Ending its slump will be a "very difficult" task for Williams. That is the view of the great British team's last world champion, Jacques Villeneuve, who in Germany assessed Williams' current form on the occasion of its 600th grand prix.
In total contrast to 1997, when Williams and French-Canadian Villeneuve were F1's dominant force, the 2013-spec FW35s failed to make it through even the initial 'Q1' qualifying segment on Saturday. And that was after fire marshals had to be called into the Williams garage to contain a smoky and hazardous KERS battery failure.
Villeneuve, now a television pundit, told Spain's El Pais newspaper: "Williams has to reformulate. For many years, the manufacturers were in control, but when they left, the structure remained but not the money," the 42-year-old said at the Nurburgring.
"The sponsors had come because of the manufacturer, and so when they (the carmakers) go, they (the sponsors) go as well. That's why it's easy to get pay drivers rather than focus on whether they're fast enough, which ends up turning into a cycle that's very difficult to get out of," added Villeneuve.
Meanwhile, the former Williams and Sauber driver said Mark Webber's departure at Red Bull at the end of the year is good news for the reigning world champion. "Now everyone will work just for (Sebastian) Vettel, because Webber's leaving anyway," said Villeneuve. "So his decision to leave will make life easier for everyone."
And when asked what he would do if he was in charge of F1, the unabashed purist Villeneuve answered: "I'd get rid of the sole tyre supplier, everything artificial like KERS and DRS and the restrictions on the number of engines. Less rules, more pure racing -- like Nascar," he added. (GMM)
Ending slump 'very difficult' task for Williams - Villeneuve
- Published on 08 Jul 2013 09:29
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- By: Rob Veenstra
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Formula 1 Calendar - 2026
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22 - May 24
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Gilles Villeneuve
5 - Jun 7
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Red Bull Ring
3 - Jul 5
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Silverstone
17 - Jul 19
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Spa-Francorchamps
24 - Jul 26
Hungary
Hungaroring
21 - Aug 23
Netherlands
Circuit Zandvoort
Team profile
- Team name Sauber
- Base - Switzerland
- Gabriel Bortoleto
- Kimi Räikkönen 7
- Felipe Massa 8
- Marcus Ericsson 9
- Nico Hülkenberg 11
- Felipe Nasr 12
- Esteban Gutierrez 12
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- Felipe Massa 12
- Kamui Kobayashi 14
- Sergio Perez 15
- Charles Leclerc 16
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- Sergio Perez 17
- Kimi Räikkönen 17
- Esteban Gutierrez 21
- Kamui Kobayashi 23
- Guanyu Zhou 24
- Nico Hülkenberg 27
- Antonio Giovinazzi 36
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- Adrian Sutil 99
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