Williams Racing
Williams Racing
Engines: (1977 – 2020)
Drivers’ Champions (for Williams):
WILLIAMS Formula One Team
Frank Williams’ determination to fight against the vicissitudes of fame was never more clearly illustrated than by the way he returned after the heavy car crash in 1986. The incident on the Paul Ricard Circuit in France left him confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. The incident which almost took his life did not break his faith. He returned to the circuit and led the Williams Grand Prix in the only way he knew……………
Frank Williams always had financial difficulties to fight, and despite some good Formula 3 results, especially in Scandinavia, he began to realize his real talent lay in organising and team management. At that time he moved to a flat in Pinner Road, Harrow, on the outskirts of London.
He shared this flat along with a dozen other motor sport enthusiasts. As the flat was crowded, Frank had to sleep on the couch, but nevertheless he established a spare parts business from here, which was the start of Williams Grand Prix Engineering……..
In 1979 Jones continued to be the team leader, and the second car driver was Clay Regazzoni. The team really entered Formula One when at the British Grand Prix in 1979, after Jones disappointingly missed the lead, Regazzoni won the race and celebrated the first victory for Frank Williams. The winning streak continued as Jones won four of the next six races to the end of the season…….
Williams established itself as a winning team in the 80s, when beat a matchless to the other teams’ record of four wins in the Constructors’ Championships of 1980, 1981, 1986 and 1987……….
In 1986 Williams welcomed the former Brazilian World Champion Nelson Piquet to Didkot, thus making a successful replacement for Keke Rosberg. Piquet quickly adapted to the FW11 and won in his debut race in Brazil. The team won nine Grand Prix races in 1986 (five by Mansell and four by Piquet) and secured the prestigious Constructors’ title………………
When Mansell became second in Hungary, he took first in the Drivers’ Championship and became the second British driver to do so since James Hunt in 1976. In Belgium Williams and Renault took the Constructors’ title, the first ever for Renault, and as a finishing touch of this glorious season Patrese took the second after Mansell in the Drivers’ Championship. Initially, the car was equipped with the RS3C engine, but the RS4 was used at the end of the season…………….
The team tested various modifications of the FW17 during the winter months and on 12th February, 1996 the Williams Renault FW18 was officially presented to the world in Estoril…………………………..
The absolute CART champion Alex Zanardi, as well as Ralf Schumacher, were announced as Williams 1999 drivers. Jacques Villeneuve was to move to the new BAR team whilst Heinz-Harald had joined the Jordan team. Zanardi was making a return to Formula One after three successful years across the Atlantic driving for the Target Chip Ganassi Racing team. He would be the teams’ second ‘transatlantic’ champion – the first being Jacques Villeneuve………………
2001 Season Engine (history)
2001 Season Car (history)
2001 Season Team (history)