It was a brave move, one that would either end in tears of joy or pain.

In an age when most F1 cars would be difficult to tell apart - especially if stripped down to bare carbon fibre - the WilliamsF1 BMW FW26 looked different. Sadly it didn't work.

If it had, then various other cars would have sprouted 'hammerhead' noses, before mid-season, just as teams have frequently copied pace-setters in the past.

Instead, the radical FW26 failed, and the admission that the car will run a 'traditional' nose in this weekend's Hungarian GP was buried within the team's preview of the thirteenth round of the world championship.

Yet for technical director Sam Michael, this isn't a time for reflecting on what might have been and saying "if only", it's a time to look ahead to the challenge of 2005.

"At the moment we're probably six or seven tenths of a second a lap behind Ferrari," the Australian told the Sydney Morning Herald. "We should be in a position next year where we correct the faults that we've made on this year's car.

"There's probably four major areas of the car that have affected its performance this year, where we've made mistakes on design direction," he admitted. "There's aerodynamic, mechanical and other electronic changes that we made that were incorrect.

"The thing that gives us a lot more confidence for next year is we finished 2003 with a car that was the fastest," he said. "However, we made these mistakes and went in the wrong direction.

Looking ahead, Michael is confident: "We can see clear areas where we've made mistakes," he continued, "and we're in the process of correcting those mistakes and they'll be fixed for the FW27.

"We have every intention that the FW27 will come out of the box and be fast straight away but if not then we've got a lot of procedures in place to make sure we can turn it into a car that can win."

As the Grove outfit attempts to move back up the grid and recreate the 'golden era' of the early nineties, much will depend on the team's new wind-tunnel.

"That will make a serious contribution to the car during the year," he admitted. "Once you've got to Melbourne and you've got your position and you know roughly where you are the race becomes, how fast can you develop. That is how much weight can you take off the car and how much downforce can you bring to the car during the force of the season. The thing that helps you do that the most is the wind tunnel program."