The WilliamsF1 Story
Just prior to the start of the 1986 season, the team
was dealt a severe blow. While leaving a pre-season
test at the Paul Ricard circuit in France, Team
Principal Frank Williams’ car left the road and
overturned. It was an accident that left him
confined to a wheelchair and very nearly claimed his
life but, instead of bemoaning his fate, he fought his
way back to lead the company. The year also saw the
appointment of the former World Champion,
Brazilian Nelson Piquet, a worthy replacement for
Keke Rosberg. He quickly adapted to the FW11 and
took the new car to victory in the debut race in
Brazil. The team went on to win nine Grand Prix in
1986 and secured the prestigious Constructors’ World
Championship for the third time.
Success continued in 1987 with the team winning nine races again with the modified FW11. This time
they made sure of not only the Constructors’ but also the Drivers’ Championship, with Piquet taking
his third title and Mansell runner-up for the second consecutive year.
After the experience of the Honda years, and the increasing competitiveness and cost of F1, it
became apparent that the only route to success relied on securing the backing from a major motor
manufacturer. This ambition was realised in July 1988 when the team signed a three-year deal with
Renault for the supply of their new V10 engines.
Technical Director, Patrick Head designed the FW13 chassis to house the new Renault engine and
Belgian driver, Thierry Boutsen, joined the team in 1989, replacing Nigel Mansell and partnering
Riccardo Patrese.
This proved a popular and successful choice, and at Canada in very wet conditions Boutsen scored his
maiden Grand Prix win and also the first for the new partnership. Boutsen also went on to notch up
his second victory at the final race of the year in Adelaide, again in atrocious weather conditions. It
was also a great year for Patrese. He appeared on the podium six times, led several races, finished
third in the Drivers’ World Championship and helped the team to runner-up place in the Constructors’
World Championship.
1990 got off to a good start with Boutsen taking his FW13B to third in Phoenix. At the third race of
the year, the San Marino Grand Prix, there was a fairytale end to the weekend when Patrese won his
third race; having been starved of GP success for over seven years. Boutsen’s turn came in Hungary
where he claimed his first ever pole position and went on to win an impressive flag to flag victory.
These two wins and several other podiums meant the team concluded the season in fourth place in
the Constructors’ World Championship.
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The WilliamsF1 Story
WilliamsF1 (formerly Williams Grands Prix
Engineering) was founded in 1977 by Frank Williams
and Patrick Head. With a staff of only 17, they set
about the business of designing race cars to contest
the FIA Formula One Championship.
By the start of the 1978 season, the first Patrick
Head-designed Formula One car, the FW06, broke
cover, and Frank Williams had secured sufficient
sponsorship to tempt the Australian driver, Alan
Jones, to join the team. The essential combination of
a rigorous car design, a talented driver and sufficient
finance was the starting point for the development
of a reputation that has spanned 25 years.
In 1979, Jones continued as team leader with Swiss driver and Ferrari and Ensign exile Clay Regazzoni
joining Williams in a second car. The team came of age at the British Grand Prix in 1979 when,
Regazzoni drove to victory after Jones disappointingly retired from the lead thus claiming the team’s
debut win at its home Grand Prix. The win opened the floodgates and Jones claimed four of the six
remaining race wins that season.
In 1980, Jones, now partnered by Argentine Carlos Reutermann, led the team beyond the
achievements of winning races to claiming their first Constructor’s Championship, and in the process
earned himself a world driver’s crown. Williams garnered an unchallenged three further Constructor’s
titles in the 1980s, making it the most successful team of the decade.
In 1983, Grand Prix racing’s normally aspirated era was coming to an end, and Williams Grand Prix
Engineering subsequently announced a new association with Honda, with the Anglo-Japanese
turbo-powered race car taking to the grid for the final race of the season.
In 1984 the team climbed a steep learning curve with the new turbo technology, but the season was
highlighted by Rosberg’s Dallas win, which was indicative of the form to follow. The team also moved
into a superb new custom-built factory facility just a mile from their original home at Didcot.
In 1985, the redoubtable personality of Keke Rosberg
was augmented by a new signing in the guise of
Nigel Mansell. Together with the new all-composite
chassis car, the FW10, the season started slowly, but
reached new heights, as both drivers climbed to the
top of the victory podium no less than four times.
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