The Williams FW28 was the car with which the Williams team competed in the

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

season. The drivers were Mark Webber and rookie

Nico Rosberg Nico Erik Rosberg (born 27 June 1985) is a German-Finnish former professional racing driver. He competed in Formula One from 2006 to 2016, winning the World Drivers' Championship in with Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport. The only child of Fi ...

, the reigning

GP2 Series The GP2 Series was a form of open wheel motor racing introduced in 2005 following the discontinuation of the long-term Formula One feeder series, Formula 3000. The GP2 format was conceived by Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, while Eccles ...

champion. Webber was in his second year with the team, and teammate Nico Rosberg carried a hint of nostalgia, as Nico's father Keke had won the F1 championship in a Cosworth-engined Williams. However, 2006 was very disappointing for the team. The car was dogged by a handling problem which affected the cars on the entry to corners. Despite the effectiveness of the Cosworth engine, the Bridgestone tyres and the two drivers, the FW28 could only display brief flashes of promise. Too often this promise was compromised by poor reliability - an embarrassment for a team that prided itself on engineering excellence. The car seemed competitive at the beginning of the year when the cars scored a double points finish with Rosberg setting the

fastest lap In motorsport, the fastest lap is the quickest lap run during a race. Some racing series, like Formula One, Formula 2 and Formula E award championship points for a driver or team that set the fastest lap. In Grand Prix motorcycle racing no point ...

of the race on his F1 début at the Bahrain Grand Prix. An excellent second-row qualifying performance at Sepang was wasted when both cars suffered engine failures, and the season went downhill from there. Exceptions were Australia and

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, both races where Webber looked a contender for at least a podium finish until retiring on both occasions with hydraulics failure and an exhaust fire respectively. A note of significance for Webber and Williams came on lap 21 of the

2006 Australian Grand Prix The 2006 Australian Grand Prix (officially the 2006 Formula 1 Foster's Australian Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit in Albert Park, Melbourne on 2 April 2006. The 57-lap race was the 22nd Australia ...

. By leading the lap Webber became the first Australian to have led his home grand prix since the last non-championship AGP was held in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

. Williams finished eighth in the Constructors' Championship - the team's lowest finish since its inaugural season in .

Livery

Williams went into the 2006 season with renewed major sponsorships such as Allianz,

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, FedEx,

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, ORIS,

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, Petrobras and

Castrol Castrol is a British oil company that markets industrial and automotive lubricants, offering a wide range of oil, greases and similar products for most lubrication applications. The name ''Castrol'' was originally just the brand name for co ...

. Williams received new sponsorship such as Mobilecast,

Tata Group The Tata Group () is an Indian multinational conglomerate headquartered in Mumbai. Established in 1868, it is India's largest conglomerate, with products and services in over 150 countries, and operations in 100 countries across six continents ...

and discontinued sponsorships are Hewlett & Packard.

FW28B

The Williams FW28B is an interim version of the FW28 the team used to prepare for the 2007 season. After an obviously disappointing 2006, Williams decided to opt for Toyota engines for 2007 and therefore built the FW28B. The car is similar to the FW28 in all aspects except for being powered by Toyota's 2006 engine, the RVX-06. During winter practice, the team also experimented with new front wings and other aerodynamic parts which helped the development of their new car FW29 car.

Gallery

Image:Mark Webber 2006.jpg, Mark Webber at the 2006 French Grand Prix. Image:Nico Rosberg Canada 2006.jpg,

at the

2006 Canadian Grand Prix The 2006 Canadian Grand Prix (officially the Formula 1 Grand Prix du Canada 2006) was a Formula One motor race held on 25 June 2006 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The 70-lap race was the ninth round of the 20 ...

. Image:Alex Wurz Canada 2006.jpg, Test driver

Alexander Wurz Alexander Georg Wurz (born 15 February 1974) is an Austrian former professional racing driver, driver training expert and businessman. He competed in Formula One from until , and is also a two-time winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours. He is current ...

at the

Complete Formula One results

( key) (results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

References

External links

{{F1 cars 2006 Williams Formula One cars 2006 Formula One season cars