nicolachew

We've all heard that the Williams F1 team has reverted to using their former Renault engines and have sealed the deal with a two-year contract with the engine manufacturers, starting from the 2012 F1 season. As much as this is beneficial and looks increasingly brighter for their future in F1, this has taken a turn for the worse for Williams' current engine supplier, Cosworth. At the beginning of this season, Cosworth has seen one of its teams, Lotus, switch from the Cosworth engines to the Renault engines, and after this switch by the Williams' team, Cosworth is supplying engines to only 2 teams left on the grid - HRT and Virgin.

From what I've read from the professional F1 blogs, Williams and Renault had a former partnership which lasted until 1997, which ended a 5-year winning streak for the team. Do you think, by next season, once this renewed partnership has taken effect, that history could repeat itself? And that the Williams team can once again rise or make their way back to the start of the grid? Or have the times changed too much since then, with the improved technology and technical engineering, and with all these complicated FIA regulations and the continuous introduction of bans, that they will find it hard to rise back to the top? Or is it simply that the front-running teams Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren are too strong, fast and competitive to beat right at this moment?

I'm quite sure that the Williams-Renault team will be stronger somehow as a reunited former champion-winning team, but probably not strong enough to pose as a threat to the front-running teams. But I think that teams such as Mercedes and Renault will be quick to realise that they will have more competition coming from behind them, adding increasing pressure and competition during the F1 races next season.

It will sure be interesting!