2005 Williams FW27

Armed with new drivers, new structures, a new chassis and a new engine, the BMW WilliamsF1 Team is resolved to return to its former strength in 2005, a year which also sees the introduction of new regulations. There are many unknowns awaiting the teams in the forthcoming Formula One season, but one thing is certain: the BMW WilliamsF1 Team will do everything in its power to avoid a repeat of the disappointing 2004 season.

'We want to move back into the winning lane', says Team Principal, Frank Williams, insisting: 'The mistakes of 2004 must not happen again.



BMW Motorsport Director, Dr. Mario Theissen also feels confident about the forthcoming season, its 19 races making it the longest there has ever been in motor racing's top echelon. 'It's going to be a real show of strength for everyone involved. For four years we surpassed our targets. Then in 2004 we found ourselves in a trough, failing to meet our expectations for the first time. In the sixth year of the partnership we now aim to accumulate successes once more with renewed strength.'

The new drivers.
For four years, the BMW WilliamsF1 Team turned up at the race track with the same brace of drivers. During this time, Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumacher took ten wins between them, including three one-two victories. In 2005, there will be new faces in the cockpits: Australian Mark Webber (28) and German Nick Heidfeld (27) will be lining up on the grid for the BMW WilliamsF1 Team. Whereas Webber was signed up in July 2004, it wasn't until the end of the December ‘04 and January ‘05 tests that Heidfeld came out on top against Brazilian contender Antonio Pizzonia (24). Pizzonia was a test driver for the team in 2002 and 2004, and last year competed in four races replacing the injured Ralf Schumacher. In 2005, he will continue as an official test and reserve driver for the BMW WilliamsF1 Team.



Sam Michael, Technical Director at WilliamsF1, explains: 'We put in a lot of time doing extensive testing with Nick Heidfeld and Antonio Pizzonia. It was a very intensive and productive phase. We're very happy to have good drivers as part of the team.'

Heidfeld brings along the greatest Formula One racing experience of the three. Inclusive of the 2004 season, the German has contested 84 Grands Prix and picked up 28 World Championship points. Webber's tally amounts to 50 Grands Prix and 26 points, while Pizzonia has 15 F1 races and six points under his belt.

The new challenges.
In 2005, the chassis and engine must comply with fundamentally new requirements. The development of the chassis, the FW27, and the BMW P84/5 engine were governed by radical changes to the regulations.

The rules for 2005 severely curtail the aerodynamics of the cars and demand a further doubling of the engines' distance to around 1,500 km.

Sam Michael: 'The new aerodynamic limitations mean a considerable loss in downforce, in the region of up to 30 percent. On the simulator it has shown an increase in lap times of three seconds on average. In light of the new specifications, a further evolution of the FW26, which, at the end of its development had the potential to win, is out of the question. The FW27 is a completely new development. We started work on it in the summer of 2004, alongside concept modifications for the FW26. The second wind tunnel going on stream was therefore a tremendous help to us. The new facility is absolutely state-of-the-art and certainly the most advanced in the whole of Formula One at this time.'

The regulations for the 2005 season will also make greater demands on the engines, which will now have to last for two complete race weekends. Theissen: 'The two regulation changes for 2005 and 2006 respectively, which were announced at relatively short notice, have got the Munich cauldron up to boiling point. After it became clear in July that the engines would have to last for two weekends in 2005, we filed away the engine concept we had been pursuing up to that point. From then on it was a case of taking the P84, our engine for the 2004 season, as a basis and developing a new power unit for 2005. With the BMW P84/5 we aim to deliver the top engine in Formula One once again. In parallel with that, the concept phase for the 2.4-litre V8 unit stipulated for 2006 has begun.'

The new engine.
The BMW Formula One engine for the 2005 season is not called P85, as one might expect, but comes with the model designation P84/5. 'The name', says BMW Motorsport Director, Mario Theissen, 'reflects the fact that the engine draws on the concept of the previous year's P84 unit but in a configuration that is in keeping with the modified requirements.'

These requirements include a further doubling of the engine's working life to 1,500 km. That signifies a quadrupling of the distance covered in comparison with 2002. In 2003, for the first time, the same engine used in qualifying had to be used in the race as well. 2004 saw the introduction of the one-weekend engine rule. In 2005, engines cannot be replaced until they have covered a distance of two Grand Prix weekends.

Between Friday and Sunday, the engines have to tackle extremely diverse disciplines. During the free practice sessions, which are used for set-up work and tyre selection, the teams will now increasingly focus on sparing the engines.

Theissen: 'That can be achieved in two different ways: driving fewer laps or reducing engine speed. We don't want to drive less because that would cost us valuable set-up time, particularly as we want to cut down on the test drives. Curtailing the maximum engine speed is the preferred option. You don't need peak revs for set-up work and tyre selection.' In future, the same set of tyres will have to be used both for qualifying and for the race.

By contrast, the first qualifying session, held as a flying lap between 13.00 and 14.00 hrs on Saturday, presents challenges of a very different kind. The time recorded in this single lap determines the starting order for the second timed lap (Sunday 10.00 to 11.00 hrs). Saturday's fastest driver is the last to go out onto the track on Sunday morning.

The new calendar.
The 2005 season will be the longest in Formula One history. Never before have there been 19 races in one season. After Bahrain and China joined as two new GP venues last year, Turkey is the latest addition to the Formula One calendar.

'This expansion means higher deployment costs on the one hand', says Theissen, 'but on the other hand it also presents an opportunity to tap the economic power of new markets embracing Formula One. That is extremely important, especially for a globally active carmaker such as BMW.'

The new season will have one race more than in 2004 but will be a week shorter in duration, making for a very packed diary. Between 22nd May (Monaco) and 31st July (Hungary), eight races within eleven weeks are on the agenda. At the height of summer, races will be held on four out of the five weekends in July. The season's final rounds in Suzuka (9th October) and Shanghai (16th October) will bring a further double-header.

Like Theissen, Sam Michael is also convinced that the team will rise to the organisational, logistical and physical challenges. 'Of course it means a huge effort for everyone involved, as test drives have to be undertaken between the races as well. But we are a seasoned team and in a position to handle this mammoth programme.'

Growing with experience.
The BMW WilliamsF1 Team made its debut in the year 2000. For BMW, this move spelt a return to Formula One after an interval of twelve years, and a partnership with one of the most successful teams in Formula One history. The team's debut year culminated in third place in the Constructors' World Championship.

The second year saw the first wins by the team, a narrowing of the gap to the front-runners, and a consolidation of third place in the World Championship. In 2002, the BMW WilliamsF1 Team advanced into second place, though still remaining a considerable distance behind World Champions, Ferrari. In 2003, the blue-and-white team shot ahead, intermittently taking the lead in the Championship, and only in the final round conceded defeat to the once more victorious Italians.

After four very successful years, the Anglo-German partnership failed to live up to expectations for the first time in 2004 and had to settle for fourth place in the Constructors' World Championship. Winning the last race of the season in Brazil did nothing to alter that.

Theissen points to the valuable experience that the BMW WilliamsF1 Team has managed to glean, particularly during the last season, the first in which things didn't run according to plan. 'In 2004, we proved by the final race in Sao Paulo that the team has the strength and competence to pull itself out of a difficult situation. One crucial aspect in that regard is the fact that we are now in a position to link up the know-how and resources of WilliamsF1 and BMW in a more effective way. We haven't yet reached our goal, but we have it firmly in our sights.'

Source - Williams