Canadian Stroll Joining 2017 Formula 1 Campaign With Williams

Photo Credit: Williams Martini Racing

Among some of the great young Canadian drivers emerging in recent years, many Canadian eyes were focus roughly halfway across the world at a young Montreal-born talent. Having just turned 18 years old on October 29th, Lance Stroll rose to become a globally-recognized prospect in the motorsport world after he was recruited by the Ferrari Driver Academy in 2013. Just a mere 3 years later, Stroll has risen to the big time with an announcement by the Williams Martini Racing team that he will become a Formula 1 competitor for the 2017 season.

Joining established Williams competitor Valtteri Bottas, Lance Stroll will join the premier series of open wheel auto racing as a 2017 rookie following a year spend as a test driver for the team. Recently earning the 2016 Formula 3 championship with Prema Powerteam, Lance Stroll demonstrated a remarkable ability to mount front-running performances. Winning 14 of the 30 races in the 2016 campaign, his successes have also included the 2014 Italian Formula 4 title and a championship in the New Zealand-based 2015 Toyota Racing Series. Lance Stroll's elevation to Formula 1 was widely expected when veteran Williams driver Felipe Massa expressed he would retire at this season's end.

“To be racing in Formula One in 2017 is incredible, I can’t thank Williams enough for showing faith in my ability. Racing in F1 was something I dreamt about as a young kid. When I began karting seriously, F1 was then the ultimate goal and especially when I started racing cars in 2014." said Lance Stroll after being named to the Williams Martini Racing team.

Lance Stroll's rise to Formula 1 was almost predicted immediately after his addition to the Ferrari Driver Academy. At one time, it was widely rumoured that Lance Stroll's billionaire businessman father Lawrence Stroll was looking to buy the Sauber F1 Team in order to secure an eventual ride for his son. Despite a father's affiliation to Ferrari, the now 18-year-old driver joined Williams Martini Racing's Young Driver Development Program late last year seeing a more direct path to a top Formula 1 outfit with the Mercedes-Benz powered team.

Next year will mark the 40th year for the current incarnation of the Williams Martini Racing organization. Having earned 9 constructors' championships and 7 drivers' championships with 114 race wins, Bottas and Stroll will be fighting to add to those tallies in 2017 after what may be four winless seasons if the 2016 season ends without a victory.

When Formula 1 Constructor Champions Melt Down One Year After Glory

Last season's near-domination by the Mercedes AMG organization on the Formula 1 racing tour would be a circumstance everyone related to the team would wish could never end. Unfortunately for them, the green flag in Australia will mark a point where 2014 is forever cemented in history. 2015 will be a new beginning for which Mercedes AMG is going to build on another foundation. The question we will all ask is whether a mighty structure will again represent the Formula 1 team's 2015 season.

An impressive overall performance involving victories in 16 of the 19 races on the 2014 tour en route to a constructors‘ title for Mercedes AMG and team driver Lewis Hamilton capturing the drivers‘ championship, the specific Formula 1 run was individually memorable. However, domination by a single team in a single season is not a new thing in the open-wheel world championship racing series. From 2010 until the start of last season, Red Bull Racing shaped a dynasty through several successful seasons of Formula 1 competition. As evident last season, the Red Bull Racing’s dominant reign ended when the green flag fell at the 2014 Australian Grand Prix. Sometimes it comes as a situation of more modest success such as the case with Red Bull Racing (although four-time champion Sebastian Vettel went winless). Other times, a championship season for driver and constructor results in some radically ill-equipped title defences the following season.

When brilliance one season turns into a plummeting fall from grace the next, reigning champions often simply blow it in regards to creating a competitive package. In the decades of Formula 1 competition, some championships fall a little bit harder than others do. The following examples illustrate the risk teams in the position of Mercedes AMG face after a very fruitful year emerging in an all-new season:

Cooper Car Company 1960 and 1961

1960

Team Points: 48

Driver Points
Jack Brabham: 43
Bruce McLaren: 34

1961

Team Points: 14

Driver Points
Jack Brabham: 4
Bruce McLaren: 11


While the Auto Union race cars of the 1930s demonstrated how effective mounting an engine behind the driver is to on-track performance, it took an innovative group of Brits named Charles Cooper and his son John Cooper to make the vehicle layout a lasting fixture in Formula 1. Able to out-drive more powerful front-engined roadsters, the Cooper T43 Formula 1 car powered by a Climax engine debuted in 1957 and immediately scored a sixth place finish. A feat accomplished by Australian Jack Brabham in Monaco, it would be a short two years later when the effort resulted in a drivers’ championship for Brabham and a constructors’ title for Cooper. As the rest of Formula 1 was forced to adjust to the mid-engined Cooper, the pairing repeated their feat in 1960. In the 1960 season, Brabham’s championship run was marked by five consecutive Formula 1 grand prix victories. A young driver named Bruce McLaren also won the Argentine Grand Prix.

For 1961, Formula 1 changed the engine regulations resulting in smaller powerplant displacement size of 1.5 liters. Cooper’s effectiveness on the track was erased by both their unsuccessful adjustment to the new rules and the adaptation of mid-engined layouts by other teams including Ferrari. A third place scored by Bruce McLaren at the Italian Grand Prix was the high point of the season where the Cooper-Climax lost its advantage. In the final 1961 champion standings, McLaren outscored his teammate Jack Brahbam.

Brabham left the Cooper Car Company team after the 1961 season and immediately founded his own race team. Brabham’s engineering expertise that was valued by Cooper went into his team’s success. Bruce McLaren stayed at Cooper for several season and won on the 1962 Monaco Grand Prix. Eventually, McLaren followed Brabham and created his own successful Formula 1 team. Cooper never regained the success of they achieved when the pioneered the mid-engined Formula 1 revolution and ran their final race in 1969.

A disclaimer relating to the points, only the best six races in the nine races on the 1960 Formula 1 calendar counted while only the five top finishes counted in 1961.


　

Brabham (Motor Racing Development Limited) 1967 and 1968

1967

Team Points: 63

Driver Points
Denny Hulme: 51
Jack Brabham: 46

1968

Team Points: 10

Driver Points
Jochen Rindt: 8
Jack Brabham: 2


The late Jack Brabham was perhaps the best driver/owner to ever compete in Formula 1. A three-time world driving champion in 1959, 1960 and 1966, Brahbam also had front-running success with his team called Motor Racing Development Limited (frequently referred to simply as Brabham). Beyond his own success that included winning in his own chassis in 1966, Jack Brabham’s team involved other racing greats competing for and sometimes beside the boss. In 1967, Brabham finished behind his teammate and driver Denny Hulme. After taking the 1967 world drivers’ championship from his boss, the New Zealand driver Hulme went to McLaren. Alongside Jack Brabham, future Formula 1 champion Jochen Rindt drove the second team car through the 1968 season.

Though Brabham won their second constructors’ title, the late stages of the 1967 season saw Team Lotus and their new Ford Cosworth DFV engine gaining on the Repco-powered Brabhams. In an attempt to stay ahead of the eight-cylinder Ford powerplant, Repco was encouraged to create an improved version of their V-8 engine. The major year-to-year difference between the Repco engines was the incorporation of a double overhead cam valvetrain design. The engine delivered improved horsepower but was unreliable.

Jochen Rindt left the Brabham team to drive with Team Lotus for the 1969 season. As for driver and team owner Jack Brabham, he persevered for two more seasons behind the wheel before settling into team ownership and managing other ventures.

　

Ferrari 1979 and 1980

　

1979

Team Points: 113


Driver Points
Jody Scheckter: 51
Gilles Villeneuve: 47

1980

Team Points: 8


Driver Points
Jody Scheckter:2
Gilles Villeneuve: 6


Among Formula 1 championship teams, the Ferrari team perhaps suffered the biggest year-to-year collapse. The 1979 season was a fairy tale for the entire Italian Formula 1 organization. Leaving the Walter Wolf Racing team after the 1978 season, South African driver Jody Scheckter entered his eighth Formula 1 season (sixth full-time) still searching for a World Championship. Scheckter had come close in previous seasons with a runner-up finish in the standings after 1977 and pair of 3rd place results driving for Tyrrell. At the end of the 1979 Formula 1 championship, Jody Scheckter prevailed resisting a strong challenge from Ferrari teammate Canadian driver Gilles Villeneuve. Villeneuve, who entered Formula 1 with a reputation for being aggressive and hard on race cars, left 1979 proving he can tame himself for a season-long championship run. Scheckter and Villeneuve run a variation of a Ferrari 312T chassis first used in 1975. A 1979 Constructors’ title for Ferrari was the fourth with that particular chassis.

For 1980, the driver line-up remained intact driving an updated 312T5 race car powered by a 12-cylinder engine. Despite improvements, the new Ferrari race car was poorly matched against other teams. Not only was Jody Scheckter and Gilles Villeneuve unable to win a race in 1980 for Ferrari, neither driver could finish higher than fifth place in a grand prix event. Lacking race pace and a ten total retirements between the two drivers resulted in a 10th place finish in the constructors’ championship for 1980 with just eight points.

Following the disastrous 1980 season, Jody Scheckter retired from Formula 1 while Gilles Villeneuve remained with Ferrari driving a completely new, more competitive 126CK race car powered by a turbocharged six-cylinder engine.

　

Williams 1997 and 1998

1997

Team Points: 123

Driver Points
Jacques Villeneuve: 81
Heinz-Harald Frentzen: 42

1998

Team Points: 38

Drivers’ Points
Jacques Villeneuve: 21
Heinz-Harald Frentzen: 17


During the mid-1990s, the Williams Formula 1 team was regarded as the hot spot for drivers wanting to be in championship form. Nigel Mansell and Alain Prost won championship with the organization in 1992 and 1994 respectively. In 1996, Damon Hill became the world champion beating teammate and Formula 1 newcomer Jacques Villeneuve for the title. As Hill left Williams for Arrows, German driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen joined Jacques Villeneuve. Villeneuve battled tensely with Michael Schumacher to win the 1997 World Drivers’ Championship in Formula 1. The combined team effort aided by seven wins from Villeneuve and Frentzen’s victory at the San Marino Grand Prix gave Williams its fifth constructors’ title in six years.

The driver line-up for Williams remained unchanged for 1998 as Jacques Villeneuve wore the #1 on a new look race car. The Rothman cigarette brand’s familiar blue and white livery was replaced by Winfield’s red and white. While the different look was a major adjustment to fans, the team’s biggest learning curve was all-new Formula 1 rules. Narrower side dimensions and grooved race tires replacing slicks were mandated for all teams but Williams was forced to give up much of their constructor championship-winning notepad referring to the 1997 car. Williams also lost ace Formula 1 car designer Adrian Newey to McLaren in 1998.

Perhaps the biggest year-to-year change was the discontinuation of factory support from Renault. Williams was provided with engine power from Mecachrome, the company that for years built Renault’s Formula 1 power units. The Mecachrome engine was almost the same Renault V-10 engine Williams ran in 1997 while Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari reengineered their powerplants for 1998, the Williams race cars would ultimately be seen as less potent. This showed in qualifying as the Williams-Mecachrome failed to score a pole in 1998 after 11 in 1997.

For the entire 1998 season, Williams struggled simply to climb on a podium in races where either Jacques Villeneuve or Heinz-Harald Frentzen won. Frentzen grabbed a third place in the Australian Grand Prix while Villeneuve was third at both the German and Hungarian Grand Prix. After the lacklustre season, both drivers parted with the Williams team. Heinz-Harald Frentzen joined with the Benson and Hedges Jordan team while Jacques Villeneuve joined the newly formed British-American Racing team for 1999. Since his world championship, Jacques Villeneuve’s racing career has never come close to equalling the same success.

Massa Leads Surprise Williams Front Row Qualifying Performance in Austria

Photo Credit: Pirelli Photo Service

After 11 years off the Formula 1 schedule, the open wheel series returns as a radically different venue. Still set on a 4.236-kilometer track as was the 2003 grand prix, the name has been changed from the A-1 Ring to the Red Bull Ring and the facility has underwent a host of enhancements.

Back in 2003, the Formula 1 racing tour was a seen where V-10 engines roared, Red Bull Racing didn't even exist and racing great Michael Schumacher was adding to what would be a career of record-breaking performances. A season that ended with a championship point standing where Schumacher won by just two points over then-McLaren driver Kimi Raikkonen, the German driver's Austrian Grand Prix victory ultimately that year served as an important piece to a his sixth of seven world drivers' titles.

This era was also the last recent period where the Williams F1 Team was a formidable front-runner in Formula 1 competition. Winning four races in 2003, the Frank Williams-founded race organization has only won two times over the course of the grand prix events held from 2004 to this season. Fighting to find the right combination of drivers, engines and support, the Williams Martini Racing team appears to have struck upon a possible podium-contending match for 2014. Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas have been making the most out of a solid car and a competent Mercedes-Benz powerplant in several races so far this season. Returning to the former A-1 Ring in Austria, the Williams Martini Racing team may channeled their past magic in Formula 1 to top everyone else in Saturday's qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix.

The Williams-Mercedes cars led a progressive surge in the three practice sessions at the Red Bull Ring. By the third and final practice session, Valtteri Bottas stood at the top of the time sheet while his highly-experienced teammate Felipe Massa was tightly nestled posting the third-fastest time. It was in qualifying where the seasoned Brazilian driver rose to deliver a commanding performance. Felipe Massa pulled off a Q3 timed lap of 1 minute, 8.769 seconds to grab his 16th career pole position and his first since the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix. As a plus for Williams Martini Racing, Valtteri Bottas was less than a tenth of a second off Massa's fastest lap allowing him to start in second. The first pole for Williams since 2012, the presence of both cars on the front row has not been seen since 2003 at the German Grand Prix.

Photo Credit: Andrew Hone/ Pirelli Photo Service

While the Saturday time trial session glory belonged to the Mercedes-Benz customer team in Austria, the factory team has been celebrating for the most race weekends this Formula 1 season. The Mercedes AMG team remains fast but has appeared a little more fallible since the Canadian Grand Prix race two weeks ago. Nico Rosberg posted the third-fastest time in a session that saw the Mercedes F1 W05 Hybrid race car dethroned from the top spot after grand prix qualifying this season. As for the Mercedes AMG driver Lewis Hamilton, his Q3 session was marred with mishaps. Making two attempts, Hamilton would ultimately have to scrub both runs spinning in the second run. The Brit will start in ninth place.

Photo Credit: Mercedes AMG

Qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix also served a mixed bag for Ferrari and Red Bull Racing. Winless since the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix, Ferrari and Fernando Alonso are still trying to find the final ingredient of consistent, front-running speed. Alonso posted a fourth-fastest time on Saturday but Kimi Raikkonen could only muster an eighth place starting position. Capturing their first 2014 win at the previous grand prix, The Red Bull-Renault's victory came just in time for the event on the Red Bull Ring. Red Bull Racing has been led by the team's newcomer Daniel Ricciardo through much of the season. Austrian Grand Prix qualifying at the team owner's home event has continued to result in the Australian outrunning his championship defending teammate. Ricciardo will start fifth Sunday while Sebastian Vettel missed the Q3 session for a third time this season settling for a 12th place grid position.      

Formula 1 rookies for 2014 Kevin Magnussen and Daniil Kvyat posted impressive times on the Red Bull Ring for respectable Sunday grid spots. The McLaren-Mercedes of Magnussen will start sixth while the Kvyat's Toro Rosso-Renault will roll-off seventh. Nico Hulkenberg will start tenth for the Austrian Grand Prix for Force India.

With a forecast calling for a warm and sunny Austrian Grand Prix, 71 laps around the Red Bull Ring is scheduled to commence at 2 PM local time and 8 AM eastern time.


2014 Formula 1
Austrian Grand Prix
Starting Grid

Pos #	Car #	Driver	Team	Engine
1	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	Mercedes-Benz
2	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams F1	Renault
3	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes AMG	Mercedes-Benz
4	14	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	Ferrari
5	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	Renault
6	22	Kevin Magnussen	McLaren	Mercedes-Benz
7	26	Daniil Kvyat	Scuderia Toro Rosso	Renault
8	7	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	Ferrari
9	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes AMG	Mercedes-Benz
10	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	Mercedes-Benz
11	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	Mercedes-Benz
12	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull	Renault
13	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus	Renault
14	25	Jean-Eric Vergne	Scuderia Toro Rosso	Renault
15	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus	Renault
16	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	Mercedes-Benz
17	99	Adrian Sutil	Sauber	Ferrari
18	21	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber	Ferrari
19	17	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	Ferrari
20	10	Kamui Kobayashi	Caterham	Renault
21	9	Marcus Ericsson	Caterham	Renault
22	4	Max Chilton	Marussia	Ferrari

Williams F1 Surprises Signing with Mercedes-Benz for 2014

Photo Credit: Daimler AG

With the McLaren Formula 1 team planning a switch to Honda in 2015, Mercedes-Benz had been left with the possibility of one fewer customer of their new turbocharged engine. It didn't take long for the German automaker to ink a deal with a new team.

In what could be viewed as a stunning move, Williams F1 Team decided to abandon their association with Renault in favour of Mercedes-Benz. Accepting the power of Mercedes-Benz's future turbocharged, 1.6 liter V6 engine, Williams F1 Team wants to ring in a more consistently competitive package for the 2014 season. Team founder Sir Frank Williams is particularly pleased inking the new deal. “I’m delighted to announce our new association with Mercedes-Benz for the 2014 Formula One season and beyond. Mercedes-Benz has been one of the sport’s most successful engine suppliers and we believe that they will have an extremely competitive engine package". On the side of the engine supplier, Managing Director of Mercedes AMG HPP Andy Cowell is greets the partnership saying,   "Williams is one of the sport’s iconic names and we are very excited to be working together towards a successful future under the new regulations".

The formulation of Williams' new engine partnership is significant for Mercedes-Benz but also news-making in regards to Renault. Williams F1 Team established a dynasty with Renault in the mid-1990s. In fourth out of six years from 1992 to 1997, Williams-Renault race cars were handled by the Formula 1 World Drivers' Champion. When Williams F1 Team reunited with Renault in 2012, winning magic between the two companies returned briefly. Driver Pastor Maldonado drove his Williams-Renault from the pole position to victory at last year's Spanish Grand Prix. That performance has not been repeated since that 2012 win. As a matter of fact, the Williams F1 Team is pointless in the 2013 constructors' points after six races.

The press announcement did not go without acknowledging the outgoing engine supplier for the Williams F1 Team. Sir Frank Williams paid tribute to the history with Renault. "I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Renault for their continued hard work since we renewed our engine partnership at the beginning of the 2012 season. We have enjoyed a strong relationship that has resulted in much success over the years, including powering us to winning ways once again last year at the Spanish Grand Prix.” said Williams. In response to Williams F1 Team's announcement, Renault Sport F1 promptly issued a statement expressing an amicable parting. "We would like to thank Williams for the warmth it has extended to Renault over the last two years and wish the team the very best for the future. Williams and Renault have a long history together and quickly recaptured its winning spirit in the early days of the rekindled partnership with victory in Spain 2012. We will continue to actively work with the team until the Brazilian Grand Prix in November to end the second incarnation of the partnership with results that do justice to its reputation." said Jean-Michel Jalinier, President of Renault Sport F1.

Starting in 2014, the agreement between Williams F1 Team and Mercedes-Benz is said to be a long-term deal.