Williams targets victories

Last year the team endured its worse season since joining forces with BMW in 2000. The twin-keeled FW26 complete with 'walrus-nose' proved flawed from the outset and it took the team the entire season to register a victory, when Juan Pablo Montoya won the Brazilian Grand Prix in the final race of the year.

"The mistakes of 2004 must not happen again," said Williams. "We must implement the new regulations to our best advantage and be completely with it when it comes down to it. We will know in the next months whether we can beat Ferrari. The ambition is to win races and to try for the championship."

In a bid to regain consistent competitiveness and reclaim the world championship title it last won eight years ago, the Williams team has dumped the unsuccessful twin-keel concept and 'focused on the fundamentals' with its new FW27 challenger.

The team's technical director Sam Michael, who along with chief designer Gavin Fisher and chief aerodynamicist Loic Bigois is responsible for the FW27, admitted that Williams made the decision to revert back to a single-keel layout on the car because the weight penalty was not sufficient enough compared to the chassis stiffness it provided.

"This car reflects a philosophy of concentrating on the fundamentals," said Michael. "Our focus throughout the design cycle has been built around simple variables that affect performance, such as reducing weight and friction while increasing stiffness. As a consequence of focusing on these fundamentals, we have reverted to single keel configuration for the front suspension geometry."

The car also features ultra low sidepods, with smaller radiators to allow for more aerodynamic devices - de rigeur in the latest generation of F1 bodywork - to try and claw back the lost downforce to the new regulations.

"We have also been aggressive with our cooling, as witnessed by the extremely low engine bodywork and the large sidepod undercuts," said Michael. "Reliability is the final area we have been determined to pursue, and we have made significant progress, specifically with the gearbox which has been running on-track since November 2004 without problems.

The front wing of the FW27 features an underscoop below the nose that is similar to that on the BAR 007 chassis launched at Barcelona three weeks ago. "As the front wing has been lifted by 50mm, it has become more important to utilise the drooped wing section in the centre of the car," explained Michael. "Additionally as the rear wing has moved forward relative to the lower diffuser, the other devices around the rear wing must be optimised to ensure they are all working in harmony."

Michael admitted that the car that was unveiled at Valencia, and which will now undergo extensive testing this week, is unlikely to be carrying the same aero package as that which takes to the grid at Melbourne in March: "What we hope is that we have a good benchmark for the car, but by the time we get to Melbourne, I think there will be a lot of changes," he said. "We will look and see what's on the cars which will show the benefits of 10 technical teams rather than one."