Time fast running out for Williams!
Turkey was yet another disappointment for Williams in a season which is rapidly turning out to be their worst for many years.
The car seems to be going backwards and Technical Director, Sam Michael has looked very hot under the collar in recent weeks as he knows he has to take his fair share of the blame for the atrocious performances.
The Williams team has performed so bad now that it’s the worst car in the field apart from the three new outfits. In Istanbul qualifying, Lotus’ Jarno Trulli was less than two seconds slower than Nico Hulkenberg.
Hulkenberg is what’s worrying me. Williams had high hopes for last season’s GP2 champion and this may only be his debut season in Formula One but is he up to the job? Hulkenberg qualified in 17th and finished in the same position. The young German looks worryingly out of his depth; qualifying so low down the grid doesn’t give the German much of a chance in the race.
However, it doesn’t help when the car is performing so woefully. There’s only so much a driver can do with a poor car and if the experienced Barrichello is struggling with the Williams then you know it’s a bad car. The Renault team has surprised us all this year and the Russian rookie Vitaly Petrov has impressed the Renault bosses and pundits alike. A rookie with a half decent car can impress so Hulkenberg can count himself rather unfortunate to not being able to show off his talents in a decent car.
It’s quite ironic how Williams are improving their pace but now reliability issues are troubling them. Clutch problems at the start for Barrichello dropped him down to 20th then a front wheel problem during his pitstop together with a throttle problem shortly afterward spoiled the Brazilian’s race.
It would be nice to see how both Williams’ would fair if the team could be reliable and quick at the same time. If the Williams is getting quicker then there’s potential but I shouldn’t still be having to say this as we approach the half way mark in the season.
‘The Hulk’ punctured his tyre on the first lap so his race was compromised when he had to make an early stop and from then on the 22-year-old was playing catch up. He is finding it hard to find the right performance from the car but Michael revealed that there will be aero upgrades for Montreal which can hopefully result in an improved performance.
Michael and the rest of the Williams team are making the right sounds after disappointing performances but it can’t keep going on like this – race after race. Hulkenberg and Barrichello are both struggling with a car that may have potential but time is running out so would it be worth them maybe turning their attentions to next season’s car if things don’t improved within the next three to five races?
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I bet Cosworth are pretty fed up with Williams by now, with Barricello whinging about the engine yet it they were in the top 6 fastest cars on the straight in qualifying and the race in Turkey. And if the Hulk could stay in front of Rosberg in Spain on the straights which we saw for lap after lap on TV…seems like the FW32 simply hates corners and full tanks.