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batteries to the limit and extract the most performance from them. “In turn, it provided us with an accelerated platform to learn from and then apply to other aspects of the engineering business too.” Testing is one thing, but the proof of success has come from an incredible track record that includes only two battery-related stoppages in three-anda-half years of racing; both of which emanated from loose connectors on bumpy tracks and all the more impressive given that each driver has two cars per race. Williams Advanced Engineering’s technical partnership with the Panasonic Jaguar Racing team in Formula E mirrors the spread of success that has largely driven the Company’s evolution over the past seven years, and is further epitomised by a similar partnership with Porsche and its Le Mans Prototype (LMP1) programme. Wilson adds: “Porsche had three backto-back Le Mans wins and many of our people who work in F1 typically, were able to revel in that success by virtue of their helping Porsche in our wind tunnel facilities. So, from a human satisfaction perspective, the same people that would love to see Williams F1 return to former glories, are still cheering on involvement elsewhere. Whether it’s
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the Panasonic Jaguar Racing Formula E team, three championships in a hugely competitive world endurance championship or in Formula E, where all the cars are powered by batteries made by our team that have not had an on-track failure in 24 consecutive races, our people are still delivering racing successes.”
So much affection
Essentially, as it has always done, achievement comes down to facing challenges head-on and in leveraging an intrinsic will to solve the biggest challenges in contemporary engineering. It’s a differentiator that not only maintains Williams’ status as a
EME leading operator, but that continues to endear the business to UK as a whole. Wilson concludes: “Williams has a great name, and a lot of integrity and ‘can-do’ that comes with it. It amazes me that to this day, after more than 40 years in business, not a bad word is said about the name no matter what is happening on the track at any particular time. “It’s been a hugely successful company over the years but never in an arrogant way. Always hard-fought, and that’s why there is still so much affection for Williams across all levels. And for us, it’s about instilling this tradition into the innovative solutions with which we continue to attract customers.
Inside a Williams wind tunnel
“Our approach facilitates longstanding relationships, while our commitment to engineering is encapsulated in wanting to solve the biggest challenges out there, in a good, efficient, robust way. And that’s what we’ll continue to strive towards in the future. “We’re never where we want to be, because that would mean stopping. We’re doing well, but we’ll never believe that we’ve reached our destination. There’s still more to do, in our fields there always will be. That’s what makes our business so fascinating.”
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