Names of Glory

*Listening to Oasis – Dig Out Your Soul*

Williams’ have been at the top of sport for decades now. You have the two sisters who, when they turn up anyway, take women’s tennis to another level. Snooker also has it’s own Williams star in the shape of fellow Welshman and former Crucible champion Mark Williams. Of course, the Welsh rugby squad boasts one or two as well, but for that I have no care.

But one, now all to often overshadowed Williams name in sport is showing signs of resurgence; that of Frank Williams’ nine time Formula One Constructors Championship winning outfit.

Resurgence, you may think to be a strong word considering Williams’ comparatively poor 2010 Formula One campaign, that is when you think of their already acclaimed sixteen titles. But be aware, this now relatively small outfit on the grid has a rosy future ahead….

Well if things go their way.

There are no billion dollar sheikhs or international businesses behind this team. They are simply a well run British outfit, remaining competitive on a frugal budget and relying purely on the talents of their backroom staff.

And when you think of it like that, it is quite astonishing that Williams have been mixing it in qualy three of late, ahead of the Vijay Mallya funded Force India’s and more than matching the Russian oil driven Renault’s and now German conquered Brawn GP.

Indeed everything pointed to a disappointing campaign before the season began. The loss of Toyota power, and the return of the unpredictable Cosworth engine that had proved so unreliable with the team in 2006, all after BMW left Willams in the lurch to take over Sauber.

Only a positive driver line-up brought some hope.

Rubens it’s last lap, let Michael past.

* Listening to Relentless Fours – Grammatics *
This is a controversial viewpoint (I have ascertained from the internet and its many discussions on the subject), but I feel that the proceedings over the weekend were not as clear cut as the consensus.

Similar to how Red Bull were well within their rights to assign front wings to whomever they desired (being the bill-payers, and as it is essentially a business first), I felt that Ferrari were within their prerogative to swap the driver positions if they thought that was best for their season. It is a team game.

There isn’t exactly much overtaking in the sport and when team mates are allowed to compete with each other it can go very wrong or it can lead to quite hairy moments.

Similar to how teams tend not to send drivers out into the same part of the circuit in qualifying, it is mere self preservation of the constructors championship. The sport should be equipped in that a driver should be able to overtake if he is reasonably faster than their target. Currently, drivers have to take a big risk, and there just simply isn’t enough reward to quantify it.

However. Once again, drawing parallel’s to the Red Bull PR woes of the previous race, Ferrari’s violation comes down to the execution. Similar to Austria 2002 and similar to taking Webber’s front wing with precious few minutes before qualifying, it inevitably leads to a fan backlash.