Williams became the first Formula 1 team presenting its 2017 car. Its name is FW40, honoring the team’s 40th anniversary.
Felipe Massa and Lance Stroll are the team’s drivers for the 2017 Formula 1 season.
“I think it’s a really strong pairing, an exciting pairing, with the experience that Felipe brings, and the rookie talent that Lance brings. I think that they’ll work really well together”, Claire Williams said.
“Our pairing is somewhat similar; we had in Valtteri [Bottas] an experienced driver, with four seasons under his belt, and now we have Felipe, with his 15 years of experience. One of the most important considerations is how well the drivers will work.”
“Our predominant focus is on the Constructors’ Championship so for us, having two drivers that know and understand the importance that we place on the Constructors’ is critical. Lance and Felipe worked together last year, because Lance was part of the development programme that we had, they’ve spent time together and we know they get on already. I’m looking forward to seeing what they can both bring to each other.”
“I really am looking forward to Felipe being a sort of mentor to me,” Stroll said a while ago. “Of course we are competitors and we want to beat each other. But at the same time I think he has a lot of respect as a driver. We all know that he is very well respected throughout the paddock. He is a really nice guy, he is a team player. And that is all really you ask for being in a team.”
“You want someone that is a team player that will help the team go forward and not kind of create a problem on both sides of the garage.”
Meanwhile Claire Williams hopes that the Paddy Lowe speculation will be over soon. The British specialist left Mercedes and is expected to become soon team principal of the Grove team. Lowe is on a gardening leave.
“A lot of people have been talking about this. We have been providing all the media that follow our sport a great winter with the shenanigans that have been going on at Mercedes and at Williams”, Claire explained for BBC 5 Live Sport.
“We’ve provided you with a lot column inches. Hopefully all the speculation will be over in the near time. But I can’t comment whether Paddy is joining our team or not. He is a fantastic technical director. Any team would be really lucky to have him.”
The 2017 FW40 honors the team’s 40th anniversary
Our 2017 challenger – the Williams Mercedes #FW40 – will be officially launched on February 25th #WeAreRacing #Williams40 pic.twitter.com/mL7ykPvZYG
— WILLIAMS RACING (@WilliamsRacing) 17 February 2017
