Williams Racing 2022 FW44 shakedown

After the completion of the livery launch of their 2022 Formula One car the FW44 the Williams Racing Team would move to the Silverstone circuit for the initial shakedown of the real life car, having used a show car for their livery launch. On what was a damp day at the track both Nicholas Latifi and new 2022 drivers Alex Albon would get the opportunity to have a run in their 2022 challenger.

For many there was a degree of unnecessary disappointment in not having the 2022 car at the teams launch but soon enough images would come out from the shakedown which showed a vastly different car. Based inline with the 2022 regulations the car would have the Williams' interpretation of things such as the front wing, the floor and the rear coke bottle shape of the car. It was running the normal standard 18" tyres as well as the wheel covers.

The new car seems to have focused a lot of design effort in regards to the rear of the car where they had achieved a very slim line looking sidepod but at the same time used quite wide radiator inlets not doubt to address any cooling considerations.

The FW44 will be running the Mercedes rear end including the gearbox but continue to design their own rear suspension. The suspension is line with the thinking of several teams running a pushrod front and pullrod rear arrangement. The car does have a engine cover air intake which is of a larger dimension no doubt to address a cooling issue with the engine.

After his first run in the car Alex would comment to the team on williamsf1.com by saying: “It’s really exciting to get behind the wheel of the FW44 today; it’s always a big moment when you get in the car for the first time. The upcoming Barcelona track session will be about making sure we’re efficient with our time to best ensure we have a competitive package heading into the season.

“We don’t have many days before our first race and so we quickly need to understand which areas of the car are strong and where we need to make improvements.

“I’m sure it will be a little bit of a learning curve as we all try to learn how to get the most out of the new regulations, but the objectives and the way that we focus on this car is very much the same as in previous years.

“Ultimately, we’re all still trying to get a racing car around a track as quickly as possible."

For team-mate Nicholas Latifi he would add to Alex's comments by saying: “I’m super excited for testing in Barcelona, to get back behind the wheel, push and see what the car can do.

“Pre-season always feels like quite a long time, but it’s been really busy and there’s been a nice build-up at the factory with lots of hard work from everyone.

“The new regulations should allow for much better racing so I’m excited for the challenge and we will aim to gather some good data from testing, to take us into the first few races.”