Williams optimistic of fighting at the top

Race drivers Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg have helped the team complete more than 17,000 kilometres of testing since the end of last year, and the promising form of Cosworth's new V8 engine has left the team upbeat about their chances.

Technical director Sam Michael said: "The big question that everyone is asking is - who is quick? Pace is notoriously difficult to judge during winter testing due to cars being at different stages of development and variable track temperatures having a big influence on performance.

"In addition this year, we have another variable in the V8 engines, and all the engine manufacturers are at different stages of development. For the start of this season, however, our target is to put Williams back at the sharp end of the grid."

Williams have also released mileage figures for winter testing, which indicate that despite a change of engine and tyre supplier they have enjoyed pretty good reliability.

Teams Testing Kms (since Nov 28, 2005)

Pos. Team         Cumulative Kms
 1.  Honda        26,000.79
 2.  McLaren      22,683.1
 3.  Renault      20,731.82
 4.  Toyota       17,757.95
 5.  WilliamsF1   16,732
 6.  BMW Sauber   12,900.82
 7.  Red Bull      8,606.339
 8.  MF1           7,569.898
 9.  Toro Rosso    5,873.2
10.  Super Aguri     508.97

Top 5 Drivers - Testing Kms (since Nov 28, 2005)

Pos. Driver       Cumulative Kms
 1.  Button       9,664.335
 2.  de la Rosa   9,006.288
 3.  Davidson     7,341.708
 4.  Trulli       7,188.068
 5.  Rosberg      6,975.919