F1 World Shocked Over Williams Floor After Design Leaked At Spanish Grand Prix
The last week or so has been amazing for those of us wanting to learn a little more about the aerodynamic design of our favourite F1 cars. It began with Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes W14 being raised into the air for all to see its secret floor design, and this was swiftly followed by the coveted RB19 receiving the same treatment. But after Logan Sergeant sent his Williams off the track today, fans were shocked to see what Williams had come up with for their floor design.
Last year saw regulations steer towards ground effect downforce. Very simply, this means that instead of the top of the car being used to create the majority of the downforce - or the force pushing the car down onto the tarmac to improve traction - the downforce now comes from the floor.
This is obviously hidden while the car is on track, making it much more difficult for teams to get a sneak peek at how other teams are creating downforce. And with Red Bull's Adrian Newey-designed RB19 being so incredibly fast this year, the F1 world was set alight with excitement when their floor was revealed.
It is a thing of beauty, even to someone like me who has very little knowledge when it comes to aerodynamics. But when the Williams floor was revealed today, even I could see that they were very, very far behind their competition.
As you can see from the comparison above, the Williams on the left has very little in regard to its complexity. In fact, it barely looks like it's been altered from the F1 show car we saw at the beginning of the season.
There are a couple of possible reasons for this:
One, Williams is a very poor team, and simply don't have the facilities to create something as technically amazing as the RB19's floor. On top of this, they likely don't have the knowledge, staff, or time to devote to it. Either way, it's a surprise that Alex Albon is able to get the performance he does out of the thing.
These are some of the greatest reactions so far, starting with my own (shameless plug).