In as much as the first eleven races of the 2017 season has been affirmation of the star potential of Valtteri Bottas, it has also demonstrated just what Williams have lost. 2016, and falling from third to fifth in the constructors’ standings, had already heralded an end to the team’s episodic phase contending for regular podiums in 2014 and 2015.
However unfortunately for Williams, that downward trajectory has continued into 2017; indeed, a year in which the stalwart squad has been with tasked with juggling the loss of their lead driver, the need to accommodate a rookie, a seismic regulation change and a new face heading the team’s technical effort was always destined for that most subtly-malevolent of labels: a transitional year.
The team’s 40th anniversary year has unquestionably been disappointing in terms of points: the celebratory named FW40 had produced a number of eye-catching laptimes in pre-season testing, and started the season with the appearance of a car best of the rest behind the three powerhouse teams.
However, whilst the unretired Massa impressed with a brace of P6s early on in the season, many would argue that the fact that the team sits some 60 points behind Force India in the standings has its roots in the decision to sign teenage rookie, Stroll.
The paddock debate surrounding Lance Stroll has seen unpleasantly polemic, thinly-veiled jealousy on the one hand, and feats of absurd defensive creativity from Williams on the other. Compatriot Jacques Villeneuve’s suggestion that Stroll was the “worst rookie” in F1 history, having explicitly said pre-season that Lance was deserving of his F1 promotion, ought not have been worthy of comment.
And yet all too often Williams would waste energy firefighting the minutiae of each and every critique of their young driver; not least of the inevitable comparisons with Max Verstappen. Indeed; it is arguably unfair to compare Lance with Max, because whilst the Canadian had two seasons of European F3 in preparation for Formula 1, Verstappen only had one.
Certainly, in the early season there were some very legitimate grounds for criticism of Williams’ decision to promote Stroll: he was extraordinarily tentative in the car and clearly had little conception of how to properly modulate the steering and the pedals.
It was a level of unpreparedness that many had expected to see in 17-year-old Verstappen, only to find that Max had little regard for his own inexperience. Clearly, even after Lance’s confidence has snowballed in the wake of his genuinely remarkable podium in Baku it remains valid to say that he would have benefited from a season in Formula 2.
However that ship sailed the moment Lance was announced by the team, and going by Pat Symond’s account on the matter, it is entirely likely that with the broader inducements of Stroll’s promotion considered, a preparatory year in F2 was a luxury the team couldn’t afford.
And it should be remembered too that Force India took a gamble on a largely unproven driver in Ocon, only to have been repaid by the vastly capable young driver that Esteban has become.
Just as Italian F4 and European F3 champion Stroll was well on his way towards marking himself as a driver with F1 potential on merit, Lance may soon be able to routinely justify his promotion with on-track performances.
It is also wrong to hold Stroll solely responsible for the team’s disappointing points tally when the FW40 has repeatedly marked itself out as one of the most recalcitrant and circuit-specific chassis on the grid. Just this week Paddy Lowe conceded, “We’re very disappointed. The car is quicker than that points table would reflect. We’ve seen a lot of variation from circuit to circuit. There are places that we significantly under-perform.”
However, technical challenges of the sort that Williams face automatically seem less imposing with a man of Lowe’s calibre at the technical helm. For all of the turbulence of the past twelve months for the Grove-based squad, it cannot be understated just what a coup it is for Williams to have Lowe’s championship-winning expertise not only heading up its technical assault, but in the boardroom.
Indeed, together with the foundation of a strong and stable partnership with the benchmark power-unit supplier on the grid, Paddy Lowe’s investment in the team as shareholder, board-member and technical officer arguably gives Williams a better platform for future successes than many teams on the grid.
Moreover, it is arguably not the travails of the team’s youngest recruit that gives Williams the greatest cause for future trepidation, but rather their ageing lead driver, Felipe Massa.
As was to be expected of Felipe, he has taken up Bottas’ baton as the squad’s team leader ably and assuredly. However as the 36-year-old Brazilian looks forward to starting his 264th race in Spa (having missed the Hungarian Grand Prix through illness), Williams must surely be looking towards his eventual replacement.
Massa’s performances had already began to deteriorate versus team-mate Bottas in 2016, and at the time of the announcement, his aborted retirement last season appeared a natural endpoint for his career. An unforeseen stop-gap year aside, Williams must surely be looking to other options for 2018.
And yet, in reality, there are none. Grosjean was arguably Williams’ best chance of new leadership, however the Frenchman announced an extension to his stint at Haas before the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Elsewhere, it seems unlikely that Williams could tempt Perez from Force India, or afford to poach Sainz from Toro Rosso. Wehrlein would be a credible candidate – but for Martini’s highly legitimate reservations about the brand being associated with two very young drivers.
Paul di Resta’s immensely professional, last-minute call-up for an unwell Massa in Hungary led many to link the Scot with the team leader vacancy. However, four years is a very long time to be away from the cockpit, so it is highly likely that Felipe Massa’s retirement slippers will remain boxed for at least another year.
Continuity and reinvestment appear the most likely routes to greener pastures for Williams, and with that will inevitably come more inspiring long-term candidates to take the weight from Massa’s shoulders. Undeniably, a transitional year in 2017 has come with all the usual denoting travails: a restructure of personnel, off-track disputes, on-track disappointments and an uncertain future.
And yet, amid it all Williams hosted an event emblematic of most indelibly personable and affable team on the grid. For the first time ever, the British Grand Prix Media Day was opened to the public for a fantastic outreach event celebrating Williams’ 40th anniversary.
It gave confirmation, were it needed, that the Williams FW14B is one of the greatest sounding racing cars of all time, and gave fans the opportunity to meet the likes of reigning champion Nico Rosberg and past champions Mansell and Hill.
With Ross Brawn and Sean Bratches in attendance, it was an event hopefully indicative of the kind of fan engagement that F1’s new administration is targeting, but also a showcase of the magnitude of Williams’ historical footprint on the sport. Unfortunately for F1’s most tenacious privateer, past performance is no guarantee of future success.
