Williams FW23
Ralf Schumacher in the FW23 at the Grand Prix of Canada 2001
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The Williams FW23 was the Formula 1 racing car of Williams for the Formula 1 season 2001. The engine came from a year earlier to Formula 1 the boarded engine suppliers BMW. The tires introduced for the first time the French tire manufacturer Michelin.
As part of the jointly developed the overall concept Williams built the chassis, gearbox and chassis, BMW engine and the electronic controller.
The aerodynamically optimized chassis is made of a composite material of carbon and aramid -reinforced epoxy resin. An outer skin of Kevlar, a high-strength para-aramid fiber, the stability increases further. Although lightweight, the weight of the car including the driver could not be less than 600 kg due to the regulations.
The successor of the car for the 2002 season was the Williams FW24.
WilliamsF1 BMW FW23 -05, rear view
Paint and sponsorship
The basic colors of the FW23 were white to the monocoque and the engine cover and blue at the side box, and the front and rear wings. Besides the main sponsor Compaq there were also sponsors of the Alliance sticker, Castrol, Nortel Networks, WorldCom, Petrobras, Reuters and Veltins.
Driver
As a driver for the FW23, the choice fell again to Ralf Schumacher (No. 5 ) and to the new starting in Formula 1, Juan Pablo Montoya (No. 6), who replaced Jenson Button. Test and reserve driver Marc Gene was.
2001 season
In the second year with BMW Williams was able to match the speed of the competition. The engine - the newly developed 10 - cylinder V- engine BMW P80 - was one of the strongest in the whole field. With the BMW WilliamsF1 W23 -05 won Ralf Schumacher 2001 Wins the Grand Prix of San Marino, the Canadian Grand Prix and the Grand Prix of Germany as well as a second place finish at the Grand Prix of France. The Formula 1 rookie Juan Pablo Montoya won the Italian Grand Prix. However, There were problems with the reliability, so that at the end of the season had a failure rate of more than 50 %. In the Constructors' Championship was reached, as it did last year in third place.