Williams goes radical with bold FW47 F1 car

The Williams FW47 launched this morning at Silverstone is much more than a simple evolution of the 2024 FW46.

As RacingNews365 explained with the launch of the McLaren MCL39 on Thursday, it should not be surprising that the general appearances of the new cars very closely reflect those of the old ones - a trait that will most likely be a common characteristic. 

Nonetheless, from the first glimpses of the FW47 on track, a profound evolution of the car is visible. 

The front suspension retains its push-rod design, but one area that stands out is how developed the front axle is when compared to the previous car. The pick-up points of the wishbones remained unchanged, but the push-rod is strongly inclined towards the rear - which in effect, moves the front axle forwards.

A byproduct is that the nose cone is now longer, by about 8cm compared to the old design, but keeps the same external shape, which has allowed the team to also move the radiator inlets away from the turbulent air created by the front-wheels.

The inlets maintain their position, with the shape of the sidepods reflecting the latest upgrade brought to the 2024 car, but it is at the rear where Williams has done the most work. 

The adoption of push-rod suspension instead of the pull-rod on the old FW46 is significant.

The aerodynamic interaction of the suspension wishbones changes, but crucially, so do the vehicle dynamics characteristics, with the position of the internal elements of the suspension allowing for the creation of an all-new rear diffuser.

Elsewhere, the cockpit and engine air-intake seem to follow the FW46's design, but it should be noted that the engine hood area is extremely narrow and well connected to the upper profile of the sidepods, of which the extremely clean profile is especially noticeable.