Williams have become the second team to reveal the look of their 2014 F1 car – and the first to show off the design of the widely-debated 2014 noses.
The FW36 features the strikingly narrow, tapered nose which is expected to feature on many of this year’s cars due to the framing of the new regulations.
It is the first Williams to be powered by a Mercedes engine, and chief technical officer Pat Symonds said he was pleased with their collaboration so far.
“This is the first time that Williams has worked with Mercedes in F1 and we’ve been very impressed,” he said. “Their professionalism and commitment have been notable and we’re as confident as we can be that the power unit will be competitive.”
Aside from the striking nose design, which is expected to feature on most cars this year, the car features enlarged air intakes to cool the sophisticated new engines and energy recovery systems.
“Overall the cars will need more cooling this year,” Symonds explained. “The demands on water and oil cooling may be slightly diminished, but the [Energy Recovery System] is significantly more powerful and hence needs more cooling. We also have to cool the charge air from the turbocharger compressor which requires a substantial intercooler.”
“There’s a lot more technology on the cars this year,” he added. “We’ve had turbo-charged engines in F1 before; what’s different this time is that it is much more than just an engine change, it is a completely different system.”
“We’ve gone from a slightly hybridised normally aspirated engine to a fully integrated hybrid power unit with novel technology at its heart.”
Symonds said production of the car went according to plan. “But it’s been a challenge to get the car down to the weight limit.”
“It’s been achievable, but it hasn’t been easy because the new power unit is heavier than the outgoing V8.”
More Williams FW36 pictures
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WilliamB (@william-brierty)
23rd January 2014, 9:09
ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!!! My eyes hurt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Stephen Craig
23rd January 2014, 9:11
Soon it will be your ears too! :)
WilliamB (@william-brierty)
23rd January 2014, 9:15
I hope not!
Jan (@yancheelaa)
23rd January 2014, 9:17
:D great one
Chu
23rd January 2014, 18:44
What’s with the turbo engines? I (IMHO) totally dislike the high pitched noise of the 2000’s(except the v10’s). Early v12 of the 90’s sounded great and v8’s too. BUT the last v8’s where awful.
I know that the sound of the 80’s turbo will never come back but these engines sound really nice to my ears, with some low end growl and the turbine whistle.
WilliamB (@william-brierty)
23rd January 2014, 9:14
That was potentially an overreaction. What we have here is a very nice looking Formula 1 car…apart from a particular few inches.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
23rd January 2014, 9:44
if only that nose was normal… then we could have a seriously pretty car.
geekracer2000 (@geekracer2000)
23rd January 2014, 15:05
Agree 100%.
matt90 (@matt90)
23rd January 2014, 11:25
I agree. It would be quite a minor problem if it wasn’t in such a prominent place. It doesn’t have the awkward-looking second intake on top of the air-box (like the FI and all recent Ferraris). I’d hoped that the front wing would look a little narrower though. It makes it a bit more proportionate to the rear wing, but not as much as I expected.
MaroonJack (@maroonjack)
23rd January 2014, 11:36
It’s like a very pretty girl… apart from her face.
Marc Saunders
23rd January 2014, 12:08
That is what most women tell me. “You are quite a guy, apart from a particular few inches…..”
DaveD (@daved)
23rd January 2014, 15:33
LOL +1
spoutnik (@spoutnik)
23rd January 2014, 12:12
If only they could cut that… thing, at the front, it would be ok :)
DaveD (@daved)
23rd January 2014, 14:17
I wonder how it will look after the circumcision?
WilliamB (@william-brierty)
23rd January 2014, 9:29
The more I look at it the better it gets. It looks properly epic from the side. The nose is not great but utterly tolerable. Frank, you have one satisfied fan here.
Ciaran (@ciaran)
23rd January 2014, 15:02
That’s one hell of a change in opinion! But yeah I agree it looks fine, people will go mad over the noses for a while then get over it quickly enough. What I’m liking is the narrowed front wing, it looks a lot more sensible than when they stretched past the front tyres.
chebeto
23rd January 2014, 10:23
That nose is not exactly a beauty, but it isnt that bad. I was expecting something worse.
The looks of the car do get ruined a bit by that nose but it’s all fine for me.
JCost (@jcost)
23rd January 2014, 10:35
For 2014, regarding the looks department I was expecting for the best but expecting the worst. I’m not shocked with this one, I thought it would be uglier.
Can that rear wing be stable without a pillar?
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
23rd January 2014, 11:22
@jcost as you can see from that pic, because of the ultra low gearbox, Williams didn’t use a central pillar.
So with the wing being narrower, thus producing less downforce, I think it’s safe to say that the endplaces only can keep it up.
JCost (@jcost)
23rd January 2014, 12:18
@fer-no65 I hope they’re right, because it’s gonna be the trend, I guess.
Steven (@steevkay)
23rd January 2014, 15:06
After seeing Scarbs’ interpretation of the rules, this one actually doesn’t seem that bad. It’s not ideal by any means, but I can live with it.
The Blade Runner (@)
23rd January 2014, 11:01
If they make the “anteater” part of the nose the same colour as the front wing (i.e. black in this instance) wouldn’t that help? You could then cosmetically round-off the nose in the car’s main colour.
Just a thought…
mr ROSSI (@mr-rossi)
23rd January 2014, 14:53
Was thinking along similar lines myself, i may just be able to tolerate the “anteater” noses this year,if they hide them well enough using the paintscheme.
tmax (@tmax)
23rd January 2014, 13:19
Going by the looks and the anteater trends, You Never Know. Trojan could be the Next McLaren Sponsor. That might be the reason they are shy of revealing the name.
Joshua Mesh (@joshua-mesh)
23rd January 2014, 13:22
The nose looks like a lonely lady’s bedtime toy.
Have the regulations eliminated all the exhaust witchery?
Joao (@johnmilk)
23rd January 2014, 13:52
you know what worries me the most? with that nose it will be a handfull for parallel parking
Paul (@frankjaeger)
23rd January 2014, 16:26
I think I’ll nickname this one the ‘proboscis monkey’
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Portrait_of_a_Proboscis_Monkey.jpg
Matt Clark (@mattc888)
23rd January 2014, 18:42
Thanks guys, seriously laughed myself silly with the comments :) Exciting weeks ahead of us!
Joseph
25th January 2014, 12:39
The nose job is the most hideous thing I ever seen besides mclaren and Lotus at the moment. Something is not right….my eyes hurt.
Calum (@calum)
23rd January 2014, 9:10
Sigh…
Tim Edwards (@timpey)
23rd January 2014, 9:11
“Anteater” yeah…. more like *cough*
Shrieker (@shrieker)
23rd January 2014, 9:25
hehehehe :D
Hamilfan (@hamilfan)
23rd January 2014, 11:27
@timpey Actually the car looks good …apart from the er… ( I can’t call it a nose ) . I think RBR’s secret this year will be the flexible …er…. whatever ( good luck imagining that ) . Seb could call his car Free willy . LOL. I don’t know what merc have in store .
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
23rd January 2014, 9:13
It’s nowhere near as bad as the platypus noses.
And it is considerably better than the early sketches of the designs. The one released by Red Bull made the nose look like an afterthought. Which I suspect was deliberate.
soundscape (@)
24th January 2014, 23:19
I agree. These cars are a large improvement aesthetically over last year.
Casanova (@casanova)
23rd January 2014, 9:16
No sponsors at all?!
Jan (@yancheelaa)
23rd January 2014, 9:18
only a CAD image… very rough, I believe there will be sponsors on the next level vizualisations
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
23rd January 2014, 9:48
Of late, Williams have used a dark blue interim livery for testing, then publish the final design ahead of the first race.
Sam (@)
23rd January 2014, 9:16
I don’t think it is that bad. It could be alot worse. I’ve seen plenty of possible outcomes throughtout the past months and I really like this one compared to others. I still think it is ugly but there were worse alternatives.
And in the end, if this car/year brings us some good racing I can’t be bothered with the ****-noses.
SamF1 (@reaneyf1)
23rd January 2014, 10:28
What was the other alternatives for noses?
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
23rd January 2014, 9:17
Force India have the “panther”.
Williams have the “anteater”.
Caterham have the “alien”.
Now that Ron Dennis is running the show at McLaren, I shudder to think of how they are going to imbue it with animal qualities. I’m bracing myself for the “wobbygong”. And no, that is not a typo.
supernicebob (@supernicebob)
23rd January 2014, 10:05
Shouldn’t that be “wobbegong”?
SamF1 (@reaneyf1)
23rd January 2014, 10:30
How do you know about the Caterhams car? Or is it a guess?
Joe (@joetoml1n)
23rd January 2014, 10:43
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/112227
zimkazimka (@zimkazimka)
23rd January 2014, 12:35
oh, if only Eddie Jordan was still running a team… we’d have an animal (or insect) appropriately painted onto that thing.
Andrew Paterson
23rd January 2014, 13:22
How about ‘the gonzo’ ?
Jeanrien (@jeanrien)
23rd January 2014, 18:15
They already have the kiwi …
Eddie (@wackyracer)
23rd January 2014, 9:17
Who’s idea was that !?
Joe (@joetoml1n)
23rd January 2014, 10:45
A combination of Pat Symonds, Jason Somerville and Ed Wood most likely.
Girts (@girts)
23rd January 2014, 9:17
The nose looks truly terrible and I only hope that I get used to it in the course of time. Keep your kids away from this sport.
If the rules were more open, we would at least have some diversity but now we’ll probably have 22 ugly cars.
BasCB (@bascb)
23rd January 2014, 9:27
I would think that nose is something you might enjoy looking at, well hung and all @girts :-P
Honestly, I do not think it looks as horrible as feared, at least they tapered the change in width a bit to make it a smooth transition. And it looks as if FI have done the same, making these noses look “interesting” – a bit like the “broken and badly mended” one on the Lotus in the last 2 years – rather than the horrible boxy LEGO nose on cars like the FI, Ferrari, Williams (2012) and Caterhams.
I rank it in the same category as the unformly things Newey came up with for the last Red Bulls, taking diverse looks as a pre and a point of interest to look at what changes there during the season.
WilliamB (@william-brierty)
23rd January 2014, 9:31
@bascb – I agree, it’s a massive improvement on the broken noses, and frankly just an interesting design development in F1.
Girts (@girts)
23rd January 2014, 9:57
@bascb Well, there are other websites for THAT, you don’t expect to see such content on F1 Fanatic or Nickelodeon :)
I’m usually open to new, extraordinary changes to F1 car designs but I just don’t like this.
Trayambak Chakravarty (@major-dev)
23rd January 2014, 10:14
What websites, @girts ?
petebaldwin (@)
23rd January 2014, 10:19
@bascb – If they’re all only as bad as the Williams, it’s not quite as bad as I first feared. I got used to the snowplow front wings, the tiny rear wings and eventually, the stepped noses, so I’m sure I can get used to the ****noses as well.
I’m reserving my judgement on whether it’s as horrible as I feared though until I’ve seen more though as there’s a good chance some of the teams near the top will create something turely horrible!
BasCB (@bascb)
23rd January 2014, 10:49
I am sure that Adrian Newey won’t let us down there and produce something horribly but fast @petebaldwin!
Maksutov (@maksutov)
23rd January 2014, 13:55
To me, the nose doesn’t look too bad. I kind of like the Williams design, given the circumstances of course.
mantresx (@mantresx)
23rd January 2014, 15:30
@bascb I don’t think they tapered the transition just to make it look better, as with everything in F1 there must be a logical reason behind that, my guess is that it makes the nose stronger in a front impact.
Force India said yesterday they will come up with a more aggressive nose design later on because they didn’t want to fail the crash tests, I imagine it will be a deeper cut “finger” within the nose.
BasCB (@bascb)
23rd January 2014, 18:06
I don’t think so either @mantresx, the smooth transition can be better for aero, just like many teams found the vanity panels last year to give them a bit better flow.
Mark Young (@terry-fabulous)
23rd January 2014, 9:18
Eeesh
Ah! Not to worry, we’ll all get used to it!
Sumedh
23rd January 2014, 9:21
The sidepods look bigger than last year.
The nose looks ummm.. terrible would be an understatement. It looks like a limp p**is to me.
The Blade Runner (@)
23rd January 2014, 10:26
Not sure what your p**is looks like but I suggest a trip to your local GP! Having a “W” tattooed above it is also a mistake…
Maksutov (@maksutov)
23rd January 2014, 13:56
rofl
Kingshark (@kingshark)
23rd January 2014, 15:19
F1 is not appropriate for children
GeeMac (@geemac)
23rd January 2014, 15:22
That’s brilliant!
Timothy Katz (@timothykatz)
23rd January 2014, 15:52
Can a picture get COTD?
Excellent!
The Blade Runner (@)
23rd January 2014, 15:58
Very funny!
I wonder if Red Bull’s “nose” will be flexible? They could paint it pink and get Durex to sponsor it! It would be a hell of an incentive for the drivers to prevent the car behind them from closing the gap…
karter22 (@karter22)
24th January 2014, 3:40
@kingshark
I saw this at work and all my coworkers looked at me all weirded out becaused I laughed so hard out loud!! BRILLIANT!!
Roald (@roald)
23rd January 2014, 9:22
It’s not great, but still a whole lot better than the stepped noses of 2012.
Master firelee (@master-firelee)
23rd January 2014, 9:25
+1
Deej92 (@deej92)
23rd January 2014, 11:49
Agreed.
Maksutov (@maksutov)
23rd January 2014, 13:57
+1
Aditya (@adityafakhri)
23rd January 2014, 14:49
@roald what if there’s a car with combination of stepped nose and anteater? likely Lotus…
SD (@sd)
23rd January 2014, 9:28
what r these pointed noses supposed to achieve really?
BasCB (@bascb)
23rd January 2014, 9:39
The target was to have the tip of the nose low, so that in case of a crash with another car the nose gets buried under a chassis (ahm lets not think about that cxxk-pit) rather than going over the top and hitting the driver or getting airborne @sd
SD (@sd)
23rd January 2014, 9:51
i get the low nose part, but what is the purpose of the pointy nose?
BasCB (@bascb)
23rd January 2014, 9:58
In recent years teams have learnt how much better it is to get as much airflow under the nose as possible, so now they try to still keep as much of it high up, and let only the minimum allowed in the rules (the narrow section bending down) to block airflow in that area @sd.
W-K (@w-k)
23rd January 2014, 19:56
Call me pessimist but couldn’t this low nose course almost the same type of accident as the high nose. With the high nose that car rode over the struck car but this low nose, if it goes in just behind the front wheels, could cause the struck car to ride up over the striking car, end result the same.
Here’s hoping it doesn’t happen.
GuitarGraham
23rd January 2014, 9:39
the cars would still prefer a high nose, to feed the aero but the laws state a low nose to help prevent take off situations.what the strip does is to allow both
Neuromancer
23rd January 2014, 10:53
Hmm could have some interesting failure mode’s i can see that low nose digging in to the back of car in front and possibly flipping it over
Dan_the_McLaren_fan (@dan_the_mclaren_fan)
23rd January 2014, 9:31
That’s more or less OK I would say. I expected worse…
I prefer this to the “duck cars”.
Force Maikel (@force-maikel)
23rd January 2014, 9:31
You had one job FIA! One job!
Joe (@joetoml1n)
23rd January 2014, 10:21
.. And they’ve succeeded, in lowering the nose tip. It’s not their job to design cars some fans would call aesthetically pleasing.
matt90 (@matt90)
23rd January 2014, 11:30
They made it their job with the vanity panels last year.
Joe (@joetoml1n)
23rd January 2014, 11:50
It’s not their job though.. It’s their job to make cars safe. Should they allow something for aesthetic reasons, then surely that’s at their discretion, but it’s not their job.
matt90 (@matt90)
23rd January 2014, 15:03
I’m not saying they made it their job to continue doing so, but they have recent history so it in’t as though there isn’t a precedent.
PeterG
23rd January 2014, 12:30
The vanity panels were optional though, Most teams opted to run them because it was found to be more aerodynamically beneficial than having the step.
This year the FIA have not forced teams to run the narrow noses, They simply lowered them. The teams decided it was better to go for a narrow nose.
If the FIA mandated nose specs to prevent these narrow noses then everyone would just complain that everyone was been forced to run similar looking noses because it had become a spec fia part.
petebaldwin (@)
23rd January 2014, 15:51
True but they all are going to run the same nose anyway so in reality, the only difference would be that they’d all look a bit less ugly.
Force Maikel (@force-maikel)
23rd January 2014, 12:53
@joetoml1n You do realize that the rules could have been made in such a way that it didn’t include these noses, it was the FIA that restricted the teams to such designs in the first place and I will keep them responsible for this.
Joe (@joetoml1n)
23rd January 2014, 13:07
The FIA didn’t restrict the teams to these designs. A BGP 001 type nose would also be an option given the regs, the teams are choosing not the go down that route though.
sato113 (@sato113)
23rd January 2014, 9:31
williams logo redesigned too.
also I think this isn’t their actual 2014 car shape, rather a generic image to show off the new nose.
BasCB (@bascb)
23rd January 2014, 9:40
no, its the actual rendering of Williams new car in the development stage it was at in December @sato113.
Some interesting details like not having support pillars for the rear wing (lets see how that develops) and cooling gills behind the driver too.
Retired (@jeff1s)
23rd January 2014, 9:32
A great asset to puncture rival’s tyres!
Joe (@joetoml1n)
23rd January 2014, 10:46
The extremities of the cars are designed to avoid punctures :)
Robert (@gicu)
23rd January 2014, 9:32
Imagine if Viagra would sponsor them..
Maksutov (@maksutov)
23rd January 2014, 14:01
no, because its pointing the wrong way
Arijit (@arijitmaniac)
23rd January 2014, 9:33
Sigh!
If this is what others have done I wont have a proper wallpaper this year :'(
petebaldwin (@)
23rd January 2014, 10:10
@arijitmaniac They look ok from the side… That’s what I’m going t have to go with this year.
Mouse_Nightshirt (@mouse_nightshirt)
23rd January 2014, 9:34
It’s OK to have an anteater nose.
It’s OK to be proud of it.
But don’t go waving it around in public.
And for goodness sake, don’t go shoving it down F1 fans’ throats.
BasCB (@bascb)
23rd January 2014, 9:42
I guess its good to see how they are not afraid to show their parts in public though (FI hid them in a side view and black paintjob!) @mouse_nightshirt!
andae23 (@andae23)
23rd January 2014, 9:35
This is just beyond ridiculous.
A more serious remark: nice to see that the car is still extremely slim around the gearbox area.
Mark Thomson (@melthom)
23rd January 2014, 9:58
new logo for williams?
zomtec (@zomtec)
23rd January 2014, 9:35
These front wings are still to complex. The working group should have aimed for a simpler design like the 1993/94 cars.
Tim Edwards (@timpey)
23rd January 2014, 9:46
Thats just a placeholder in my view. The front wings will be radically different after the first test I’d imagine. Plus they arent going to be giving away true front wing designs.
Fsoud (@udm7)
23rd January 2014, 9:36
Beats the F2012.
The noses don’t look so bad yet, they’ll look different when we see the car in testing and even more when they come out in Australia.
Lotus49 (@lotus49)
23rd January 2014, 9:41
There is a simple lesson here. The FIA needs to STOP designing F1 cars. These ugly monstrosities would not exist if the FIA stopped interfering in car design and left it to the professionals. Do you think it looks a bit like Jean Todt or Alain Prost?
petebaldwin (@)
23rd January 2014, 10:08
@lotus49 – The lesson here is to run the rules past the the teams first! They have all been saying for ages that the cars will be very ugly because of this rule. The rule could have been tweaked to stop this from happening a long time ago and it wouldn’t have caused any issues.
Instead, they brought the rules out, the teams said the cars would be ugly and nothing was done about it.
Not we have a set of cars that all look like they are sporting a semi.
Markus (@maxsu)
23rd January 2014, 9:45
I like the low nose in general but the tip is … urgh, I hope one team comes up with a good looking and brilliant solution that everyone copies, but I fear I must just get used to this. Maybe think of it as a sort of a bumper? Safer collisions were the reasoning behind this rule after all.
eljueta
23rd January 2014, 9:45
I will just go out on a whim and say what everybody’s thinking: The car has a penis. It is a manly car. Because of the penis.
Geoff the anteater
23rd January 2014, 9:47
I’m not having that.
Maksutov (@maksutov)
23rd January 2014, 14:04
lol
David Tyrrell
23rd January 2014, 9:50
Good job they didn’t add any circular aero aides at the sides of the new nose.
mr ROSSI (@mr-rossi)
23rd January 2014, 15:18
No-but there is a huge circular exhaust pipe at the rear ! lol
Bio
23rd January 2014, 9:53
I’m about to puke…
Herp
23rd January 2014, 9:56
Have any cash-strapped F1 teams investigated the possibility of becoming suppliers to the snow plough industry?
Mark Thomson (@melthom)
23rd January 2014, 9:57
Who is the nutter, or perhaps committee of nutters at FIA that keeps coming up with all these idiotic design regulations since 2009. Obviously someone else made the regulations say between 2004 – 2008. It’s getting increasingly embarrasing.
Craig Woollard (@craig-o)
23rd January 2014, 10:04
Williams-Mercedes just doesn’t have that ring to it…
petebaldwin (@)
23rd January 2014, 10:05
In all honesty I expected worse… Having said that, I still do expect worse as this is only a CAD drawing at an early stage. They’re not going to test it and make it better looking!
Chris (@tophercheese21)
23rd January 2014, 10:23
Ehh not great, but we’ll get used to it.
SamF1 (@reaneyf1)
23rd January 2014, 10:26
That has to be no doubt the worst nose in F1 History whats wrong with just dipping the nose. The end peice of the nose just ruins the whole car look its so ugly and horrible
Joe (@joetoml1n)
23rd January 2014, 10:28
“whats wrong with just dipping the nose”
Aerodynamics… Simple.
mr ROSSI (@mr-rossi)
23rd January 2014, 15:19
+1
Joe (@joetoml1n)
23rd January 2014, 10:31
A good looking reneder.. Obviously, I’ll reserve full judgement until we see it in race trim.. I expect many changes to come over the next 2 months.
Joe (@joetoml1n)
23rd January 2014, 10:31
.. Render*
Bill (@billza71)
23rd January 2014, 10:37
Williams have always in recent years had a weird nose, remember the really ugly Whale Nose….! I hope this is not the trend for the other teams to follow. F1 circus comes to town, featuring anteaters, dolphins and maybe a platypus….!
jodrell (@jodrell)
23rd January 2014, 10:41
you mean the Whale/Walrus nose that they had huge problems getting through crash testing and dropped halfway through the season? I kinda liked that one, possibly because it was a bit different.
If the current aim is to have a low end to the noses to avoid cars climbing over each other but the teams want good airflow under the car/nose then surely the Walrus nose is a much better solution than the Anteater?
btw, Platupus, Walrus, Whale & Anteater…what doesn’t F1 generate cars that look like fast animals?!? #aerodynamics :-)
jodrell (@jodrell)
23rd January 2014, 10:53
had to have a dig to check as I thought I might have been thinking of one of the BMW cars but no, it was a Williams . . . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williams_FW26
azrul azim (@azrul202)
23rd January 2014, 10:40
you haven’t see alien yet.
joshj81
23rd January 2014, 10:44
Its a well crafted new handle to help for a faster nose change in the pits.
WimBR
23rd January 2014, 11:03
Do I spy a monkey seat right under/behind the exhaust? I thought those monkey seats weren’t allowed anymore.
Timothy Katz (@timothykatz)
23rd January 2014, 11:08
I wonder if they are after sponsorship from Durex . . .
Ivan (@wpinrui)
23rd January 2014, 11:08
I actually quite like that, I think from the front at least it isn’t bad.
Keith Campbell (@keithedin)
23rd January 2014, 11:15
Just to draw attention away from the anteater nose for a sec – the front wing support struts look much thinner than on the 2013 car. Could this be for marginal weight savings due to the stricter weight limit? It looks like it would be more vulnerable to accident damage.
chrisdavman
23rd January 2014, 11:20
Nice to see that the FIA have failed to close off the exhaust blowing opportunities again. There appears to be some sort of rear winglet on the rear crash structure, behind the exhaust. So some (albeit minimal) form of exhaust blowing is still possible.
Kemisola
23rd January 2014, 11:31
Can someone please explain to me the obsession with how “pretty” the cars look? I was under the impression that speed, handling, efficiency and reliability were far more important, particularly in a race car, but these things seem far less discussed than the shape of the “nose”!
Skett (@skett)
23rd January 2014, 11:42
Perhaps because we simply don’t know how fast it is yet?
Maksutov (@maksutov)
23rd January 2014, 14:08
and if it’s not fast enough, it will look really really ugly!
GeeMac (@geemac)
23rd January 2014, 11:45
Other than the very, very front of it, that’s a handsome looking thing.
Deej92 (@deej92)
23rd January 2014, 11:51
The nose may not be greatly pleasing on the eye, but it isn’t as bad as the stepped nose. Nothing will ever be as bad as the stepped nose!
Avril F1
23rd January 2014, 11:59
http://i.zlowiki.ru/140123_3aa60680.jpg
could be cool if they made normal nose and holes in it. Then they would get needed air under the car and it won’t be so ugly. maybe somebody will make it.
Joe (@joetoml1n)
23rd January 2014, 13:08
It wouldn’t pass the regulations.. There most be one section, with the outline you drew one, there would be multiple.
Atticus (@atticus-2)
23rd January 2014, 12:00
Look at that exhaust position, it’s still clever – I believe there must be a rule that no bodywork is allowed outside the central area, where the exhaust should exit, but this central area was a bit wider than the exhaust itself, so Williams created mini-beam wings left and right of it.
Impressive.
jodrell (@jodrell)
23rd January 2014, 12:47
isn’t that just the Monkey Seat?
BJ (@beejis60)
23rd January 2014, 15:40
@atticus-2 @jodrell It looks like the monkey seat is directly behind the exhaust which is a no no.
Also, where are the upright beams to support the wing? It seemed like everyone was saying those will be present in the cars unless Williams is omitting them in this rendering for now.
Atticus (@atticus-2)
23rd January 2014, 15:46
@beejis60 Yes, it cannot be the monkey seat. It does look like it, but I guess Williams would say it’s how they shaped the exhaust… :D
I read in an Autosport analysis that the rear wing of the FW36 is cleverly attached to the top of the diffuser on the sides with no central upright elements. This is very smart as well (unless it is deemed illegal, of course), because this way there is still no distraction to interrupt airflow between the mini-beam wing, the diffuser and the rear wing. So this is intentional from Williams.
Atticus (@atticus-2)
23rd January 2014, 12:02
Interestingly, the Williams looks far more compact at first sight than the Force India despite using the same engine – it could still be an illusion though without a proper sideview of the former.
Patrick (@paeschli)
23rd January 2014, 12:07
Cars look better with a narrower front wing though.
Tomsk (@tomsk)
23rd January 2014, 12:33
That’s a Womble nose, not an anteater.
Robbie
23rd January 2014, 12:33
Personally I am absolutely fine with this look. I find we usually get quite used to a style as a season goes along, but with all the fear mongering I was starting to think that wouldn’t happen this year. I no longer fear that, and in fact find the Williams more pleasing in appearance than the step nose cars.
JackySteeg (@jackysteeg)
23rd January 2014, 12:46
You know what, I don’t think this looks too bad. But maybe I’m just already desensitized to the new noses.
toiago (@toiago)
23rd January 2014, 12:47
Couldn’t just the FIA shorten the length of the nose cone in such a way that these ugly inches of the nose would simply disappear?
James (@jamesf1)
23rd January 2014, 13:05
Well she has a bit of a butterface doesn’t she?
Jokes aside, I don’t think the car looks particularly ugly. I remember when the 2009 noses were being tested towards the end of the 2008 season and people were complaining about vomiting after looking at it (ok, I’ll stop joking now).
I’m fairly happy with it and I think people are over reacting. Yes, it could do with being rounded of a bit at the nose, but I would say the car looks better than last year.
Furthermore, this is only a computer generated image, I’ll reserve proper judgement until the car is revealed for real rather than via email/website upload.
Steven (@steevkay)
23rd January 2014, 18:11
There will always be polarizing opinions about the looks. I always thought that the 2008-spec cars were beautiful, despite all the winglets and protrusions that sprouted off the body. I’m thinking specifically about the MP4-23 and the F2008 (I think that’s what Ferrari called it) which were really cool looking machines; if anything, I thought all those little winglets were very F1, in that they looked like futuristic jet fighters for the road. Many thought that the 2008-spec machines were ugly for the same reasons I thought they were beautiful.
I think one of the reasons why this car doesn’t bother me as much as the initial renderings made by Scarbs is that this nose tapers to the narrow point, whereas the inital Scarbs rendering showed… well, an expletive hanging off the front.
I think we’ll quickly get used to this. My reaction to this one wasn’t nearly as strong as when they switched to the 2009 formula, when the wings radically changed their proportions; I still remember that BMW was the first to render their 2009 racer and I thought it was awful. Once the season started, I pretty much forgot about my issues with the way the car looks.
Ultimately, if it produces good racing, you can paint the cars hot pink and hang phalluses all over the car for all I care.
Ben (@dirtyscarab)
23rd January 2014, 13:11
I quite like it. Has a sort of ‘talon’ look to it.
The most important thing for me is that we’ve got nice low swooping noses again. Those high noses were horrid.
GeeMac (@geemac)
23rd January 2014, 13:26
I thought we would be able to trust Williams to come up with a design which was easy on the eye, but they have disappointed. The rules are so tight I think most teams will be forced into going down this route.
Paulocreed (@paulocreed)
23rd January 2014, 14:11
This is Margins better than the stepped nose of 2012 so, this platypus doesn’t bother me at all.
JamieFranklinF1 (@jamiefranklinf1)
23rd January 2014, 14:22
I think there are quite a few overreactions to this nose at the moment. Yes, it’s not the best looking nose, but compared to the step-noses (Which I actually got used to anyway), it doesn’t bother me. I don’t even think it looks that bad. Sure, I’d prefer if it was either pointy or rounded off (Like the Brawn or Red Bull of early ’09), but I don’t think it’s as bad as people are making it out to be.
Fixy (@)
23rd January 2014, 14:38
All I noticed – new logo!
victor (@victorlee)
23rd January 2014, 15:52
Well apart from the tounge bit on the bottom of the front wing I think the car looks alot better. Last years car looks like a tank next to this one. I for one cant wait for March
MarkM (@mpmark)
23rd January 2014, 16:05
am I on the only one that thinks the nose looks fine? who really cares, as long as its fast…
Ollie (@olz21)
23rd January 2014, 16:26
I like it but it does remind me of this…
http://ahhsome.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/proboscis-monkey1.jpg
Mathers (@mathers)
23rd January 2014, 16:34
I hope this car gets known from now on as the Willyams
kbcusa (@kbcusa)
23rd January 2014, 16:49
From a platypus nose to an anteater nose. What will they come up with next? Double points for the ugliest nose?
obviously
23rd January 2014, 16:53
I couldn’t care less how the cars look, but I find it funny, not that nose tip is like that, but that with that tip, when looking whole front (cockpit glass to nose tip) section of the car with that thin tip at the front, it all looks like a condom. :)
Now that I think about it, the cockpit sounds more appropriate than ever!
Abel91
23rd January 2014, 17:42
Are they going to add a “receiving slot” on the back of the cars too, so we’ll see cars penetrating each other?! They’ll have to give it an NC-17 rating and it will have gone from a sporting event to an adult film!
Quant
23rd January 2014, 18:43
When the prospect of “ant-eater” noses was first raised I was concerned about the appearance, but I have to say, not only does this rendering of the Williams not bother me in the slightest, I actually think the nose of the FW36 looks better than that of the FW35. Will be interesting to see how closely the rendering reflects the real thing.
So, for me; sound, different but seems fine; look, different but seems fine. Next up, quality of racing…
Superted
23rd January 2014, 18:52
I do wonder whether they went the wrong way specifying the height of the nose tip. It would have been better if they’d specified a maximum ride height of the front wing and a maximum length of the pylons. If they then mandated a minimum cross-sectional area of the pylon(s) the teams could choose whether to run two smaller pylons or one large pylon. They wouldn’t have these daft protrusions that are only there to make the car comply with the dimension restrictions.
berkut (@berkut)
23rd January 2014, 19:23
i like the low nose better than last years
Fixy (@)
23rd January 2014, 21:59
I thought more was going to change than simply the nosecone. It seems, just like between 2012 and 2013, there was nothing to change and little to update. The nose is better pointing downwards, but without that thing we would have a lovely field of cars…
Jev (@jev)
23rd January 2014, 21:59
that’s it… not going to f1 races this year… won’t pay for a premium to watch those noses live…
ken (@kenke)
23rd January 2014, 22:12
Now my son can’t watch f1 anymore,since it will be rated for ages +24
ken (@kenke)
23rd January 2014, 22:14
FRANK,IT’S A BOY!!!!
Maciek (@maciek)
23rd January 2014, 22:38
I really don’t mind it at all – the overall shape is a major improvement to my eyes.
SauberS1 (@saubers1)
23rd January 2014, 23:04
The previous car was better than this one.
hunocsi (@hunocsi)
23rd January 2014, 23:26
Here is Salvador Dali with his own design.
schooner (@schooner)
24th January 2014, 0:29
Looks a bit weird. On the upside, if the pit crew can’t get the jack under the front wing due to a flat tire, that proboscis could make for a convenient hand-hold for them to lift it up! Very curious to see what the other designers have come up with.
Irejag (@irejag)
24th January 2014, 0:31
It looks the tip of a condom.
celler (@celler)
24th January 2014, 0:40
Williams FW36 doing a demo run before Jerez
celler (@celler)
24th January 2014, 0:41
Sorry here it is
celler (@celler)
24th January 2014, 0:43
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/98/Aardvarkant.jpg
karter22 (@karter22)
24th January 2014, 3:42
Well… F1 has turned into a zoo literally… 2012 we saw the “platipus” nose, some carried that into 2013 and now we have anteater noses…. what´s next?? Hammerhead noses??? Throw the double points into the recipe and it´s a sideshow all together! Sad…
Trido (@)
24th January 2014, 4:15
It isn’t a stepped nose, it is fine with me. Could be better, but come on, the stepped nose was infinitely worse than this.
David Bretz (@cynical)
24th January 2014, 8:01
Reminds me of a probiscus monkey.
David Bretz (@cynical)
24th January 2014, 8:03
Oops proboscis*
Brian
26th January 2014, 17:25
Williams needs to hire a cartoon artist to paint the nose portion with two eyes and a few other details. May as well go all in on the anteater theme I say.