The Williams FW38 is a Formula One racing car designed by Williams to compete in the 2016 Formula One season. The car was driven by Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas.
During qualifying for the 2016 European Grand Prix, an FW38 driven by Bottas set the highest ever recorded speed of a Formula One car during an official session, at ..
During the 2016 Mexican Grand Prix, an FW38, again driven by Bottas, set the second highest ever recorded speed of a Formula One car during a race, at .
History
The car proved to be competitive in the early stages of the championship, with Massa and Bottas securing points finishes for the first half of the season. However, lack of upgrades on the car meant that the team could not keep up with other teams during the later stages, such as Ferrari, Force India, and Red Bull Racing, and eventually lost 4th place in the constructors' championship to Force India.
Radical rear wing On 17 May, two days after the Spanish Grand Prix, Williams tested a radical new rear wing design with a winglets on the side; similar to the cars from 1983-1984. The car was test driven by Alex Lynn.
Sponsorship and livery For the third year, Williams continued to use the Martini livery of their title sponsor. Alcohol laws meant Williams could not use their red Martini stripes in Abu Dhabi, instead using a blue livery.
At the Brazilian Grand Prix, Massa's car had his name placed on the engine cover and rear wing in place of the Martini logos, and text "Obrigado" (Portuguese for "thank you").
Complete Formula One results (key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant Engine Tyres Drivers Grands Prix Points AUS BHR CHN RUS ESP MON CAN EUR AUT GBR HUN GER BEL ITA SIN MAL JPN USA MEX BRA ABU WilliamsMartini Racing MercedesPU106CHybrid Felipe Massa 5 8 6 5 8 10 Ret 10 20 11 18 Ret 10 9 12 13 9 7 9 Ret 9 138 5th Valtteri Bottas 8 9 10 4 5 12 3 6 9 14 9 9 8 6 Ret 5 10 16 8 11 Ret Driver failed to finish the race but was classified as they had completed greater than 90% of the race distance.
References
External links
Details about the car from Williams Martini Racing