08/03/2019
NEWS STORY
As Williams technical boss, Paddy Lowe, takes a leave of absence, it is understood questions have been raised over the legality of a number of components on the team's 2019 contender which need to be resolved before next week's season opener in Melbourne.
Having missed the first two and a half days of testing in Barcelona because the car was not ready, Williams is already heading to the season opener on the back foot.
Indeed, though the Grove outfit was soon racking up the miles in Spain, the final day was effectively a write-off as, due to a lack of vital parts, Robert Kubica had to focus on practice starts and pit stops rather than adding serious mileage to the team's tally.
Now, in the wake of Paddy Lowe's leave of absence, it has been revealed that following testing the FIA has raised questions over the legality of the FW42's mirrors and front suspension, which must be resolved in time for Melbourne.
The regulations state that the front suspension can only consist of six members - four wishbone members, one pushrod and one steering arm - whereas the FW42 features a seventh, a thin member that runs along the edge of the lower wishbone.
At the same time, the team has been asked to change the curved mirrors it ran in Spain to a new more conventional design the team has not run before.
As if all this wasn't bad enough, according to Auto Motor und Sport, rival teams have picked Williams to build the 'mule' car for Pirelli's tyre testing for its 2021 tyres.
"Pirelli asked teams to build a special "mule car" for 2021 tyre testing," said AMuS's Tobi Grunner on Twitter. "Teams agreed that only Williams would be allowed to supply such a car. Engineers worried about unfair advantage. But with Williams apparently being far behind it would be okay."
Normally, the teams are understandably wary as to who should supply the 'mule' as this effectively gives said team an advantage. However, recognising that Williams is now so far behind, and therefore offers no perceivable threat, they appear to have nominated Williams, the team second only to Ferrari in terms of Constructors' Championships and joint-third with Mercedes in terms of drivers' titles.