Williams Replaces Chief Designer
WilliamsF1 has released its chief designer Gavin Fisher and replaced him with former BAR chief engineer Jörg Zander. Fisher's contract has not been renewed and Zander is set to take on the post from the beginning of September.
Zander was responsible for overseeing the mechanical and transmission development of the BAR from 2002 until the spring of this year and before that worked on suspension development for Toyota when the Japanese manufacturer entered Formula 1.
This will be the first time Zander has overseen the design of an F1 chassis, which could be seen as a big risk for a team fighting to regain form and facing the switch to a Cosworth engine supply over the winter, but Williams is confident that the German can help turn its fortunes around.
Zander comes highly-rated from BAR.
“I am delighted that Jörg has decided to join Williams," said the team's director of engineering Patrick Head.
"This consolidates the process of restructuring WilliamsF1’s key technical posts.
"I believe we have set the foundation for one of the strongest technical teams in F1, and I have every confidence that Jörg will make a considerable contribution to our ambitions for next season and beyond.”
Williams has struggled to make its FW27 chassis competitive in 2005.
The car has only scored points in nine of this year's 14 races so far and its initial lack of pace was blamed on poor information from a new but incorrectly calibrated wind tunnel.
Despite an aggressive development policy, the team's best result of the season remains the Monaco Grand Prix where Nick Heidfeld and Mark Webber finished second and third, back in May.
The team's failure to maintain a consistent championship challenge was cited by BMW as a key reason for it deciding to end the pair's six-year partnership at the end of the season.
Most recently, the team suffered a spate of right-rear punctures in the Turkish Grand Prix, the reasons for which have not yet been disclosed.
Fisher, who joined Williams in 1989, has been the team's chief designer since 1997 and took overall responsibility for car design when chief aerodynamicist Geoff Willis joined BAR-Honda in 2002.
Fisher was also involved in a motocross accident last autumn, during a crucial period in the design of this year's car, and the team management revealed in a press conference recently that this had been a setback.
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