Tech insight and video - Williams FW37 launch

Williams's release of computer renderings of its 2015 Formula 1 car, the FW37, provided a first chance to see a nose designed to the new regulations.

The nose, like many of those from 2014, stretches the interpretation of the rules to create the least blockage to the airflow.

A small thumb-like tip is formed to wrap the nose into the smallest package allowed under the regulations. The resulting shape is much shorter and more square-edged than the FW36's.

Although the main wedge-shaped nose merges into a U-shape with the front wing pylons, similar to the 2014 Mercedes, its structure and aerodynamics differ from last year's title-winner.

The nose's thumb tip meets the new rules by creating the first minimum cross section (9000mm2 at 50mm behind the nose tip) and the wide secondary leading edge forms the second regulatory cross section (20,000mm2 at 150mm behind the nose tip). This lifts the nose as clear of the front wing as possible to free up airflow under the front of the car.

Making such a short nose meet the more stringent crash tests will have been a challenge. Not every team will have had the resources to conform to the rules with a nose at its minimum length.

These new nose rules for 2015 not only affect the nose shape, but also the slope of chassis from the front bulkhead upwards to the towards the cockpit.

Pat Symonds alluded to this being a problem and it is clear the front suspension is mounted as high as the structure allows, with the top wishbone being nearly level with the top of the monocoque.

The lower wishbone is a conventional 'A' arm, and not the conjoined version that Mercedes ran last year, which is expected to be a much-copied design in 2015.

Further back, similarities to the FW36 are obvious, but expect these wings and other add-on aero details to change before testing and again before the first grand prix.

Around the rollhoop a new cooling inlet has been created, which is likely to feed a cooler for the ERS, while the sidepod openings are far smaller, being both narrower and shallower.

The remaining sidepod shape retains the deeply undercut design of the 2014 car and tightly wraps around the back of the engine, in a trademark Williams style.

The decrease in sidepod cooling is also reflected in the apparent loss of the permanent cooling outlets near the rollhoop, themselves unique to Williams last year.

Little is known about under-skin changes so far, with the car running a 2015-specification Mercedes engine paired with Williams's own gearbox.

The FW37 seems to be a logical, if not aggressive, approach to a 2015 design - probably the most pragmatic option given Williams's pace in late '14.