Yesterday saw Williams hit the track for the first time in 2021. They took to a chilly Silverstone in their new FW43B, with both drivers, George Russell and Nicholas Latifi, taking turns behind the wheel.
Written By Ian Bruce, Edited By Umut Yelbaşı
This comes a day after Mclaren were also at Silverstone for a first shakedown. Williams, however, decided to complete their first filming day behind closed doors. Not much can be read into this really, as it may just be a way to keep eyes off a team that is already under pressure to perform better this season.
This is the first Williams not to have been developed under the presence of the Williams family, following the purchase of the team by Dorilton Capital last year.
It has been said that the day went well and that all test programmes were carried out, despite the run being restricted to 100km using Pirelli demonstration tyres. These days are more often used to test systems rather than performance, since teams cannot run as aggressively or on actual race tyres.
The new car will be launched on the 5th March, with a brand new livery. Dorilton has long spoken about the vast history of the Williams brand, so fans will hope some nods to their icon liveries of the past might be seen. It is hoped that the FW43B will start to take them back to within the midfield pack at least, but I think fans will just be hoping that this will finally be the car to let George Russell score more points!