Williams new upgrade is ‘really really cool’ Simon Roberts on FW43B challenger

Subsequent to his appointment as Williams’s team principal on a full-time basis, Simon Roberts stated that Williams is already reaping the benefits out of the fresh upgrades for its FW43B car. The upgrades are subject to a detailed analysis during this week’s pre-season testing at Bahrain.

“The development plan for the 43B is an interesting topic because we’re trying to now design and develop the car for 22, which is an enormous change,” Roberts said at the launch of Williams’ 2021 car. “It’s a completely new set of regulations, with no carryover, but it’s also an opportunity because we have done some work on this car.”

“Interestingly, we’ve got a few options that we’re taking to Bahrain to the test. It’s almost a first race upgrade, which is really really cool, I’m really excited about that. And we actually have got an upgrade plan through the year. But it’s going to be pretty modest and I expect like other teams we’ll be looking very carefully at how we put our resource on that.”, he further added.

Simon Roberts didn’t make any revelations about the development tokens

Roberts insisted that both George Russell and Nicholas Latifi will get to run through these upgrades during the pre-testing session in Bahrain. Additionally, the team is yet to decide on a possible route for the Bahrain Grand Prix on 28 March.

“We are going with a range of parts that will get on the car which is great, it is a nice position to be in,” he added. “Both drivers will get to try both options and we have enough parts around us to convert stock for the race. So it could be a first race upgrade. It would be a nice place to be, depending on which one we choose.”

Roberts didn’t make any revelations about where Williams had decided to spend its permitted development tokens. Still, as per him, Williams only had one left to use after bringing some early development in 2020.

Roberts further stated about his team’s efforts to manage that “huge amount of work under the skin”. The FW43B comes on board with reduced weight and holds a “great foundation” for the team, as they head on to the new season.

“We haven’t missed a single opportunity,” Roberts explained. “We’ve taken weight wherever we can. Safety is paramount, that’s always on the back of our mind. Obviously, few things stays as homologated. but there’s still plenty of opportunities. Compared to where we were last year when we started, you know we worked really really hard last year. We further pushed the car to where it needed to be from a weighted point of view”.

“It’s really good being able to start this year with ballast on the car. That’s great, it gives us some scope for upgrades. Along with some scope to move weight distribution around within the regulations. It’s just one of those things we don’t have to worry about anymore. It’s a great foundation for the year ahead.”, he further added.

F1’s new season flags off on March 28th in Bahrain. Hence, both Roberts and his team have to make it really quick while working out with the fresh upgrades.

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