Williams technical director Sam Michael predicts that the Grove based outfit will have a ‘very competitive car’ for the 2011 season.
Pre-season testing hasn’t given a clear indication of the true pecking order come Australia, but Michael is confident that the data collected from the FW33 during the first few tests shows they have a good base, which he stressed must be developed quickly throughout the year.
“I think that all the testing that we have been doing shows that we have a very competitive car in the FW33 and as long as we develop it quickly, which is what we are doing, I think we’ll have a good year,” he said during the launch of the teams new livery.
Whilst the media has speculated on the current running order, the Australian warned that if the teams couldn’t decipher the results, then the media certainly can’t.
“There’s lot of speculation about where everyone is and within Formula One teams we have enormous amounts of data, lots of laptimes,” he said.
“We know how the aero platform is, and we take photos of the cars, and we have no idea where everybody is. So the journalists don’t have any chance to predict it.
“If you’ve got someone who looks strong today it may not be [the case] in Melbourne, or Malaysia or Shanghai because the rate of progression is very big. That’s what comes with these big rules changes.”
