Williams FW25

The Williams FW25 is a Formula One car designed by Williams and powered by a BMW V10 engine. The car was used by Williams for the 2003 championship. Three drivers would drive the FW25 in the 2003 season, with Marc Gené replacing regular racer Ralf Schumacher for the Italian Grand Prix after the German suffered a large testing accident testing at Monza's Lesmo 1 corner prior to that race. The other regular driver Juan Pablo Montoya started all of the season's Grand Prix.

The design of the 2003 Williams FW25 was a marked evolution over its predecessor, the Williams FW24, something that Williams had not done between 2001 and 2002 due to the breakup of the previously successful Williams design team. New to the 2003 design team was ex-Ferrari aerodynamicist, Antonia Terzi, who worked with existing designer Gavin Fisher.

Although the car could have easily won its first Grand Prix during the Australian Grand Prix but for a costly spin by Colombian driver Juan Pablo Montoya, the car did not establish itself amongst the frontrunners on the grid until the Austrian Grand Prix where Montoya led before retiring with engine failure. Until that race, both drivers complained about understeer due to flaws in the car's design.

A new, wider front tyre introduced by Michelin at the Monaco Grand Prix unlocked the potential of the FW25, which would win that race, score a double-podium at the Canadian Grand Prix, then go on to score dominant 1-2 victories at the European Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, and the next race, the French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours.

A change to the front tyre width caused by a protest lodged by Michelin's rivals Bridgestone, through the Ferrari team after the Hungarian Grand Prix caused controversy through the paddock, with Williams tipped to lose their competitive edge after that race due to a slimmer tyre design being raced at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza being seemingly at odds with the wider tyre that Williams brought with great effect to the Monaco Grand Prix. Despite Montoya's second place at Monza, being able to stay with eventual World Champion Michael Schumacher's Ferrari throughout the whole race, the FW25 would not win a race in the final three races of the season, the Italian GP, United States GP and Japanese GP took place after the tyre redesign. In fact, after Montoya's second place at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza - the FW25 would not earn another podium in the 2003 season, although Montoya led the final race at Suzuka before retiring with a hydraulics problem.

Williams F1 Team
Founders
Frank Williams
Patrick Head
Team Principal
Frank Williams
Current personnel
Alex Burns
Mike Coughlan
Dickie Stanford
Claire Williams
Ed Wood
Former personnel
Ross Brawn
Frank Dernie
Gavin Fisher
Sam Michael
Adrian Newey
Neil Oatley
Adam Parr
Enrique Scalabroni
Geoff Willis
Toto Wolff
Race drivers
16. Pastor Maldonado
17. Valtteri Bottas
Test drivers
Susie Wolff
World Champions
Alan Jones
Keke Rosberg
Nelson Piquet
Nigel Mansell
Alain Prost
Damon Hill
Jacques Villeneuve
Formula One cars
Frank Williams Racing Cars
FW
FW04
FW05
Williams Grand Prix Engineering/WilliamsF1
FW06
FW07
FW07B
FW07C
FW08
FW08C
FW09
FW09B
FW10
FW11
FW11B
FW12
FW12C
FW13
FW13B
FW14
FW14B
FW15C
FW16
FW16B
FW17
FW17B
FW18
FW19
FW20
FW21
FW22
FW23
FW24
FW25
FW26
FW27
FW28
FW29
FW30
FW31
FW32
FW33
FW34
FW35
FIA Formula Two Cars
JPH1
JPH1B
Le Mans prototypes
BMW V12 LM
BMW V12 LMR
Rally cars
Metro 6R4
Touring cars
Renault Laguna (BTCC)
Cars that competed in the 2003 Formula One season
  • Ferrari F2002
  • Ferrari F2003-GA
  • Williams FW25
  • McLaren MP4-17D
  • Renault R23
  • Renault R23B
  • Sauber C22
  • Jordan EJ13
  • Jaguar R4
  • BAR 005
  • Minardi PS03
  • Toyota TF103

Famous quotes containing the word williams:

    I don’t believe in villains or heroes, only in right or wrong ways that individuals are taken, not by choice, but by necessity or by certain still uncomprehended influences in themselves, their circumstances and their antecedents.
    —Tennessee Williams (1914–1983)