Williams chased ‘very different’ aero concept for new F1 car

Williams Formula 1 technical chief Paddy Lowe says the team pursued a “very different aerodynamic concept” with its 2018 car that has allowed it to make significant gains ahead of the new season.

Williams launched the Mercedes-powered FW41 on Thursday night in London, with drivers Lance Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin on-hand for its unveiling ahead of a season that will see them bid to improve on the team’s finish of P5 in last year’s F1 constructors’ championship.

Despite there being relative stability in the technical regulations for the new season, Lowe explained how Williams went down an aggressive route when designing the FW41 - the first car under his stewardship since joining last spring.

Early comparisons have already been drawn with the bargeboard design of Ferrari's SF70H car that took five race wins in 2017, with the lower half of the FW41 being painted in black for the launch to better hide any aerodynamic intricacies.

“It is very exciting to be giving everyone the first look at the FW41. It is the product of some great teamwork across the various functions in the organisation including aerodynamics design, vehicle dynamics, race engineering and systems engineering,” Lowe said.

“The car has many new features, most of which are not all that obvious, but externally the team has pursued a very different aerodynamic concept which has allowed us some significant progress in aerodynamic performance.

“All Formula 1 cars are an evolution of what has gone before to some extent, but the FW41 does involve a number of departures from the directions that have been pursued in the past.

"Overall, the philosophy we are starting to see emerge is a new approach to the collaboration between aerodynamics and design to achieve the optimum working result.

“Aerodynamics, structure and weight are the three major trades to be made in designing a Formula 1 car, and all the work, alongside a number of radical changes to the car’s packaging to incorporate further developments from Mercedes HPP, have led us to the FW41 being revealed today.

“We hope that this car will make progress in the performance rankings relative to 2017. The whole technical team is also feeling very positive about our two talented young race drivers with the combination of Lance and Sergey.”