Williams chosen to build mule car for Pirelli for 2021 tyre testing in a new low for the team
The year is 1997. The race is the European Grand Prix in Jerez Spain. There are two contenders going neck and neck on the final day of the season. 1 point separates them. Michael Schumacher in his famous red Ferrari 1 point behind, Jacques Villeneuve in the Williams.
In an epic race that saw a collision from the top-2 drivers in the championship and subsequently the suspension of Michael Schumacher from the Championship race for causing the collision that he could have avoided.
1997 Championship was decided at the end. Jacques Villeneuve picked up the driver’s championship for the team and Williams picked up their 9th Constructor’s championship, the highest number of all time.
Those were the days of constant glory for the Williams Team in F1. But no one could have predicted the massive fall Williams would take after 1997, never once coming close to winning another Constructors Championship again for the next 20+ years.
The great Williams fall
In the present day, things have reached a new low for the Williams team. Not only did they finish at the base of the Constructors Championship in 2018, but they look destined to end up there again.
Their car was not ready in time for testing at Barcelona and they missed close to 3 full days of testing that is absolutely crucial for any F1 team. Their drivers are a wild mismatch with exciting young (but rookie) talent of George Russell and a returning Robert Kubica (last seen in 2011) both requiring a lot of time with the car to get accustomed to it, but not getting much in the testing.
To make matters worse, one week before the start of the Championship, the Williams team have given a leave of absence to their Technical Director Paddy Lowe in what many see as a delaying in decision to fire him as the cost of firing him right now would be a lot more as compared to the cost of firing him a few weeks down the line.
To put it simply, there is no time and situation worse than the one Williams are in, (with a car not ready and the Championship starting in a week), to fire the technical director. And yet, it has happened.
A new low for Williams
But the biggest mockery of the Williams came yesterday when Tobias Gruner, of Auto Motor und Sport reported that Williams had been picked by all teams to design the dummy car for 2021 testing of the Pirelli tyre.
If this sounds like a good thing, let us tell you why it may not be. Every team wants a competitive advantage in F1. Making a dummy car or mule car for the tyre manufacturers to test on gives the team building that car an advantage in getting an early opportunity to design the car that other manufacturers will only get to in late 2020 season.
So who picks which manufacturer gets this chance? Well, its put to vote among all the current teams. Thats like asking the worlds top pirates to pick one pirate king. No one votes for anyone but themselves. Why would you hand an obvious advantage to anyone else?
This pattern seemed to be holding for the 2021 mule car designing, until all teams realized there was one team that is so far behind right now, they couldn’t possibly get much of an advantage by getting a years head start on developing the 2021 mule car.
Welcome to the shame of Williams. An opportunity to get a leg up. But only because they languish ten steps behind everyone else on the circuit.
