Williams sign Susie Wolff

Williams have today announced the signing of Susie Wolff (née Stoddart) as the team’s development driver. She will be concentrating on simulator work, with occasional track testing when restrictions permit.

Wolff raced in Formula Renault in 2001, and was shortlisted for the BRDC McLaren Autosport Young Driver of the Year award in 2003.

A year spent in Formula 3 followed before Wolff made her name in DTM racing for Mercedes squads Mücke Motorsport and Persson Racing, where she has been since.

Sir Frank Williams, Team Principal said:

“Susie is a talented, successful and highly professional racing driver who competes in one of the world’s most fiercely-contested racing series. Susie will join Williams as a Development Driver, in which capacity she will assist us with the development of our simulator and other technical challenges. Susie will also undertake some aerodynamic testing of the FW34 and a full track test in the coming months. Susie will also attend a number of races with us. I should add that, as Susie is married to Toto Wolff, a Director of Williams, her appointment was carefully considered and then approved by the Board, with Toto recusing himself from the process.”

Susie Wolff said:

“I would like to thank Sir Frank for giving me this opportunity both on and off the track. I must also thank Mercedes Benz AMG and HWA for supporting me to take up this new experience with Williams. Formula One is the ultimate challenge for any racing driver and it offers me the chance both to apply and to improve the skills I have developed racing in DTM. In return I shall be offering some of my own technical insight and experience – coming from a different discipline – and helping the team engage with its partners. I hope also to demonstrate that women can play a role at the highest levels of motorsport and I shall be working closely with the team on its social responsibility programme in the areas of education and road safety.”

Wolff is the wife of Williams minority shareholder Tito Wolff, and the extent of the tokenism remains to be seen. Bernie Ecclestone, chief executive of Formula One, was quick to jump on the bandwagon, saying:

“If Susie is as quick in a car as she looks good out of a car then she will be a massive asset to any team and on top of that she is very intelligent. I am really looking forward to having her in Formula One.”

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Photo credits: Glenn Dunbar/LAT Photographic

Q&A with Williams’ Adam Parr

 

Adam Parr

 

 

The following is a transcipt of a question and answer session with Adam Parr, Chairman of Williams F1.

Q. It sounds like Williams is considering a flotation on the stock exchange. Would that be correct?

ASP. Yes, it would be correct to say that Williams F1 is considering a flotation on the stock exchange. At this stage, all we have concluded is that it is the best way to secure the future of the team and its 450 employees.

SPOTY: Williams wins Helen Rollason award

Frank Williams was last night honoured by the BBC at the annual Sports Personality of the Year Awards. Frank won the prestigious Helen Rollason Award for Achievement in the Face of Adversity.

FOTA discusses new engine rules for 2013 whilst Porsche wait

Thursday saw the latest meeting of the FOTA Technical Working Group ahead of a drastic slate of rule changes for 2013.

Williams Focusing on 2009’s FW31

One of the first Frank Williams F1 cars, the FW06

Williams-Toyota part-owner Frank Williams says his team will focus the majority of their efforts on their 2009 car after another disappointing performance at the Belgian Grand Prix last weekend.

The Grove-based team were tipped as one of the favourites to fight behind the top squads during pre-season testing, and they lived up to that when Nico Rosberg finished on the podium in the opening race in Australia.

Williams’s performances, however, have become worse as the season progressed, as non-privateer teams progress more rapidly than independents like Williams, and the team have scored just two points in the last seven races. They are currently tied with Toro Rosso-Ferrari in seventh place in the Constructors’ Championship.

Williams said during the Belgian Grand Prix weekend that his team are not planning any more significant developments for the last five races of the 2008 calendar, and instead will focus on 2009.

“We recognise that we are right at the back of the grid effectively, too often though not every time. We recognise that this year’s car is almost as developed as we can successfully do it, short of a major revamp of all the aerodynamics and next year’s car [with the drastic rule changes for 2009] is the one where we pin our hopes.

“We’re not saying ‘watch out for our next race’ because it isn’t going to be like that. We just have to soldier on and get more out of what we’ve got.

“There are one or two little bits for the remaining races but essentially our main focus is on next year’s car because it is almost a fresh start for everybody with the aero rules. We started on that quite a long time ago and we will see how it works for us.”

Several new rules will come into play next season in order to improve the spectacle by reducing speeds and increasing overtaking, in a revamp that could see any team make a significant jump in performance.

Williams is confident his team will do a good job with the KERS system to be introduced next season, although he believes that building it themselves will not mean they will have an advantage over their rivals.

“It is not as though it will give us a particular advantage. We think, as most manufacturers, we will do a good job with KERS. Patrick [Head] has his own group in the company and we have been working on it for a number of months. It is much more affordable if you do it yourself providing you are successful with it.

“We are doing it because we have to do it. I imagine most people will come out with roughly similar horsepower.”

Neal’s View: The sweeping rule changes for 2009 meant that many teams switched focus to 2009 once they realised they were not going to be competitive in 2008. The 2009 cars will see an end to the evolutionary development (because of the rule changes) and any car could be winning races next season. Although the top three should still be at the front, there is no reason why Honda, Renault, Toyota, Red Bull, and even Williams cannot close the gap.

US Grand Prix to return?

Indy: Home of the last US Grand Prix

Formula One Blog has learned that several Formula One team chiefs have asked F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone to reinstate the race in the United States from 2010.

The last US Grand Prix was held at Indianapolis last year, but was dropped after circuit boss Tony George failed to agree a new contract with Ecclestone.

Prospects of securing a deal for 2009 are microscopic, but the team leaders want to see the event return – however, Indianapolis, home of the Indy 500, is not a favoured venue.

A number of teams, in particular the carmakers, have made it clear to Ecclestone that the American market is too important for them to ignore.

Honda Racing CEO Nick Fry told autosport.com:

“The American GP is key for two reasons. Firstly, this is supposed to be a world championship and a large part of it is made up of North America, so we should be going back there.

“Secondly, the North American market is absolutely vital to us, and for all the luxury car makers especially it is key. It is a market Honda is successful in, with Honda and Acura, and we would like to get back there as soon as possible.”

BMW motorsport director Mario Theissen added:

“It is important for BMW as a manufacturer but also for our sponsors. The USA is still the biggest market for BMW and we should be there. But we should be there successfully, so we have to find the right venue, the right setting and the right approach in order to make a point over there.

“If I look at where we sell our cars it is certainly on the east coast and the west coast, so from that perspective it (Indy) is not the ideal venue.

“I know Bernie is negotiating with several regions or cities in the US but apparently there is nothing confirmed or nothing ready to be announced.”

Williams-Toyota boss Sir Frank Williams said the event was vital even for independent teams like his.

“We all want it. Many of our sponsors are very active in the US – and several American ones, like Thomson Reuters, AT&T, are looking to expand – Philips too.”

Honda boss Nick Fry agreed with Mario Theissen’s sentiment that a race located on either the Pacific (West) or Atlantic (East) coasts would be ideal. Ecclestone has long been known to favour a race in Las Vegas.

“Ideally we would like a site on either coast, which is a key market for non-American brands. And from our point of view, the sooner the better.

“Bernie is very good at understanding the market and what the manufacturers want. He does realise the importance of this and we know he is doing his best to fix the problem, and we will give him all the support we can. We are all aligned on the importance of America.”

However, Indianapolis Motor Speedway spokesman Fred Nation said recently that his track was confident a deal could be put in place for them to return to the schedule.

“We are very optimistic for 2010.”

Neal’s View: It seems all teams want a race in the US, although the calender seems to be tightly packed as it is. The calender is set to expand to 19 races for 2010, but the US Grand Prix would make this 20 – surely the maximum possible. Although I would have thought an American driver being successful in the sport would be of more help. What chance of Marco Andretti? Honda seem to have given up on him.

As a sidenote, I do wonder how many fans four-times ChampCar Champion Sebastian Bourdais has brought with him?