Poll Who will get the Williams 2nd seat?

[F1Brits_90]

F1Brits_90 On Massa retiring - a nice guy but finally Amen! after all his whining recently

I agree, I said last year at retirement attempt number 1 that then I thought 2016 was 1 year too long although he had some highs this year, he is basically only at Williams as teacher to lance stroll

 

[Il_leone]

F1Brits_90 Williams have ended up in the same position as last year so really picking Massa as a stop gap was not really a good solution

 

[Il_leone]

IF Williams don't nominate a driver over 25 years old , would Martini consider pulling out sponsoring them?

 

[Porceliamone]

On a slightly different but definitely Williams related note...I watched the Williams documentary at the weekend (you can catch it on Netflix now).

Inspiring, despairing, humorous and remarkably poignant in equal measure. Claire Williams had me welling up towards the end. What an extraordinary story, stuffed full with a myriad of emotions and complex relationships. They really tunnelled deep down into the nitty-gritty of the Williams F1 dynasty. No wonder many in the paddock still revere Frank, despite his faults which are in plain sight in the film.

I've always had a soft spot for the team and would love to see them at the top again. A brilliant must watch for any F1 fan, I can tell you.

Interesting fact: Did you know that Frank Williams still sleeps at the factory and rarely stays at his family home? Crazy.

 

[gethinceri]

Ron Dennis sleeps in a filing cabinet in a section labelled "Here there is Order", so there is a precedent for such albeit on another scale.

 

[Olivier]

Thanks for the tip Porceliamone. I've just watched the documentary. It's really engaging, emotional, sad at times and brings to light a lot of things that ordinarily you wouldn't think about when it comes to Frank Williams. I do too have a soft spot for them and wish them well. After all the last 2 Canadian drivers in F1 have driven for Williams. Claire is a really strong character just like her dad. It was nice to see former drivers talk about Williams. Also interesting to hear from Patrick Head and Frank Dernie. I had a chuckle when the latter was asked about the supposed preference for a British driver in '86. On that topic, I was very surprised with how Mansell presented himself in the film. Very composed, relatable, measured, ... the archetypal Englishman in every sense. And in my opinion he has aged more gracefully than Piquet. Anyway, I'm deviating. Great film, a must see for F1 fans.

 

[Rutherford]

According to Grande Premio, Massa retired again, because Williams didn’t want to renew his contract. His salary demands were too high and Williams will also lose two sponsors at the end of the season, namely Randstad and Avenade.

 

[gethinceri]

Good, he's had a great F1 career and it frees up a seat in the midfield.

 

[RasputinLives]

Jenson and Rosberg last year. Massa this. Alonso next year? The old guard, who have kept all the seats locked out for last 10 years, are gradually going. I can see Hammy going in 2020 if the Merc drops off the front.

Kimi of course will be here forever.

 

[Greenlantern101]

If I was being paid millions of pounds I would stick around for as long as possible as well.

 

[gethinceri]

Nobody's going to pay you Greenlantern101

 

[Greenlantern101]

Yeh I'd noticed. Despite being faster than Ericsson.

 

[Il_leone]

RasputinLives That depends if there anymore scapegoats left to fire at Ferrari next one in line is Arrivabene then ....

 

[Greenlantern101]

Robert Kubica clocks 100 laps in 2017 Williams at F1 Abu Dhabi test

 

[Il_leone]

Come on Williams have pretty much given all the testing to Kubica.

 

[cider_and_toast]

According to Andrew Benson on the Beeb website, Kubica may not have done enough to impress Williams.

Robert Kubica: Did he do enough to earn F1 return?

 

[Il_leone]

I don't think that it is that simple. Really Kubica needs to do endurance testing - two race distances in a day to prove he still has it

It is an interesting read that everyone says Kubica has impressed but you have to factor the conditions he was driving in and the tyres given compared with Stroll who the slower Williams driver.

The gap is not significant enough which suggests he has lost some of his sharpness and speed as expected. WIlliams need to make a decision quick about this because whoever is selected is probably going to be the team leader so I don;t see Sirotkin being picked yet

 

[Bill Boddy]

All this fuss about getting a driver for a third quality team.

 

[Greenlantern101]

I don't think that it is that simple. Really Kubica needs to do endurance testing - two race distances in a day to prove he still has it

He has now done double race distance in an older car and the 2017 car in the same day.

 

[Titch]

I would love to see him back, and beating people on track.