FW40

Lore & Background

The number '40' in the chassis name signified the 40th anniversary of the team. It was the last Formula One car that Massa drove in his career, as he announced his retirement for a second time in November. In Belgium, the car appeared in British motorcycle rider Guy Martin's series Speed with Guy Martin.

In Their Own Story

The garage at Silverstone hummed with a different energy this year. The FW40 sat on the jack, its white nose gleaming under the floodlights, framed by the bold blue and red Martini stripes. Sergio Pérez climbed in, helmet visor down, feeling the familiar vibration of the Mercedes power unit through the chassis. There was no roar of victory expected today, only the quiet determination to extract every millisecond from the setup. As the engines fired up for qualifying, the sound echoed off the grandstands—a reminder that even without trophies at the top, the heart of Williams still beat in the pit lane.

Reader's Guide

Williams started the season as the fourth quickest team ahead of arch rivals Force India. However, the team could not finish consistently in the points, and Lance Stroll finished only thrice in the first 7 races. This saw the team languishing in 6th in the Constructors' Championship behind Toro Rosso and 49 points behind Force India. At the Canadian Grand Prix, Stroll earned his first F1 points by finishing in ninth. Stroll earned his first podium by finishing third in the chaotic Azerbaijan Grand Prix. By doing so, Stroll became the second youngest driver to be on the podium, and the youngest driver on the podium in his debut season. This result brought Williams up to 5th in the Constructors' standings, behind Force India but ahead of Toro Rosso. At the Hungarian Grand Prix, Massa withdrew from the race weekend when he became ill after the third practice session on Saturday. Williams confirmed reserve driver and Sky Sports F1 pundit Paul di Resta would replace Massa for the rest of the weekend. It was his first appearance in an F1 car in a competitive session in 3 years, and was his first time driving the 2017 spec-car.

Did You Know?

• The FW40 was the first Williams F1 car featured with a shark fin since the FW32 in 2010.
• For the fourth year, Martini remained as the team's title sponsor. Alcohol laws meant Williams could not use their red Martini stripes in Abu Dhabi, instead using a blue livery.
• Petrobras sponsorship were dropped as the team now utilized Petronas fuels.