Claire Williams adamant team must finish fourth

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Upstaged by Force India in Sunday's Belgian GP, Williams has now lost fourth place in the constructors standings, a state of affairs which deputy team principal Claire Williams will not accept.

Williams' relative performance has obviously regressed since the summer started while Force India has performed fairly consistently, and competitively.

Currently Williams appears to have its work cut out for it to recoup some momentum and fourth place in the championship, but Williams says that is the priority, both on the sporting and financial front.

"We've got some issues at the moment with tyre management and aero etc,..." she told ESPN.

"I am worried because losing fourth place in the championship means losing quite a lot of dollars as well in your prize money income, so it's not something that we can allow to happen and we are going to have to work really hard if we are going to hold them off.

"I know that Force India would love nothing more than to take fourth place and that for us would be extremely disappointing."

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Worried of the financial impact losing a spot in the standings implies, Williams admits the team needs to get back on track while acknowledging Force India's threat.

"I think because you've got the three teams at the top that are taking the top six positions, Williams and Force India and we are scrapping around for one, two, three points and maybe the odd occasion of being bumped up if there's a reliability issue or whatever.

"So [the battle with Force India] that really does worry me. That's not what I wanted and that's a result of some very disappointing races where we should have capitalised on circuits that suited our car, but we made a number of mistakes."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.