Correspondent disappointed with 2016 Williams

Feb.22 (GMM) Livio Oricchio, a leading F1 correspondent, has admitted to some disappointment at the sight of Williams' new car for 2016.

While Ferrari is taking an obviously bold step in its bid to beat Mercedes this year with an innovative car, Williams' FW38 looks almost identical to its predecessor.

That is despite the fact driver Valtteri Bottas, who almost completed a switch to Ferrari for 2016, is pushing the British team for race wins this year.

"Unlike the impression left by the new Ferrari," Oricchio wrote in Globo Esporte, "it seems the new Williams is only an evolution of the car used by Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas in the last two seasons.

"And the FW37 was already showing clear signs in the second half of last year of having reached the limit of its development," he added.

Deputy team boss Claire Williams, however, has said the car will be substantially updated before Melbourne.

And at the same time, Mercedes has released photos of its title-defending 2016 car that - like the Williams - also seems very similar to the old car.

But technical boss Paddy Lowe explained: "While the car may look very similar to its predecessor from the outside, underneath there are quite a lot of mini-revolutions that make up an overall evolution for the new season."

Images of the new Red Bull were also released early on Monday ahead of its Barcelona debut, cementing the trend for cars that are visibly just evolutions of their predecessors.

"With the stable regulations we have at the moment," designer Adrian Newey said, "it's difficult to find any major new areas to exploit."