2018 IMAGES AND VIDEO: FW41 - NEW PHILOSOPHY, NEW CAR

WILLIAMS MARTINI RACING has revealed a first look of its 2018 Formula One challenger, the Williams Mercedes FW41, at the team’s season launch in London this evening. The FW41 looks significantly different to its predecessor, the FW40, following input from the team’s Chief Technical Officer, Paddy Lowe, and Head of Aerodynamics, Dirk de Beer, who were both appointed at the beginning of last year, to join forces with Chief Designer Ed Wood.

Paddy Lowe, said: "It is very exciting to be giving everyone the first look at the FW41. It is the product of some great teamwork across the various functions in the organisation including aerodynamics design, vehicle dynamics, race engineering and systems engineering. The car has many new features, most of which are not all that obvious, but externally the team has pursued a very different aerodynamic concept which has allowed us some significant progress in aerodynamic performance."

"All Formula One cars are an evolution of what has gone before to some extent, but the FW41 does involve a number of departures from the directions that have been pursued in the past. Overall, the philosophy we are starting to see emerge is a new approach to the collaboration between aerodynamics and design to achieve the optimum working result."

"Aerodynamics, structure and weight are the three major trades to be made in designing a Formula One car, and all the work, alongside a number of radical changes to the car’s packaging to incorporate further developments from Mercedes HPP, have led us to the FW41 being revealed today. We hope that this car will make progress in the performance rankings relative to 2017. The whole technical team is also feeling very positive about our two talented young race drivers with the combination of Lance and Sergey, alongside the contribution of Robert as our reserve and development driver"

Claire Williams, Deputy Team Principal, said: “I am thrilled to be back and launching our new car, for a new season, with a new, exciting driver line-up. For many months, the team have put a tremendous amount of effort into the FW41 and I’m eager to see both Lance and Sergey take to the track later this month. Our entire team have put a huge amount of effort into the development and production of this year’s car, and we’re all looking forward to seeing it on the track. I would also like to thank our partners and fans for all their confidence and support."

The FW41 will take to the track for the first day of the Barcelona test on Monday 26th February for eight days of testing, concluding on 9th March. The season officially begins at the first race in Melbourne, Australia, on 25th March.

Ladies and gentlemen, meet the Williams Mercedes FW41 😍

Full story here 👉 https://t.co/3H6FpGDBZg #FW41 #WeAreRacing #F1 #WilliamsLaunch pic.twitter.com/yMvJ6rYlX4

— WILLIAMS RACING (@WilliamsRacing) February 15, 2018

Robert talks all things #FW41 😬 #WeAreRacing #F1 pic.twitter.com/gTXb4KwhbG

— WILLIAMS RACING (@WilliamsRacing) February 15, 2018