Jun.24 (GMM) Williams is working to rediscover its “winning mentality”, according to Rob Smedley.
Smedley, now a senior engineer at Grove, arrived at Williams just as the famous British team re-established itself as a top-three force in the new ‘power unit’ era.
Nonetheless, Williams has won only a single grand prix since 2003, and not added to its tally of seven drivers’ titles in the almost two decades since 1997.
Not only that, after being F1’s clear third force in 2014 and 2015, Williams has now fallen behind both Ferrari and Red Bull.
“In Canada, we beat Red Bull because our car was better,” insisted Smedley, speaking to the French publication Auto Hebdo.
“And the next races in Spielberg and Silverstone should be good for us too. Our ambition is to get closer to Mercedes and Ferrari — teams with far more resources than us,” he added.
Smedley insists that, despite these fewer resources, Williams is recapturing the “winning mentality” of the past, demonstrated by the team’s field-leading pitstop speeds that are stunning the paddock in 2016.
“This is the winning mentality that we are putting in place within the team,” he said. “Winning is not just about a winning car, it’s also a state of mind, and that’s what we need to get back.”