F1 success needs cash and technology

Good luck to Williams in its attempt to get back into pole position following its partnership deal with Qinetiq.

As is clear from your article, Qinetiq is a clever company. But I think that it’s going to take a bit more than that to turn around what the team itself admits is a long run without championship success.

It’s a scenario that will be familiar to followers of another high profile sport — football. What counts is big investment in the team, and in the case of Formula 1 that needs to be very big indeed.

Clever stuff from Qinetiq will get Williams so far, but in the end money talks the loudest.

J Rossington London N5

The winning formula for Williams would come if Qinetiq could build a perfect driving robot. It would never miss a corner, never get tired and be programmed to win at all costs.

Ferrari has one of those but he’s in need of a bit of an upgrade at the moment. Time for a new model Schumacher I think.

J Key Bolton, Lancs

Sorry if I sound cynical, but it seems to me that Qinetiq has a lot more to gain than Williams from the arrangement outlined in your article ‘Dream Team’.

I’m sure there will be technical benefits for Williams, but enough to tip the scales in the drivers/constructors championship? I doubt it.

Qinetiq, on the other hand, gets its own technical testing ground and the sort of publicity that comes through being associated with the Grand Prix circus (via magazines such as The Engineer).

It also gets the feelgood factor of being involved in a high-profile sport, which will no doubt go down a treat with the company’s staff. If Williams does shoot back up the rankings, this will be the best piece of marketing Qinetiq could have wished for. If it doesn’t, well nobody’s going to blame them.

Having said all that I wish Williams all the best — we need more winners in this country and if Qinetiq can help that process then fair play.

Steve Morris Portsmouth Hants

Does Sir Frank Williams have a thing about companies with big Qs in their name? Your picture of him in last week’s feature would suggest so, as he is pictured next to a car adorned not with Qinetiq, but NiQuitin, the stop-smoking aid.

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Thanks to the several eagle-eyed readers who spotted the co-incidental near-anagram. The picture of Sir Frank was a library image from an earlier sponsorship deal with NiQuitin — Editor.