The Williams Cosworth FW33

After Ferrari and Team Lotus and Sauber, it is Williams’ turn to reveal how well they have prepared for the fast-approaching 2011 Formula 1 season opener kicking off in Bahrain in a few weeks’ time.
And so the team has unveiled its offering in Valencia on 2 February. Termed as the Williams Cosworth FW33, the car made its track debut at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia, Spain today. This one, however, is just for the interim livery and we can expect to see one with an aero upgrade that is still in the works when the race actually begins. The FW33 is built
to conform to the latest Formula 1 rules announced by the FIA’s World Motorsport Council in June 2010, which demanded that the
participants refrain from installing an F-duct and double diffusers that saw some controversy back in 2009 and follow a 640-kilograms minimum weight scale.
Williams chose to incorporate KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) as well. KERS captures the kinetic energy usually lost as heat
during braking and stores it in a battery for proficient use during the race. The FW33 also gets a 7-speed transmission, which is also the smallest ever to be used by Williams. The team also had some apprehensions about switching the tyre supplier from the previous Bridgestone to Pirelli.A new feature includes a moveable rear wing where the front part of the wing’s top element
can lift until the slot gap is 50mm and it should increase the top speed of the car by up to 15km/h to assist in overtaking, due to a lower resultant drag.
The FW33 will have Rubens Barrichello and rookie Pastor Maldonado from Venezuela behind the wheels this year. The team has scheduled 15 days of testing out its muscles at four different circuits before the season opens in Bahrain.

Lewis to Appoint New Manager

Lewis Hamilton revealed at the beginning of February that he plans to appoint a new manager in the near future, having narrowed
the choice down to “a couple of candidates”.
The 26-year-old Briton was managed by his father Anthony throughout his junior career and his first three seasons in Formula 1, but decided to cut the umbilical cord early last year, stating that he felt the time had come to separate his business and personal relationships. Speaking to reporters in Valencia on Wednesday, Hamilton said he was now close to appointing a new manager.
“I’m working on getting it sorted,” he said.

“I’m hoping that in the next couple of weeks I will be able to let you know what is going on. “It’s going to be positive and it won’t distract me from my job, and certain things will be taken care of a lot better than when I was looking after myself. “I have a couple of candidates and I am just trying to decide which one. I’ll let you know when I’ve decided.” The senior Hamilton remains
closely involved in F1 as the manager of young Scot Paul di Resta, who is about to embark on his maiden grand prix season with Force India.

Lewis says he is looking forward to having his father around in the paddock again. “He has done a fantastic job to get Paul in and clearly he’s very gifted at getting drivers to Formula 1, which is fantastic. “My dad is going to be coming to work and support Paul – but obviously he is my dad, so naturally he will be up and down [the pit lane]. Things are going very well
with him.”
After his meteoric rise to fame in 2007 and subsequent brushes with officialdom and controversy, the ’08 world champion says he is now at peace with himself and has enjoyed an ideal off-season break and training regimen in the Colorado Rockies. “I just feel that things in my life are much better now and I feel in a much better place,” he said. “I am able to focus even more energy than I have in the past on winning and that feels great. “It’s great to be here and to be happy in my life, as I was at certain points last year. “I think every year I always approach the same but sometimes your training doesn’t go as well, or you are more drained by appearances that you do, or certain things that you do. “This year it has been a lot clearer and the training has been a lot more productive and more efficient. “I’m feeling a lot better about the car and I always want it more. You can never want it enough.”