Head: « The Williams are not fast enough yet »

Williams co-owner Patrick Head is confident that the new FW30 is faster than last year’s car. However, he downplayed claims that it would allow them to compete at the level of Ferrari and McLaren.

The pace of the new Williams-Toyota was strong in Valencia, Spain this week. As evidence, Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima seemed to be the closest rivals to the Ferraris and McLarens.

Although Head is enthusiastic about what he has seen so far, he is well aware of the work that still needs to be done.

« The car is better and faster than last year. But as we can see, there is still a significant gap between Ferrari and ourselves, so we still have a lot of work to do, » he said.

« Like most other teams, we will develop our car by the first race in Melbourne. However, I doubt that we will be on the front row of the starting grid in Australia. I hope to secure acceptable positions. »

When asked whether or not he was happy with the first tests of the new car, he stated: « We are never happy … but it is good. It’s never acceptable, but it’s on the right track. We have a fast car, but it’s not going fast enough yet. »

With BMW-Sauber struggling with the balance of its cars and Renault not having made a dazzling comeback yet, Williams’ pace during this week could pose a certain threat to Ferrari and McLaren in 2008.

But Patrick Head believes it is still too early to make reliable predictions about the form of other teams.

« Before the start of the season, we never know where each team stands, but for us, certainly behind Ferrari and McLaren, but not that far behind.

Head also noticed Nakajima’s progress. He believes that in the year 2008, he will prove to be a worthy Grand Prix driver.

« I hope that in the future, he will be considered a regular in F1. The world of F1 is a tough environment. It is important to establish oneself. I hope he is capable of it. I’m sure he can, and I think he probably has a bright future, » he concluded.