Williams believes aerodynamic upgrades plus recent operational success, combined with circuits that should suit its 2014 Formula 1 car, should help carry the fight to Ferrari in the world championship.
Williams is locked in a close battle with the Scuderia for third in this year's F1 constructors' title race.
Alonso: Ferrari will beat Williams
The British team holds a nine-point edge following the recent Singapore Grand Prix, where Williams finished fifth with Felipe Massa on the sort of twisty street circuit that has not suited the FW36 this season.
Williams has an aerodynamic update scheduled for this weekend's Japanese GP at Suzuka, and performance chief Rob Smedley reckons this, coupled to his team's improving form on the operational side and a track layout that should better suit its car, is reason for optimism.
"We're really, really getting on top of tyre management," Smedley explained.
"I think the tyre management in Singapore helped us immensely.
"You saw a great example of that with Felipe, and Valtteri [Bottas] - even with a broken car - was able to manage tyres.
"The way we were able to extract probably above the car performance in qualifying, via the tyre management we do, personally, I'm immensely pleased with all the science and the experience and the engineering that we put in there.
"Going to Japan that stands us in really good stead.
"In Russia I think the [tyre] compounds are reasonably conservative; I think that will stand us in really good stead.
"We're also going to tracks now that have much bigger power effect, much bigger drag sensitivity, so we're really, really optimistic."
SUZUKA 'BIG TEST' FOR FERRARI
Ferrari finished fourth in Singapore with Fernando Alonso, who qualified closer to the dominant Mercedes of Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton than at any other race this year.
The Spaniard said this weekend's Suzuka race would be a "good test" of whether Ferrari's improved form can be sustained for the championship run-in.
"Hopefully we can continue like this," Alonso said.
"Obviously it's just a hope and we need a normal circuit.
"Suzuka will be a good test for us to see if we are in a good form or not.
"We'll see. We would like to keep improving the car and get closer to the leaders."
A limit on testing for next season will be the first of a wave of cost-cutting measures to be introduced for the LMP1 category in the World Endurance Championship.
A new working group of P1 teams has agreed to a limit of 50 car days for next year and is considering further means to control budgets for future seasons.
Vincent Beaumesnil, sporting manager of WEC promoter and co-organiser the Automobile Club de l'Ouest, told AUTOSPORT: "We have agreed on 50 car days maximum; if you test two cars on one day, that is two car days.
"We believe we have found a figure that is reasonable considering that we are at the beginning of a new era with new technology, but it is likely that we will go further in the future."
It is understood that the limit for new manufacturers coming into the WEC, which means Nissan, will have an allocation of 60 car days.
Manufacturers will be allowed only a certain number of exclusive tests: above that limit, believed to be 30 days, they must be willing to share their tests with other manufacturers and teams.
Beaumesnil could not go into detail on cost-cutting measures planned for 2016 and beyond.
"We are around the table and have started a very interesting process; we are establishing many documents to set out the budget for LMP1 and to define any areas in which we can save costs.
"What is important is that we assess the global impact of any decision: for example, if you save money on testing, how much more will you spend on simulation?"
TOYOTA: COST EXPLOSION DANGER
Toyota is supportive of the drive to reduce costs in P1.
"We welcome this initiative from the ACO and the FIA, because we feel that the series in danger of a cost explosion and from our side we cannot afford a cost explosion," said Toyota Motorsport GmbH technical director Pascal Vasselon.
Toyota, Paul Ricard WEC test March 2014
"If the series wants to keep all the manufacturers involved at the moment and maintain a healthy series, we need to make sure that we control costs."
There will also be a limit on testing in LMP2, which is understood to be set at 15 car days, but there will be no limit on testing for the factories in GTE.
Aston Martin Racing boss John Gaw explained that none of the current manufacturers were undertaking extensive testing programmes so a limit would have little impact on costs.
"I'm not sure that a limit on testing is so applicable in a Balance of Performance formula, because the BoP limits development anyway," he said.
The Yorkshire Rally will be included on the 2015 European Rally Championship calendar.
The Harrogate-based October event will be joined on the 10-round schedule by the Circuit of Ireland.
While series officials insist the deal is not completed yet, the rally appears on a draft calendar that has been seen by AUTOSPORT.
The Yorkshire Rally will be mainland Britain's first ERC round under the Eurosport regime.
Eurosport's motorsport development director Francois Ribeiro said: "We expect the calendar for next year in a couple of days or maybe next week and while there is no final confirmation for Yorkshire yet, it is looking strong.
"With the Circuit of Ireland as well, it is looking very nice for the UK to have two from 10 rounds."
Yorkshire Rally organiser Colin Heppenstall told AUTOSPORT: "The finances aren't finalised yet, but we are working towards the European Rally Championship."
Yorkshire would run as a two-day event using the Dalby forest complex, once a mainstay of Britain's round of the World Rally Championship.
The current date on the provisional calendar is two weeks before Rally GB.
The Circuit of Ireland is set to remain in its Easter weekend slot for next season.
NASCAR Sprint Cup title contender Joey Logano has extended his contract with Team Penske.
Although the team did not release precise details of the new deal, it was described as a "multi-year" agreement.
"I am fortunate and excited to be a part of Team Penske for the foreseeable future," said Logano, who sealed his place in the next stage of the 2014 Chase by winning at New Hampshire Motor Speedway last weekend.
"Mr Penske gives us everything we need to keep our eye on the prize and compete for wins and championships.
"I think that is clear by the number of wins we have across the board this year."
Logano joined Penske at the start of last season, having begun his Cup career with Joe Gibbs Racing.
The 24-year-old has now won four Cup races in 2014 and is second behind team-mate Brad Keselowski in the Chase standings heading into the next cut-off event at Dover this weekend.
Team boss Roger Penske said: "Joey Logano has been everything we hoped he would be, both as a driver and as a representative of our organisation and for our partners.
"He continues to put points on the board for us and the continuity and chemistry he has developed within the team has been terrific.
"We believe he can be a leader and championship-level driver for Team Penske for years to come."1
The idea of allowing all-professional LMP2 line-ups in the World Endurance Championship has been shelved for next season.
Series promoter Automobile Club de l'Ouest revealed in April that it was undertaking a review of the category as a result of reduced entries in 2014 and that all-pro line-ups were on the agenda.
This was known to be favoured by some within the ACO, but after consultation with the teams, it has now opted to maintain the rule that demands at least one driver rated as silver or lower in each line-up for next season.
ACO sporting manager Vincent Beaumesnil said: "We proposed this to the sporting working group, but it was considered that because we are in a period of economic instability, it would have been a risk to change even if the idea is good.
"We will keep the same rules for at least one more year, but we do not know what we will do in the future."
A move to fully-professional line-ups in the WEC would not have been mirrored in the European Le Mans Series.
That would have meant a separate pro-am class for P2 cars at the Le Mans 24 Hours.
"At the very least we would have had a specific trophy for the best pro-am car," explained Beaumesnil.
The ACO is continuing to work on ways to make LMP2 more attractive after a downturn in entries for this season that was followed by the withdrawal of the Delta/ADR-run Millennium squad and the Strakka team, which is now due to give its new Strakka Dome S103 a debut in the WEC finale at Interlagos in November.
The 2015 World Rally Championship format will finally be agreed via a specially-convened WRC Commission meeting and FIA World Motor Sport Council e-vote next month.
Controversial changes to the Powerstage system were expected to be ratified by the WMSC in Beijing earlier this month, but despite getting unanimous WRC Commission approval, the scheme was unanimously rejected by the FIA's rule-making body.
ANALYSIS: WRC reacts to revamp snub
The WMSC asked for a review of the proposal, which is aimed at reducing the time gaps between crews to close up competition and improve the chances of position change on the final stage.
The WRC Commission - led by FIA president Jean Todt - will meet in Geneva on October 16, with a WMSC decision expected quickly afterwards.
FIA rally director Jarmo Mahonen said: "It was important to reconvene the WRC Commission as soon as possible, in order that we have the opportunity to re-discuss our proposals for the future.
"There will be an [WMSC] e-vote as soon as possible after the meeting."
OPINION: Has the WRC missed an opportunity?
WRC Promoter's Oliver Ciesla remains convinced that the radical format change will still go ahead.
"I believe this is the right step for the WRC to move forward and achieve the objective of reaching more people," he said.
"I have no indication that we should not be optimistic."
