In the 2006 World Championship
Sir Frank Williams signalled his intention to return to the top three of the Formula One World Championship here Friday at the launch of his team`s 2006 car, the FW28.
The team principal saw his outfit fail to win a race last year and slip to fifth in the constructors` World Championship.
After parting company with technical partners and engine suppliers BMW last year, he said he is as determined as ever to rekindle the glory days that saw the team win nine titles in 17 years.

"We have to aim for the top three," said Williams. "We don`t go racing to achieve anything less than that. Obviously, we`re not starting in as good a position as last year. You don`t get advantage by losing a works engine deal. But I don`t think we`ll be in as bad a position as everybody thinks. We`ll surprise a few."

Australian driver Mark Webber will again lead the driving line-up this year with GP2 champion Nico Rosberg, the son of former world champion Keke, partnering him.

Experienced Austrian driver Alex Wurz, 31, and former Jordan driver Indian Narain Karthikeyan, 29, will be the team`s reserve and test drivers.

Webber said he is determined not to become the Formula One equivalent of British tennis player Tim Henman. The Australian driver, blessed with talent but yet to win a race let alone a world title, doesn`t want his legacy to imitate Henman who despite numerous flirtations, has never managed to crack a Grand Slam.

He is expecting a more successful year in 2006 after finishing on the podium only once last year when he had problems handling the opinions of team principal Sir Frank Williams and director of engineering Patrick Head.

Webber, 29, gained a reputation last season for being unable to repeat his qualifying form in the races and finished tenth in the drivers` championship with 36 points. He is expecting a more successful year in 2006 after finishing on the podium only once last year.

Webber said: "I`m really looking forward to it and I really think this can be it (his best year to date). Wins will depend on the car but for sure if Frank says he thinks we`ll be running near the front then that will be the aim.

"Every year, there is pressure and I really want to win a race this year. If I don`t then all the guys will start calling me (tennis star) Tim Henman. I had some problems last year in the middle of the season because Frank had some concerns and I had concerns. But we sat down together, and with Patrick too, and sorted it all out. We had a good season`s end and I want to continue that momentum now."

His team-mate Rosberg is the son of the original `flying Finn` Keke Rosberg, who was world champion in 1982 when Williams also used Cosworth engines.

The younger Rosberg, 20, has a German passport and does not expect to repeat that achievement in his first season in Formula One but has high ambitions for his debut season.

"I`ve got a lot of belief in myself and in the team and I really hope I can have a good season," Rosberg said. "Of course there is pressure, but I think the fact that the team has lost BMW is actually a help for me because the expectation is not so high as it might have been from outside the team.

"Inside the team then, yes, there is a lot of pressure. Mark is a good driver and he won`t be easy to beat. But if we get reliability better near the start of the season then we can get some good finishes and maybe our goals for the season can move up."

Webber, too, is expecting to be pushed hard by Rosberg, but thinks that will help, rather than hinder, him. "I think Nico is a brilliant signing," he added. "He`ll certainly give me a hard time, but I have no complaints about that. It`s always good to have a strong team-mate because it gives you a better yardstick to measure your performance against."

The new car will run for the first time at Valencia, in Spain, on Tuesday.

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