The FW30 was unveiled to the public on 21 January 2008 at the Circuit de Valencia, Spain, and made its race debut at the Australian Grand Prix and was driven by Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima.

[4] In common with all contemporary Formula One designs, the FW30's basic architecture is built around a carbon fibre, aramid and honeycomb composite material monocoque.

As with the McLaren design the Williams wing's upper element features a central section that is raised up and passes over the tip of the car's, slightly lower, nose cone.

The bridge element gained two small airflow "fences" that allowed the Williams aerodynamic team to extend the depth of the wing profile.

[7] The bumps expected at the new Marina Bay Street Circuit, used for the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, prompted Williams to tweak the design of the front wing yet again.

[9] Small sidepod winglets were significantly altered prior to the 2008 French Grand Prix, providing twin turning vanes to better control airflow over the rear of the car.

[12] Sporting only a single element, with its outer edges turned upward, the rear wing was designed to reduce drag on Monza's long, fast straights, while still providing sufficient downforce during cornering.

For the Monaco Grand Prix, a race that traditionally demands a high-downforce set-up, Williams experimented with a "shark fin" engine cover, similar to that run by Renault and Red Bull.

One major change within the engine package is due to the enforcement of a standardised, FIA-approved ECU,[5] manufactured by McLaren Electronic Systems and distributed under the Microsoft brand.

Williams were looking set to clinch their first victory since the 2004 Brazilian Grand Prix but Rosberg just could not overtake another shock podium finisher and winner Fernando Alonso.