OMG!!!
Williams became the first team to launch their 2004 challenger at
Valencia today - and it's turned a few heads.
The FW26 - unveiled by Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya -
sports a revolutionary new front nose that is certain to cause a
stir.
Last season's constructors' championship runners-up have gone for
the radical approach with a car unlike any we've seen in recent
years.
The team's chief designer Gavin Fisher said: "It will be
immediately evident to onlookers that a high degree of innovative
design has gone into the FW26."
"There has been a great deal of anticipation on our part about this
new car.
"It has challenged us throughout its development and there is
certainly a sense that today is a more significant launch day than
in previous years."
The car has a shorter nose than its predecessor with the front wing
mounted on what the team call 'tusks'.
Drivers Montoya and Schumacher are both impressed with the new
machine and will drive it round the Spanish circuit later
today.
Schumacher said: "I have tested some of the new elements of the
FW26. And individually, they all have been a real step forward,
whether the engine, the new gearbox, or all the other smaller but
none the less significant components.
gSo I am really fascinated to see how all of this works together,
and it would be fair to say that my expectations are very
high."
Montoya added: "We had a great deal of anticipation about last
year's car, and it turned out to be justified anticipation.
gThis season, there is an even greater degree of expectation about
the potential of this car, and the great advance the team has made
is to bring the whole validation process forward by a significant
amount.
gI hope the car will be quick from the off, but now we have the
benefit of a clear two month test programme in Spain before the
first race."
The team have launched their car earlier than last year following
their slow start to the 2003 season.
Sam Michael, the team's Chief Operations Engineer, said: "In 2003
it became evident that we suffered performance-wise as a
consequence of launching our car relatively late on in the
winter.
gRefining the car took some time, and as a consequence of this (as
well as other factors), we didn't win a race until Monaco, seven
races into the year.
gThe reason we are here unveiling the FW26 in order to bring our
test programme forward really doesn't need any more
explaining.h
Team boss Frank Williams added: "Our ambition can be nothing other
than winning most races, steal Ferrari's crown and add another
championship title to the record.
"Having any less ambition at the start of the year would be
wrong."
courtesy of www.itv-f1.net
