williams Cosworth was probably the biggest disappointment of the 2011 season.
The ambitious technical direction taken by the team proved a failure as the car was neither competitive nor reliable.
The team arguably endured one of the worst seasons of its entire history. It scored only five points and finished 9th in the constructors’ championship… its worst ranking since 1978.

Season review

For the first time since 1981, Williams had no European driver in its line-up.
To make up for the loss of major sponsors, the team hired Pastor Maldonado and PDVSA dollars. In the meantime, Patrick Head sold most of his shares and the team floated on the German stock exchange.

When it was launched, the FW33 drew a lot of attention. It featured a thin rear-end and some innovative solutions. Its track debut was promising with a fastest time in testing at Jerez. However, massive disappointment awaited the team in Australia. The car didn’t perform as expected and also proved unreliable. Williams had to wait till the third round of the season to finish a race.
Points took even longer to come… Barrichello scored the team’s first two points at Monaco. The result could have been even better, if Maldonado had not been taken out of the race.
The experienced Brazilian scored two more points in Canada while Maldonado scored his first ever point in Belgium. It was the last point scored by a Williams in 2011 and meant the team finished far behind Toro Rosso in the championship.

The failure of the FW33 project forced the team to take some action. Technical director Sam Michael resigned in May and left the team after the Singapore Grand Prix. Chief aerodynamicist Jon Tomlinson also quit. In the meantime, Mark Gillan and Mike Coughlan were hired. The latter was promoted to the role of technical director in October. Jason Somerville is the new head of aero.

Conclusion

Five points scored in 2011 to 69 in 2010… Williams slipped down the order and will do everything it can to forget such a nightmarish season.

Perspective

The staff changes and the conclusion of a partnership with Renault are the first steps taken by the team to climb back up the field and perform at the level it should do.
Pastor Maldonado will stay with the team but the identity of his teammate remains to be revealed. Rubens Barrichello has repeated many times how much he would like to stay on board but the team doesn’t seem so keen on retaining his services. Adrian Sutil and Valtteri Bottas are the two main contenders for his seat.

Highs
—  Renault will be its engine supplier in 2012
—  Recruitment of Mike Coughlan, Mark Gillan and Jason Somerville

Lows
—  Lacklustre performances
—  Poor reliability

Nextgen-Auto.com marks:
— Olivier Ferret : 6/20
— D.Thys : 10/20
— Sandrine Bouchard : 11/20
— Jean-Michel Setbon : 4/20
— Average mark on the forum Nextgen-Auto.com : 6/20
—  Total : 37/100