FW30 turns a wheel for first time in Spain.

The new Williams FW30 has turned a wheel for the first time after undertaking a shakedown at Valencia ahead of the latest Formula 1 group test this week at the Spanish circuit.

Test driver Nico Hulkenberg completed the first running with the car before race drivers Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima get the chance to give their first assessments of the 2008 challenger, with technical director Sam Michael confident that it will be an improvement on the FW29 campaigned during 2007.

"With four years of regulation stability, we have a good basis to be progressive about the development of this season's car," he said. "With a good reliability record last year, we have been able to build on this quality while also turning some of our attention to clear performance objectives."

The FW30 retains the general structural and layout philosophy of the FW29, featuring a zero keel and dual pillar rear wing, although notable visual changes include a three plane front wing, increased sidepod top cooling louvres in view of the altered orientation of the water radiators, the sidepod and side impact sails and increased cockpit sides for compliance with the new driver safety requirements.

"Our focus has been on performance as well as refining our packaging and weight distribution," Michael continued. "We are designing a tidier car with a higher standard of build quality. The FW30 should represent a good step forward when all of the many small areas of attention and improvement are brought together in the overall package."

For the roll-out, the car is running in the second of a series of winter testing liveries, with the name of the 519-strong Williams workforce being carried on the FW30-01 this week.