Williams Reveals 2019 Formula 1 Livery
Williams was the only Formula One team not to have announced when it would be showing its 2019 car, but has surprised its fans with a livery reveal that came before most of the other teams. Having discontinued its partnership with Martini and struck a new one with a ROKiT, a global telecommunications company, the team will now be known as ROKiT Williams Racing and its 2019 colors look distinctly different than those that came before.
The actual car, dubbed the FW42, has not actually been shown and will not be shown until the opening day of winter testing on February 18. The car on display at the company’s factory is the FW41 that finished last in the 2018 Formula One World Championship.
It was the worst year on record for Williams, which is a team very much used to winning, having nine constructor’s championship titles to its name. “Last year was very tough for us,” said deputy team boss Claire Williams, daughter of team founder Frank Williams. “It’s soul-destroying for any team to feel that way.”
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Behold our new livery in all its glory! Rate it from 1⃣-? #LiveryUnveil pic.twitter.com/hH1rnJmzfM— ROKiT WILLIAMS RACING (@WilliamsRacing) February 11, 2019
“But we have lost pretty much nobody from our race team over the winter and I think that tells you the strength we have at Williams. None of us want to go through what we went through in 2018. Our target has to be to make progress.”
The FW42 will be the second car whose design was overseen by Paddy Lowe, former technical director at Mercedes during the team’s best years. However, even if his new car is any good, there remain some doubts as to the abilities of the drivers it will have at the wheel.
George Russell is a rookie, and though he’s the current Formula 2 champion, there’s no way to tell whether he’ll go the way of Stoffel Vandoorne or Charles Leclerc. Robert Kubica, meanwhile, is making an astounding return to the sport after eight years, but many wonder if he could still possibly have the pace he once had as a younger man before his injury.
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