Maranello, Mar 02: The driver line-up that brought Williams second place in the constructors championship is unchanged from 2003 but there will be change at the end of the season when Juan Pablo Montoya joins McLaren.
Ralf Schumacher's future is also up in the air and while Williams insist both will have equal opportunities to win the championship, psychology could be important. Montoya insisted at the team's car launch in January that he would remain committed to the team throughout 2004 even though he would be at McLaren in 2005.

The FW26 car has many changes from the FW25 which won four races in 2003. Most noticeable is the nose of the car. Williams has dispensed with last year's pencil-shaped nose and replaced it with a shorter, raised nose with long pillars to support the front wing. According to Williams this design performed best in wind tunnel tests and provides a clean flow of air to the underside of the car.


Williams launched the car at the beginning of January in order to test more thoroughly before the first race. In 2003 a lack of testing contributed to the team's failure to perform well in the first three races: Australia, Malaysia and Brazil.

Bureau Report