Williams to roll out "test parts" as hoped-for cure for wind-sensitive car

George Russell in action in the Bahrain GP — Photo: © LAT Images

Williams

Williams to roll out "test parts" as hoped-for cure for wind-sensitive car

The FW43B is affected by wind and changes of direction

Ian Parkes

Saturday 3 April 2021 14:14

Williams has confirmed it is planning to introduce test parts on the FW43B in a bid to cure the wind-sensitivity issues that have affected it this season.

In an attempt to recover downforce lost at the rear after changes to the aerodynamic regulations, the trade-off has resulted in the development of a car now harmed by the wind and any changes in direction.

Head of vehicle performance Dave Robson has confirmed the team is determined to resolve the problem despite the fact it is also heavily focused on its programme for next season when a radically different F1 car is rolled out.

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"All aerodynamic cars have a yaw sensitivity and any that don’t simply don’t generate any downforce," said Robson. "It goes with the territory.

"We’ve made it a bit worse, not by intention but it’s part of how you have to make some trades to make some breakthroughs with creating downforce or reducing drag.

"What you try to do is once you’ve got that base car you then start working on the yaw-sensitivity side of it and you hopefully ratchet it up.

"It’s one way of developing a car and it’s where we are at the moment. We’re in that phase where the downforce and drag of the car are both better than they were last year.

"The current price we’re paying for that is a slightly increased sensitivity to the wind and I think the aim at the moment is to hang onto the good stuff and recover some of that yaw sensitivity.

"There are some upgrades planned, the aerodynamicists are currently working hard on that.

"I think we’ll see fewer upgrades than normal because a lot of attention is turned onto next year’s car, but I think we would definitely like to improve the wind sensitivity this year and there will be some test parts in a few races time that will help us take a step in that direction.

"That’s the plan, and I think if we can understand on this car how to better trade one for the other, that should also apply for next year’s car, at least philosophically if not in direct component comparison."

Robson has confirmed this particular peculiarity with wind sensitivity is worse than the team was expecting once it saw the data from the pre-season test.

"We certainly didn’t sit down and say we’re going to make this trade and try to be quick on any race where it’s not windy," added Robson. "That’s not what we set out to achieve.

"I think we were accepting of it being a bit more sensitive in order to drive up the total downforce and reduce the drag on the car.

"It’s come out a slightly different trade to the one we were expecting and now it’s a case of understanding why that is and rectifying it as best we can."