Much has been said about the seats at Ferrari and Mclaren lately but what about the drives at Williams?
We have all been thrilled at the return to form that the Williams' cars have been able to find. At the hands of Maldonado it has won a race and has shown some very competitive pace. Many have argued that this is mainly due to the championship winning Renault power in the back of the car. Whilst the replacement of the Ford Cosworth engine has undoubtedly helped, the Williams package this season does look far better in many other aspects than last year.
Yet how good this Williams car is remains somewhat of a question mark. Whilst I am not Pastor's biggest fan due to his on track behaviour, there is no doubt that he has shown glimpses of electric pace. His team mate Senna, on the other hand, has been no where near this sort of podium/ race winning speed yet has accrued more points finishes than Maldonado - and I stress the word finishes! It is a classic example of outright pace vs consistency. Either way, Frank and the rest of the Williams team must be bemoaning the lack of points that they have accrued this season.
So where do Williams go in terms of their driver pairing next year? Maldonado is contracted for one seat next year, although this has not stopped Frank from showing the door to a driver before! Senna looks like he is on his way. Bottas is one of the favourites to get his or either of the seats.*
So will Williams stick with the pay-driver approach of this year or should they take a hit in terms of money to entice a top quality driver to challenge for a higher place on the board next year (which in the long term may pay dividends when they recieve constructors' money)?
Unlike last year, it looks like there are going to be some musical chairs for 2013. This will possibly make more drivers available than before so could they snare a more experienced driver like Hamilton (highly unlikely I know), Rosberg or Perez? With not many rule changes the cars will remain much the same, and with Williams' infrastructure they should be able to develop a car that could challenge for some serious points in the hands of a competent driver.
*I am not implying that Bottas will be a pay driver or that he is not going to be good enough
We have all been thrilled at the return to form that the Williams' cars have been able to find. At the hands of Maldonado it has won a race and has shown some very competitive pace. Many have argued that this is mainly due to the championship winning Renault power in the back of the car. Whilst the replacement of the Ford Cosworth engine has undoubtedly helped, the Williams package this season does look far better in many other aspects than last year.
Yet how good this Williams car is remains somewhat of a question mark. Whilst I am not Pastor's biggest fan due to his on track behaviour, there is no doubt that he has shown glimpses of electric pace. His team mate Senna, on the other hand, has been no where near this sort of podium/ race winning speed yet has accrued more points finishes than Maldonado - and I stress the word finishes! It is a classic example of outright pace vs consistency. Either way, Frank and the rest of the Williams team must be bemoaning the lack of points that they have accrued this season.
So where do Williams go in terms of their driver pairing next year? Maldonado is contracted for one seat next year, although this has not stopped Frank from showing the door to a driver before! Senna looks like he is on his way. Bottas is one of the favourites to get his or either of the seats.*
So will Williams stick with the pay-driver approach of this year or should they take a hit in terms of money to entice a top quality driver to challenge for a higher place on the board next year (which in the long term may pay dividends when they recieve constructors' money)?
Unlike last year, it looks like there are going to be some musical chairs for 2013. This will possibly make more drivers available than before so could they snare a more experienced driver like Hamilton (highly unlikely I know), Rosberg or Perez? With not many rule changes the cars will remain much the same, and with Williams' infrastructure they should be able to develop a car that could challenge for some serious points in the hands of a competent driver.
*I am not implying that Bottas will be a pay driver or that he is not going to be good enough
) that Williams are perhaps looking for? That I doubt sadly. Dont' get me wrong Heikki is a very good driver but he hasn't set the world alight - you say decent job at Caterham CAT, not exactly eye catching is it?
