The 2014 Formula One season is nigh, with the Australian Grand Prix less than a fortnight away.
We have a decent indication of who’ll be heading the field following the final test at Bahrain, as the outfits came to grips with V6 turbo power.
Essentially, any Mercedes-powered squad has cause for optimism.
One of these teams is Williams, having switched to the German marque following a dismal 2013 campaign – an adjective applicable to many of their recent efforts.
The switch appears to have paid dividends, with the FW36 immediately up to speed.
Still, pre-season running is notorious for teams implementing showboating tactics, namely in a bid to appease commercial partners.
A case could be made for the Grove squad doing just this to shore up the current worst-kept secret in F1 – title sponsorship from the famous vermouth brand, Martini.
But the times achieved running the car with the decisive set-up – heavy fuel loads, during testing – infer that the FW36 boasts genuine pace.
In Felipe Massa and the highly regarded Valtteri Bottas, Williams fields two drivers who can be relied upon, although not screaming talent like Fernando Alonso and Kimi Räikkönen,
Massa appears rejuvenated following a demoralising few seasons at Ferrari, with whom the Brazilian had raced since 2006, while Bottas possesses the raw pace which a decent car would reward.
The aberration of Pastor Maldonado’s stunning 2012 Spanish Grand Prix triumph aside, Williams hasn’t contended for the victories – and by extension, titles, which came so abundantly in the 1990s – for the best part of a decade.
It would be the feel good story of the season should a Williams greet the checkered flag first at any stage. Even podium appearances would be a sight for sore eyes.
With the apparent plight of Renault-powered outfits (namely four-time champions Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel) for the time being at least, there would be no better team to replace them at the front of the field.
Coupled with a resurgent McLaren (who endured a similarly disappointing campaign) and with Ferrari seemingly around the mark without giving too much away, the early signs point to a return to the triumvirate which dominated the sport through the 1980s, ’90s and early noughties.
Then of course there’s Mercedes, who were peerless throughout testing.
What a quartet that would prove to be It can’t be denied that seeing these iconic marques duke it out for glory each weekend is an enticing prospect.
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