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Lowe: "No black or white moment on when to move to 2018 car"

Published on 21 Jul 2017 11:57
2
By: Fergal Walsh

Williams' chief technical officer Paddy Lowe has said that there is not a clear moment when the team should shift its focus onto fully developing its 2018 car. So far, the team has half of the points of fourth place Force India, despite sitting in fifth place.

The team dropped to fifth in the standings last season after claiming third in 2015. With teams such as Haas announcing that they have switched complete focus onto the next car, Lowe admits that Williams will use a gradual transition rather than a sudden move.

"There's never a black and white answer to that. It's always a bit of a merge really," Lowe said. "You gradually put more and more focus onto the following year and really depends on the projects. Some projects, they carry over whether specifically or in terms of knowledge so you keep going with those because they're going to work for you in the following year.

"Other things that are, would only really help you would only really help you in that used car, you may reach a point where you say you're not going to invest the effort in those within the current season. Often these decisions are decided on a case by case basis rather than having some sort of overall black and white decision."

The team's line-up for next season is also becoming a topic of debate. With Lance Stroll more than likely sticking around as long as he can bring in the cash, Felipe Massa is yet to sign an extension on his contract. The Grove based team are reportedly interested in Sergio Perez, who they attempted to sign last season.

Fergal Walsh

F1 News Felipe Massa Sergio Perez Lance Stroll Williams Force India

Replies (2)

boudy

Posts: 1,168
Less inspiring every year. This driver pairing is pants and yet they are going to commit another year to these two. Williams deserves much better but than again they are signing these drivers... would love for someone like Rosberg to come back and show Stroll how it's really done..

Come on Williams ....
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- Jul 21 2017 - 18:24
Barron

Posts: 625
I think we should pay homage to Massa who is punching above his weight with a car that's less than perfect. Symonds retired and didn't bring much to the party despite his background and why DID he retire so early? Paddy Lowe doesn't appear to have brought much despite his pedigree. Why did Mercedes let him go? Like Peter Prodomou at McLaren, these hot shots have not delivered..Newey's Red Bull designs have proven time & time again that you can overcome and almost equalise PU deficiency with good aero, so what is Williams and McLaren excuse? Williams cannot even blame the PU because Force India is beating the crap out of them with the same equipment and that's not down to driving skill. So, given all that, do you still think that Massa is doing a bad job? I think Felipe is making Williams look much better than they deserve right now, which is extremely worrying for the team..
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- Jul 23 2017 - 18:01