I think their problems go beyond the engineering decisions. Williams is not bold enough. It's very hard to succeed in F1 if you always play it safe. They're pinching pennies. They hire pay drivers. They really care about the bottom line at the end of fiscal year. In their worst years, sometimes they're not even in red. If the 2012 Williams car was fast, just imagine what someone like Raikonnen could have done with it. Maldonado's win in Spain 2011 now is starting to look almost as random as J.R. Hildebrand's 2nd place finish in 2011 Indy 500.

Now look at the opposite end of spectrum, the Lotus F1. Lotus F1 is a team with similar resources. It seems like in the last two years Lotus F1 has gone completely broke. They owned money to Renault for engines, they owned money for Kimi's 2012 contract(s), they owned money to their sponsor Lotus Cars, who threatened to take over team assets if they don't repay on time. And yet, boy have they delivered! The comeback of Lotus (the former Renault/Benetton/whatever) was the most exciting thing to watch in the last couple of years. Easily my favorite team right now.