Grapevine: Head Trashes New Transmission Reports

Williams technical director Patrick Head has denied the Grove-based squad are working on a new transmission system for their BMW-powered FW24.

According to a report published by British weekly Autosport last week, Williams were set to follow the design of rivals Ferrari for a new ultra-compact transmission in the hope of closing the gap to the World Champions, who have won four of the first five races of 2002.

But speaking ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix, Head has denied the story, claiming that Hors Technologies - the company named in the report as the creator of the new transmission - only builds a small number of gears for Williams.

"It's the first I've ever heard of it, apart from quotes in newspapers," said Head today in Austria. "I think it's remarkable how one magazine feeds off another and doesn't seem to have any interest in whether there's any element of truth in it.

"I was shown something in an Italian magazine, the only thing I know of is that there was a name of a German company who has made a small number of gears for us but that's about it. Otherwise there was absolutely no truth in the story at all."