Even the most hardened member of the Formula 1 paddock must feel some sympathy for what the Williams team have gone through this year. 2018 has been disastrous for the Grove-based squad, a fact that was made particularly clear during their home race at Silverstone. At the same grand prix three years earlier the teams’ cars – driven by the very able pairing of Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas – both made lightning starts from the second row of the grid to run one-two by the end of the opening lap, leading the Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. They remained at the front throughout the first stint, eventually slipping to fourth and fifth by the time the chequered flag fell. Nevertheless, they had scored 22 points on home turf. Fast-forward to this year’s British Grand Prix, where both Williams drivers started from the pit lane. Lance Stroll had crashed before setting a time in qualifying, while Sergey Sirotkin was the slowest driver to record a lap. It is fair to assume that they would now give anything for the faintest whiff of podium champagne. With the summer break looming, Williams have scored just four points. By the same stage in 2017, the team had 41 points; in 2015, they had scored 151. Their only points finish of the year thus far came eight races ago at the attrition-heavy Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Last Sunday in Germany, while nearest rivals Sauber and Toro Roso both registered points, Williams suffered a double DNF. Results-wise, this is the definition of falling off a cliff. The question now is, what happens when they hit the ground?

DEVELOPMENT GAMBLE FAILS TO PAY OFF

In a sense, the problems at Williams are largely self-inflicted. Firstly, the team adopted an aggressive new design concept for 2018 in the hope of developing a better all-around package; instead, they seem lost with an unpredictable machine they do not fully understand. Trying to rectify the problems has not worked especially well either: their upgraded rear wing, introduced at Silverstone, was described by technical chief Paddy Lowe as “really quite catastrophic”. More positive strides were made at the German Grand Prix, though both qualifying and the race yielded very little. In theory, there is nothing wrong with taking a new direction, but doing so with such an inexperienced line-up was a major gamble. This leads to Williams’ other problem: their drivers. Much was made of the team’s decision to pair Stroll with Sirotkin this season. They remain adamant their drivers were hired purely on merit, though this remains very difficult to believe and the team’s insistence rings rather hollow when you consult the championship standings. Last season’s Williams line-up was near enough perfect for a team of their size: Massa brought vast experience, Stroll brought money and, to be fair to the teenager, some flashes of real pace. The team knew that hiring rookie Sirotkin to replace the retiring Brazilian was a risk. While both he and Stroll showed well at the junior level and brought much-needed finances to the team, it was obvious from the outset they would be severely lacking in the experience department. But this was a calculated risk. The team were gambling on a car that was easy to drive, reliable, and fast enough to score points from time to time. The drivers have enough ability to hit that target and would have grown in confidence as the year progressed. Privately, the Williams hierarchy might have been satisfied to take sixth or seventh in the standings this term and continue to develop into 2019. Build on the new car concept, keep the same drivers, look to push on.