Highlights
Williams boosted by new deal
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-10-21 16:06
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The deal with the largest U.S. telephone carrier was announced on Friday, before first practice for the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix.
No financial details were given but team owner Frank Williams told reporters by telephone that the deal was important on a number of levels.
"We are about to finish a very difficult year, and this agreement will refresh and invigorate the team," he said.
"This partnership will lead us into what we hope will be a successful era...We are short of success recently, but we have every intention to re-emerge as a successful Formula One team."
Williams have won 16 world championships, including nine constructors' titles, but have not won a race since the 2004 Brazilian Grand Prix. Their last title was in 1997 with Canadian Jacques Villeneuve.
They are eighth of the 11 teams, with just 11 points scored from 17 races so far -- their worst showing since the 1970s -- but have agreed a deal for Toyota engines next year.
Austrian Alexander Wurz, the current test driver, and Germany's Nico Rosberg will be their drivers next year after Australian Mark Webber's departure to Red Bull.
Co-owner Patrick Head confirmed that Williams had also reorganised their technical department, recruiting aerodynamicists from Renault and McLaren.
"蟭's obvious that we are very disappointed with the results that we've had this year," he told a news conference at Interlagos.
"Quite clearly sometimes when you are in a pit with not much light at the top and everybody is working like hell and you're not making progress, you've nearly always got to bring in a bit of new blood," he added.
"So we've had a few changes, both affecting our mechanical design side and our systems support and our aerodynamic programme. You can hardly expect a team having the sort of results we've had this year to sit there and change nothing."