Category | Formula One | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Constructor | Williams – Mercedes | ||||||||||
Designer(s) | Paddy Lowe (Chief Technical Officer) [1] Ed Wood (Chief Designer) Dirk de Beer (Head of Aerodynamics) [2] | ||||||||||
Predecessor | Williams FW40 | ||||||||||
Successor | Williams FW42 | ||||||||||
Technical specifications [3] [4] [5] | |||||||||||
Chassis | Carbon-fibre monocoque, laminated from carbon epoxy and honeycomb | ||||||||||
Suspension (front) | Upper and lower wishbones, inboard springs and dampers actuated by push-rods | ||||||||||
Suspension (rear) | Upper and lower wishbones, inboard springs and dampers actuated by pull-rods | ||||||||||
Width | 2000 mm | ||||||||||
Height | 950 mm | ||||||||||
Engine | Mercedes M09 EQ Power+ 1.6 L (98 cu in) direct injection V6 turbocharged engine limited to 15,000 RPM in a mid-mounted, rear-wheel drive layout | ||||||||||
Electric motor | Mercedes kinetic and thermal energy recovery systems | ||||||||||
Transmission | Williams eight speed seamless sequential semi-automatic shift plus reverse gear, gear selection electro-hydraulically actuated | ||||||||||
Weight | 733kg | ||||||||||
Fuel | Petronas Primax | ||||||||||
Brakes | AP 6 piston front and 4 piston rear calipers with carbon discs and pads | ||||||||||
Tyres | Pirelli P Zero (dry) Pirelli Cinturato (wet) Dicastal forged magnesium wheels: 13" | ||||||||||
Competition history | |||||||||||
Notable entrants | Williams Martini Racing | ||||||||||
Notable drivers | 18. Lance Stroll 35. Sergey Sirotkin | ||||||||||
Debut | 2018 Australian Grand Prix | ||||||||||
Last event | 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix | ||||||||||
|
The Williams FW41 is a Formula One racing car designed by Paddy Lowe and Dirk de Beer for the Williams team, to compete in the 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship. [2] The car made its competitive debut at the 2018 Australian Grand Prix, and was driven by Lance Stroll in his second season with the team; [6] and Sergey Sirotkin, making his competitive debut in Formula One. [7]
Williams had finished fifth in the Constructors Championship in both 2016 and 2017, but saw their performance decline severely in 2018. Although the car had good reliability, its pace was poor and the team ended up at the back of the field mostly fighting the Toro Rossos. Their first points came in Azerbaijan when Stroll finished 8th. The team would not score points again until Italy, when Stroll and Sirotkin finished 9th and 10th respectively. They finished 10th and last in the Constructors' Championship, their lowest ever position. However, the seven points they scored exceeded the five points scored in both 2011 and 2013.
In signing Sergey Sirotkin, Williams formed an alliance with Russian racing outfit SMP Racing, which came with financial investment in the team. While discussing the investment, SMP Racing revealed that under the terms of the agreement their investment would specifically be spent on technical development of the FW41 instead of being used to cover the costs of day-to-day operations. [8]
Testing and development work was carried out by Robert Kubica. The role was Kubica's first with a Formula One team since his 2011 rallying accident that almost resulted in the traumatic amputation of his arm. [9]
The Mercedes-powered Williams FW41 features the mandatory Halo cockpit protection device, painted white so it is incorporated into the team’s livery design, which sports more black on the front wing, bargeboards and around the sidepods for 2018.
The car had problems with its development mainly being cooling, packaging and the aerodynamics which resulted in its uncompetitiveness.
(key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Entrant | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | Grands Prix | Points | WCC | ||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AUS | BHR | CHN | AZE | ESP | MON | CAN | FRA | AUT | GBR | GER | HUN | BEL | ITA | SIN | RUS | JPN | USA | MEX | BRA | ABU | |||||||
2018 | Williams Martini Racing | Mercedes | P | Sirotkin | Ret | 15 | 15 | Ret | 14 | 16 | 17 | 15 | 13 | 14 | Ret | 16 | 12 | 10 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 15 | 7 | 10th |
Stroll | 14 | 14 | 14 | 8 | 11 | 17 | Ret | 17† | 14 | 12 | Ret | 17 | 13 | 9 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 14 | 12 | 18 | 13 | ||||||
† Driver failed to finish the race, but was classified as they had completed more than 90% of the race distance.
Renault, a French automobile manufacturer, has been associated with Formula One as both team owner and engine manufacturer for various periods since 1977. In 1977, the company entered Formula One as a constructor, introducing the turbo engine to Formula One with its EF1 engine. In 1983, Renault began supplying engines to other teams. Although the Renault team had won races, it withdrew at the end of 1985. Renault engines continued to be raced until 1986.
Robert Józef Kubica is a Polish racing and rally driver, competing for Team WRT in the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship. He was the first and, as of 2023, only Polish racing driver to compete in Formula One, making his latest appearance in the 2021 Italian Grand Prix.
Sauber Motorsport AG is a Swiss motorsport engineering company. It was founded in 1970 by Peter Sauber, who progressed through hillclimbing and the World Sportscar Championship to reach Formula One in 1993. After operating under their own name from 1993 until 2005 then again from 2011 until 2018, Sauber Motorsport AG renamed their Formula One racing team to Alfa Romeo F1 Team in a partnership deal with Alfa Romeo from 2019 to 2023. Sauber is set to be the Audi factory team for the 2026 season onwards.
ART Grand Prix is a French motor racing team that competes in formula single-seaters in Europe. In 2012, it competed in the GP2 Series and GP3 Series as Lotus GP to reflect sponsorship from British sports and racing car manufacturer Lotus. The team competed as Lotus ART in 2011.
A pay driver is a driver for a professional auto racing team who, instead of being paid by the owner of their car, drives for free and brings with them either personal sponsorship or personal or family funding to finance the team's operations. This may be done to gain on-track experience or to live the lifestyle of a driver in a particular series when one's talent or credentials do not merit a paying ride. Alternatively, said person is also called a ride buyer or a rich kid in the United States, a gentleman driver in sports car and GT racing and a privateer in Australia.
Patrick Allen Lowe FREng, known as Paddy Lowe, is the founder and CEO of the fossil-free synthetic fuel company Zero. A former motor racing engineer and computer scientist, he spent 32 years working in Formula One, serving as Chief Technical Officer at Williams Racing, Executive Director (Technical) at Mercedes Formula One team and Technical Director at McLaren. He was involved with cars that won 12 World Championships and secured 158 race wins. He left Formula One in 2019 and co-founded Zero in 2020.
Torger Christian "Toto" Wolff is an Austrian billionaire motorsport executive, investor and former racing driver. He holds a 33% stake in the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team and is Team Principal and CEO of the team.
Mercedes-Benz, a brand of the Mercedes-Benz Group, has been involved in Formula One as both team owner and engine manufacturer for various periods since 1954. The current Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team is based in Brackley, England, and possesses a German licence. An announcement was made in December 2020 that Ineos planned to take a one third equal ownership stake alongside the Mercedes-Benz Group and Toto Wolff; this came into effect on 25 January 2022. Mercedes-branded teams are often referred to by the nickname, the "Silver Arrows".
Sergey Olegovich Sirotkin is a Russian former professional racing driver who competed in Formula One in 2018 for the Williams team. He was also the reserve driver for Renault in 2019 and 2020.
Lance Strulovitch, better known as Lance Stroll, is a Canadian and Belgian racing driver competing under the Canadian flag in Formula One. He has driven for Aston Martin since 2021, having previously driven for Williams and Racing Point. He was Italian F4 champion in 2014, Toyota Racing Series champion in 2015, and 2016 FIA European Formula 3 champion. He was part of the Ferrari Driver Academy from 2010 to 2015. He achieved his first podium finish, a 3rd place, at the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, becoming the second-youngest driver to finish an F1 race on the podium and the youngest to do so during his rookie season. At the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix, Stroll took his first pole position in Formula One. Stroll also competed in endurance racing, taking part in the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2016 and 2018.
The 2017 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 71st season of Formula One motor racing. It featured the 68th Formula One World Championship, a motor racing championship for Formula One cars which is recognised by the sport's governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. Teams and drivers competed in twenty Grands Prix—starting in Australia on 26 March and ending in Abu Dhabi on 26 November—for the World Drivers' and World Constructors' championships.
There have been three Formula One drivers who raced as Russians, two of whom have scored podium positions in Grands Prix.
The Williams FW40 was a Formula One racing car designed by Williams to compete in the 2017 Formula One season. The car was predominantly driven by Felipe Massa and Lance Stroll, who made his Formula One début with the team.
The 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship was the motor racing championship for Formula One cars and the 69th running of the Formula One World Championship. Formula One is recognised by the governing body of international motorsport, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. Drivers and teams competed in twenty-one Grands Prix for the World Drivers' and World Constructors' championship titles.
The 2019 FIA Formula One World Championship was the motor racing championship for Formula One cars which marked the 70th running of the Formula One World Championship. It is recognised by the governing body of international motorsport, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. Starting in March and ending in December, the championship was contested over twenty-one Grands Prix. Drivers competed for the title of World Drivers' Champion, and teams for the title of World Constructors' Champion. The 2019 championship also saw the running of the 1000th World Championship race, the 2019 Chinese Grand Prix.
The 2018 Spanish Grand Prix is a Formula One motor race that was held on 13 May 2018 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Montmeló, Spain. The race was the 5th round of the 2018 Formula One World Championship and marked the 48th running of the Spanish Grand Prix as a World Championship event since the inaugural season in 1950, and the 28th time that a World Championship round had been held at the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit.
Racing Point Force India Formula One Team was the title under which Racing Point UK made a late entry into the 2018 Formula One World Championship. The team used the constructor name "Force India", competed under a British licence and was based in Silverstone, United Kingdom.
The 2020 FIA Formula One World Championship was the motor racing championship for Formula One cars which was the 71st running of the Formula One World Championship. It marked the 70th anniversary of the first Formula One World Drivers' Championship. The championship was recognised by the governing body of international motorsport, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. Drivers and teams competed for the titles of World Drivers' Champion and World Constructors' Champion, respectively.
Racing Point F1 Team, which competed as BWT Racing Point F1 Team and commonly known as Racing Point, was a British motor racing team and constructor that Racing Point UK entered into the Formula One World Championship. The team was based in Silverstone, England and competed under a British licence.
Lance, as confirmed race driver for 2018