Robert Kubica believes Williams has built a much better platform with its new car for 2019, according to the team’s chief technical officer Paddy Lowe.
The FW42 arrived late to testing but Lowe says the team’s first impression of its new car, which replaces its unsuccessful FW41, is positive.“Robert in particular who has a lot more experience of last year’s car than George [Russell], who only had a brief run, and particularly that Robert has driven the old car around here quite a lot last year, has some very encouraging comments on the qualities of the car,” said Lowe in response to a question from RaceFans.
“He feels that we’ve made a huge step forwards in terms of the platform, so a car that is far more drive-able, a car that you can work with from a driving point of view. You can control your management of tyres, you can control the balance and the pace, which was definitely not a description you could have given about last year’s car. So that’s very encouraging.
“It doesn’t talk about speed but at least it’s a platform. And given that that was one of our major objectives over the winter was to design and implement a process within our engineering that would make cars with better properties and then go and deliver those better properties, that’s that’s a good step for us and a much better foundation from which to move forwards to the next stage.”
Lowe is also encouraged by the lack of problems the team has encountered with the FW42 so far.
“Reliability, I think we’ve been showing in the days running this week, that where we’re where we need to be. Touch wood – with a car out there doing a race distance that’s a risky thing to say. But it seems seems to be pretty good.”
[smr0901]The team won’t be able to judge whether it is likely to be more competitive than last year, when it finished last in the championship, until at least the first race of the season, Lowe said.
However compared to last year, when Lowe said the team realised it was in trouble from the first day, they feel their current situation is “much better”.
“The process of understanding what you’ve got, what challenges you face, is long and complicated. And certainly from my own point of view a year on I have much greater understanding of what we’ve got, where our weaknesses are, where we’ve got to build and that we are delivering the right changes to turn those things around.
“So I feel a lot more confident that we will we have more of the right things in place but at the same time completely aware that there is great challenge ahead still. We’re only just beginning.”
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
2019 F1 season
- Crying in the Melbourne car park at 2019 grand prix was my career low – Ocon
- McLaren Racing reports reduced £71 million loss in 2019
- Kvyat: Hockenheim podium last year was “my biggest achievement” so far
- How the FIA’s new encrypted fuel flow meter targets Ferrari’s suspected ‘aliasing’ trick
- “He smashed my office door”: 23 must-see moments from ‘Drive to Survive’ season two
erikje
28th February 2019, 17:36
So Lowe can bring the good news and Mrs Williams can take the heat.
Davey
28th February 2019, 19:09
Car looks promising and much more stable than last year.
Don’t think they’ll be on the podium this year but if anyone has the intelligence and drive to push them forwards its Kubica. The guy is a class act.
John
28th February 2019, 20:10
If we compare the times Williams is achieving now to the times achieved on day 4 of last week, then we can see that Williams is back to the midfield. The big issue here is whether those lost 3 days will affect the performance, at least at the beginning. Much better pilots and an improved car, there is hope!
Qeki
28th February 2019, 20:53
Many teams have said the same. It would be silly to say (at this point of the season to say we have messed things up) otherwise. For Williams it still is a very hard job even to catch to middfield. Can they do it? I don’t know but I hope so.
Robbie (@robbie)
28th February 2019, 21:48
From reading during this off-season about all their woes, and from them coming to testing late, this is really nice news to hear. Of course they won’t be competing for podiums, but for me the season will be more pleasurable of I can have the sense that they are struggling less and are a little more comfortable with where they are and with their potential and their future.
I have felt bad for the team and for the drivers so handcuffed to show us anything, so hopefully they can have a much better season this year, and make last year their ‘rock bottom’, and only onward and upward from now on.