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sgCarMart.com sat down with Rod to talk about the controversial rear diffuser and team's targets for this year's Formula One races.
sgCarMart: When Williams decided on their rear diffuser, were you guys prepared for the protests?
RN: Well, it's only controversial because some other teams didn't think of it. It's nothing different to what we did last year, for instance. I think there's certainly an element that the people who wrote the rules assumed that they'd be interpreted in a certain way, so they (the teams) didn't look for every avenue for which to get performance from those boundaries.
Our opinion is that we've worked within the regulations. We've consulted the FIA before the parts were even designed and said "Is this ok?", "Is this legal, is there a problem?" The FIA have come back to us and they've assured us that there's no problem, we're completely legal. Then we've gone to design the parts, we've tested the parts and we've raced the parts. And because some teams haven't had the foresight to, you know, exploit the regulations in a certain area, I don't see how that makes it controversial.
Now, it is controversial because Ferrari, McLaren, Red Bull (and) Renault haven't thought of it, so they're upset™
sgCarMart: So how much extra aerodynamic performance does the car get?
RN: It's actually not that much. What happens is that you have a philosophy and you push car development in a certain direction. The problem with changing at this stage is that if we went for a more conventional solution, we'd throw away a lot of parts that we've designed around our particular solution. So it wouldn't just remove that element of the performance package; it would obviate many other elements of the performance package.
So, the actual delta between our floor design and someone else's floor design is a few pounds here and there. The problem is that that's part of the integrated car design and if we threw that away then we'd really have to go back to the drawing board and it would cause us a massive amount of work and expense.
To be honest, if people think that Brawn is winning races because they've got a fancy diffuser, they're kidding themselves. The reason they're winning races is that they started development on their car last year, very very early. And Ferrari, McLaren (and) Renault, were all pushing like mad till the very last race of the season, for various different reasons, which means their new cars haven't got the development. And they're quite welcome to develop in whatever direction they like, as long as the FIA agrees that it's legal. As they have with our diffuser, for instance.
sgCarMart: How confident are you that the Williams Formula One team will be in the top three at the end of this year, and which are the main teams that you guys want to beat?
RN: Obviously, the team that we will be judged against is Toyota, because we have the same engine. So, clearly, they're one of the teams that we must be aiming for. They're our technical partner and we have worked on various projects together, but that's the benchmark. In the same way, Nico's main competition is Kazuki, because they have the same car. So, obviously Toyota are in the back of our minds.
Last year, we were quite frustrated that Red Bull beat us, and that annoys me intensely. So, clearly we need to look at Red Bull. But the teams that we want to beat are the same this year, as it were last year and the year before - it's Ferrari and McLaren. And this year, obviously Brawn are way up there. So the target is Ferrari and McLaren and Brawn.
Now, at the moment, Ferrari, and particularly McLaren, have a disadvantage in terms of performance. But they've got massive resource, and believe me, they'll be up there sooner than you think.
sgCarMart: Thank you very much for your time and good luck!
RN: Cheers, then!
