Williams denies BMW wants chassis input

The German manufacturer is said to want input in the Williams FW25's aerodynamic design following a disappointing season in which the team has failed to challenge Ferrari's stranglehold on Formula 1, according to German magazine Auto Motor und Sport.

But Jim Wright, Williams' head of marketing, told Autosport.com: "It's absolutely not true. Think about it logically. We are building what is a very specialist chassis in terms of carbon fibre. BMW have zero experience in terms of carbon fibre, so it doesn't make sense."

The team is planning big steps with next year's car to combat Ferrari and make the most of the powerful BMW engine.

"Certainly we would like to work more closely with BMW's engineers in areas where we felt there would be a benefit to the team," said Wright. "We are wide open to help from BMW, because if it improves the car then we'll take halp from wherever we can. There are a number of areas where BMW's assistance can help us. We have begun to identify those areas.

"That's an ongoing thing and will be for a number of years. But to say that 50 engineers are coming over on an aeroplane is woefully inaccurate."