Williams will give development driver Susie Wolff a run in the FW35 at this week’s Young Driver Test.
Wolff previously drove the car in a straight-line aerodynamic test at Idiada in Spain.
“Most of my work is based in the simulator which is why this day is so important for me,” said Wolff. “It will give me a better understanding of what the car is like on track and how that correlates to the simulator which will also help further develop the work I can do there.”
Mercedes DTM driver Daniel Juncadella will also drive for the team during the test. Williams will switch to Mercedes engines next year.
“I had my first taste of Formula One as a prize for winning the 2012 Formula Three Euro Series title,” said Juncadella, “but it was a 2009 car so I therefore see this as being the real deal, having the chance to drive a current car in a full test.”
“I’ve spent a couple of days at the factory getting to know the team and I felt at home. Looking at the history of the team is also amazing and so to get this chance with Williams, a team so many great drivers have raced for, makes it even more special.”
Williams will also use the dispensation for race drivers to run to give Pastor Maldonado the opportunity to test Pirelli’s new tyres for the Hungarian Grand Prix.
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Image © Williams/LAT
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
15th July 2013, 12:00
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Juncadella in Formula 1 before long. He’s backed by the Astana Group, how have had an increased presence on the FW35 in recent months.
Juan Pablo Heidfeld (@juan-pablo-heidfeld-1)
15th July 2013, 12:07
Will be interesting to see if Susie Wolff is actually a decent driver and not just a favour to Toto
steeeeeve
15th July 2013, 12:10
You only need to go to wikipedia to find the answer.
Lucas Wilson (@full-throttle-f1)
15th July 2013, 12:28
Totos or Susies wiki? :-)
celeste (@celeste)
16th July 2013, 0:30
lolz
Libellula (@ladyf1fanatic)
15th July 2013, 12:13
Mercedes DTM driver running during the YDT for Williams hmm? I wonder if Mercedes could get some valuable data from them after all… Could be interesting!
Hamilfan (@hamilfan)
15th July 2013, 14:42
@ladyf1fanatic was thinking the same thing. :P
Libellula (@ladyf1fanatic)
16th July 2013, 14:31
They (and Daniel too) better make the best use of this test! It’s sad watching them being hampered during races. That car is mighty fast in qualifying!
I’ve had a good laugh when i read Conor Daly’s tweet today about ‘certain’ drivers being chosen for the YDT, he’s not happy at all… Money will never beat Talent.
Lee_H
15th July 2013, 12:47
I know Susie always gets a lot of stick but in reality I don’t think she’s not that bad, She did pretty well when she was running open wheel series & I know there were a lot of people in the F.Renault team she drove for who spoke very highly of her.
Also don’t forget she got selected as a BRDC McLaren Autosport award finalist, You don’t get selected for that unless you have talent. Think Paul Di Resta won it the year she was a part of it.
She injured her ankle early in her F3 career in 2005 which was a pitty as she had shown decent speed in the opening race.
Her time in DTM was poor but bare in mind that she was with a backmarker team running a 3-4 year old car.
matt90 (@matt90)
15th July 2013, 18:13
As far as I’m aware, she has never won a single race in a car.
Chris (@tophercheese21)
15th July 2013, 12:57
Good to see a woman back in the seat of a Formula 1 car.
I wish her nothing but the best.
I Love the Pope
15th July 2013, 15:32
No different than a pay driver with little to no talent. You can celebrate “diversity” for the sake of diversity. We mourn the loss of the “pinnacle” of motor sport.
celeste (@celeste)
16th July 2013, 0:40
Agree, this is tokenism and pure publicity
wsrgo (@wsrgo)
15th July 2013, 13:17
Good to see Juncadella getting a run. He impressed many with his Macau win two years ago, and although he was a bit inconsistent in F3 two years ago, he’s doing pretty well in his rookie DTM season. I do hope he gets a season in the GP2/FR3.5 level.
wsrgo (@wsrgo)
15th July 2013, 14:39
although he was a bit inconsistent in F3 two years ago
wsrgo (@wsrgo)
15th July 2013, 14:41
Egad..another mistake..the blockquote should be the text on the first para..
Merv (@)
15th July 2013, 13:47
Mercedes have been kicking and screaming trying to get back into the test and now their director of motorsports’ wife gets a run, ace.
Oskar (@oskar)
15th July 2013, 15:13
Congratulations Juncadella!
Williams with Mercedes engine can offer him a seat for the next year.
Joe Papp (@joepa)
15th July 2013, 18:26
On sporting merit, there is no justification for giving Susie Wolff a full Williams test, unless you count her having a vagina as relevant.
I Love the Pope
16th July 2013, 1:01
It seems like many do just that.
HxCas (@hxcas)
16th July 2013, 2:30
Putting Wolff in the car is no worse than Marussia running speedy or any team running a pay driver, probably better due to the simulator work she does. If motorsport and F1 in particular wants to attract more female drivers then actually placing a competent woman in an F1 car is a great way to start. And make no mistake, she definitely is capable, else Williams would not have allowed her to do any simulator work, let alone take up valuable test time.
Libellula (@ladyf1fanatic)
16th July 2013, 14:44
Men really feel threatened whenever Women try to do something people think they’d never be able to achieve… Do female feel like ‘crying’ because many recognized ‘Chiefs’ are male in the culinary art or in the fashion industry? Even now male are winning trophies when it comes to hair styles or lingerie apparel!…
Next time I’d be enjoying some pizza or a delicious paté de foie gras, I guess the maestro should be told to leave the kitchen because it’s not his natural ‘habitat’ LOL
We need more open-minded people in this patriarchate society!
Libellula (@ladyf1fanatic)
16th July 2013, 14:48
Read in my previous post…
– ‘Chefs’ not chiefs
wsrgo (@wsrgo)
16th July 2013, 17:13
@ladyf1fanatic I sympathise with your sentiments, but Susie doesn’t deserve this. She has not driven competitively in single-seaters in seven years, and her performances in DTM were uninspiring at best. She will be a flight risk, no doubts there.
I do not think women CANNOT race. I did not think Stirling Moss was correct in his presumption. There are women like Beitske Visser, Simona de Silvestro, even Natacha Gachnang etc. who deserve/deserved some sort of an F1 association. But Susie Wolff’s involvement is not just alarming, it might actually end up justifying Moss’s comments about female drivers, which we all know, was incredibly base and sexist.
Solo (@solo)
5th September 2013, 21:19
The reaction to this woman is fair but keep going with your feminist “men feel threaten ideas”. Strange on how they feel threaten and are the most exited about having a woman driver at the same time. It’s just that we want a real good driver not the wife of a stockholder.
Also i don’t see people going, “Is nice seeing males chefs” every time they see one like there gender somehow makes them preferable.