Williams to design F2 car

[TheStig]

Williams are to design the new Formula Two car to be used when the series makes its return next year.

Jonathan Palmer, who won the penultimate F2 championship in 1983, has won the tender to supply chassis and engines via his company, MotorSport Vision (MSV).

MSV have commissioned Williams to design a car that will be built to Formula One level safety standards and will be powered by a 1.8-litre Audi engine.

The first prototype is scheduled to makes its test debut in November, with the 16-race, eight-event series to begin next May.

Formula Two was revived in June by FIA president Max Mosley as a cheaper alternative to F1's existing feeder series, GP2.

The series is to have fixed annual race budgets of no more than 250,000 euros (£205,000) per driver - a figure rather less than those required to be competitive in either GP2 or even Formula Three.

Mosley said: "The objective is to make top-level international single-seater racing available to drivers who at present have difficulty in raising enough money to demonstrate their talent.

"Formula One, and other major championships, will benefit by being able to draw on a far larger pool of drivers, while competitors from countries which do not yet have an established motor-racing structure will find it easier to make progress.

"We hope to reveal talent that might otherwise never have emerged, and we look forward to seeing drivers coming into Formula One with super licences gained in Formula Two."

Palmer's MSV organisation currently own and operate five circuits in the UK and have run the Formula Palmer Audi racing championship for the last 11 years.

MSV is also the commercial and organisational rights holder for the British Superbike Championship.

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12433_4151014,00.html

TheStig

[FW14B]

Already seem some people speculate it could lead to a Williams-Audi partnership in F1 which, totally unbiased, I would say would be quite tasty    Still, it is good news for Williams as the team can surely design a car quite easily and make a fair amount of money from the FIA for it. 

[Steven Roy]

It sounds to me like JP could end up with a set of new chassis for Formula Palmer Audi.  FPA has push to pass buttons linked to the turbo so we can look forward to identify the best you button pushers rathen than the best young drivers

[John S]

We are already there with the video game generation of drivers with auto paddle shift gears and everything else that drivers can control on the steering wheel.

All we need are hand operated brakes and cruise control to make it truly armchair racing. 

[Chameleon]

So is this the way things are going in the future?  It used to be that successful F2 constructors moved up to F1...