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Force India could leapfrog Williams if poor form continues

Lewis Hamilton leads Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg at the 2014 Bahrain Grand Prix. (AFP PHOTO / MARWAN NAAMANI)
Expert
28th June, 2016
2

Between 2008 and 2012 Williams Formula One were in the doldrums, struggling to escape the mid-field.

Although recent years have been kind to the team, they seem set to be slipping back to their old routines, content with merely giving it the old college try.

When Felipe Massa was summarily dismissed from Ferrari, he insisted he would need to land a seat with front-running team were he to remain in the sport, and a Williams’ resurgence came at just the right time.

After finishing third in the championship standings for two years running, Williams now find themselves fourth and slipping, and holding on to their current position will require maximising their top speed advantage in the coming races.

“We are in the middle of a phase of high-speed circuits of which Austria is typical, and as such favours the characteristics of the FW38 and the Mercedes power unit,” said Williams Chief Technical Officer Pat Symonds ahead of this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix.

“The circuit itself has brought us success in the past, and we have every reason to believe that it will do so again.”

The sight of Valtteri Bottas on the podium in Canada and receiving her OBE have been the only reasons for Claire Williams to celebrate in an otherwise forgettable year.

Unlikely podium appearances for Sergio Perez demonstrate just how far Force India have advanced, now replacing Williams as the team most likely to punish the mistakes of the top teams.

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In Monaco, where the drivers’ skill is the largest contributing factor to success, the lads in the white overalls were nowhere to be seen. Similarly in Baku, where the longest straight in Formula One handed the Mercedes-powered teams a huge advantage, it should have been the Williams duo challenging to places on the podium rather than barely slipping into the points-paying positions.

On 58 championship points, there’s a very good chance that Force India on 28 points could eat their lunch and resign Williams to fifth place, especially if Force India charge ahead with their development while Williams look ahead to the technical challenge that next season will pose.

“2017 offers Williams a great opportunity to close back to the frontrunners,” said Williams performance chief Rob Smedley. “We have to be able to do that, otherwise you join the second tier of Formula 1.”

Falling from third to fifth will see Williams collect far less prize money than recent years, and although their bonus payment will bank them slightly more than a fourth place team – and if Nico Hulkenberg can put together some issue-free weekends it’s fair to assume that’ll be Force India.

If they can maintain that position for a little longer it could pay serious dividends.

With Force India and Sauber taking the drastic step of lodging a complaint with the European Union disputing the financial distribution model, the gravity of the situation may finally be getting through to Formula One’s supremo Bernie Ecclestone.

“I am going to have a good look at how things work to see if I can come up with something more equal for all the teams,” said Ecclestone this week.

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“The Premier League has a good way of distributing the prize money, so maybe that could work for us.”

With 2020 and the end of the current commercial agreement looming, the time for Williams to make some technical advances and close the performance gap is not on the horizon, it’s here already.

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