With the new Formula One season just weeks away, Williams have announced their driver line up for 2018, and it’s fair to say that the F1 championship odds would seem to be stacked against them.
Once the home of the very best in the business—with the likes of Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve helping them win four out of six Formula One Drivers’ Championships between 1992 and 1997—Williams’ now appears to be the proving ground for emerging talent.
Their new team for the 21-race programme, which starts in Melbourne on March 25th, is one of the youngest and most inexperienced on the grid by some distance. Yet, excitingly, it is also brimming with potential. So, who are the new drivers, and how have they earned their seat at Williams?
First up is the 19-year-old Lance Stroll, who made his Formula One debut in 2017 following championship wins in the Italian F4 in 2014, the Toyota Racing Series in 2015, and the European F3 in 2016. In an impressive rookie season, he became the second youngest driver to achieve a podium finish and the youngest to achieve this feat in his first-ever season. Finishing in twelfth place with 40 points, he was just a few points adrift of much bigger names, such as teammate Filipe Massa; but Stroll was still a long way off the pace, and even further behind the 330+ points held by the top three drivers.
Sharing the Williams drive is 22-year-old rookie Russian Sergey Sirotkin, who has form as a practice and test driver for Renault and Sauber. He impressed Williams so much during practice in Abu Dhabi over the winter that he was promoted to the second seat.
So, what does this all mean for the Williams F1 team’s chances in the coming season? Well, that depends on whom you ask. Deputy team boss, Claire Williams, has complete faith in the pair. “If we didn’t think they could do the job, we wouldn’t put them in the car,” she explains. “I have no question in my mind that they can deliver.”
On the other hand, the more cynical observers question whether the pair were selected purely for their talent or whether the significant sponsorship they both bring to the party was a more important factor in their selection. Either way, the odds for both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships probably speak for themselves.
With three championship wins in the last four seasons, Lewis Hamilton is in pole position with the bookmakers. Hamilton is starting the season odds on at 19/20, which is remarkable given everything than can, and usually does, happen over the 21 races. His is followed by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen at 7/2 and Ferrari’s 2017 runner up Sebastian Vettel at 4/1.
To find the two Williams drivers, you need to look at the other end of the odds list, with Lance Stroll available at a generous 750/1 and Sergey Sirotkin an even bigger long shot at 1000/1. And while Williams may be confident in their driver choices, they remain a huge 1000/1 to win the Constructors’ Championship, a long way behind favourites Mercedes, who are almost unbeatable at 8/15.
Of course, everyone has to start somewhere, and who knows, this might just be the season where one of the two new boys really makes their mark. And if they do, at odds like that, they’ll certainly make a few daring punters very happy.
