Williams Team Biography

Frank Williams is one of the most successful figures in Formula 1 history. And the founder of one of the most competitive teams in the history of that sport. 

Williams began his career in motor racing as a mechanic and an amateur racing driver. He founded Frank Williams Racing Cars in 1966. After competing in the F2 championship, he entered F1 in 1969 with a Brabham car and Piers Courage as his driver. Courage finished on the podium twice, at the Monaco Grand Prix and the US Grand Prix. For the 1970 season, Williams teamed up with De Tomaso engineer Gian Paolo Dallara to run their car. The car was not competitive and Piers Courage's death at the Dutch Grand Prix was the final straw.

Williams continued to race for various teams over the next few years. These included De Tomaso and March. In 1973 and 1974, he developed his car, the Iso FW (FW stands for Frank Williams). By 1975, Iso was out of the sport and the official name of the F1 cars was Williams FW. The team struggled for success until the 1977 German Grand Prix. Jacques Laffite finished second. That same year, Williams teamed up with Canadian businessman Walter Wolf. This resulted in Wolf buying the team and renaming it after him. Wolf's success was short-lived though, and Williams decided to start again in 1977. He set up a new workshop in Didcot and renamed the team Williams Grand Prix Engineering. In the same year, Frank Williams' collaboration with chief engineer Patrick Head began. With a March 761 and Belgian driver Patrick Nève, the team returned to the track for the 1978 Spanish Grand Prix.

In 1978 Williams introduced their FW06 chassis, designed by Head, and Australian driver Alan Jones. Jones took the team's first podium finish at the East Grand Prix in the USA. The following year, 1979, proved to be even more successful. Clay Regazzoni joined the team and secured Williams' first British Grand Prix victory. Jones won the next three Grands Prix and another at the Canadian Grand Prix. The team finished 2nd in the Constructors' Championship behind Ferrari. 1980 was a landmark year for Williams. Jones won the Drivers' Championship and Williams won the Constructors' Championship. Williams repeated its success as Constructors' Champion in 1981, but the team failed to win the Drivers' Championship. Carlos Reutemann finished just one point behind Nelson Piquet and Jones was four points behind. Jones retired from racing and Williams signed Keke Rosberg as his replacement. Rosberg won the Drivers' Championship in his first season with Williams. The team only finished 4th in the Constructors' Championship. In 1983 Williams, who had used Ford-Cosworth engines since the formation of the team, switched to Honda engines for the first time. The switch to Honda turbocharged engines took a while to pay off, but it did in the mid-1980s with Nelson Piquet and Nigel Mansell. It proved to be a successful decision. Williams won several Constructors' and Drivers' Championships in the 1980s and 90s. Mansell came close to winning the 1986 title, which Piquet took the following year. But the team was hit hard by the loss of Honda engines to McLaren in 1988. The switch to Renault power in 1989 was the beginning of their recovery.

In 1992 Williams's team, with drivers Nigel Mansell and Patrese, had a dominant season with nine wins in the first five races. The team secured their 5th World Championship with ten race wins and 15 pole positions. Mansell and Frank Williams did not get along.

In 1993 Williams's team replaced both drivers with Alain Prost and Damon Hill. Prost won 7 races securing a 4th World Drivers' Championship for him. The season ended with 6th place in the Constructors' Championship for Williams.

In 1994 Ayrton Senna replaced Prost. The FW16 had poor handling, leading to two retirements and unfortunately the death of Senna at the Imola race. Hill went on to win 6 races but lost the championship after a collision with Schumacher. Williams won their 7th championship with the help of Coulthard and Mansell.

In 1995 Hill failed to win the title against Schumacher. Williams finished second to Benetton-Renault. Hill finally won the title in 1996 and Villeneuve went on to win the title in 1997. Williams went on to win a further 2 titles, taking their total to 9 and making them the most successful manufacturer ever.

With the withdrawal of Renault, Williams had the use of Mecachrome and Supertec engines but had no championship wins. In the year 2000, Williams got back on track with a BMW engine and won a couple of races in the years 2001 and 2002. In 2003 Williams had a slow start. But they made a comeback and put Montoya in contention for the title. The team finished second in the Constructors' Championship.

In 2004, Williams unveiled a revolutionary nose on their FW26. But, the results were disappointing and they dropped to 4th place. In 2005, Webber and Heidfeld were the drivers. But the season was comparable to 2004.

In 2006, a disappointing season with only 11 points and 1 point from the last 10 races was caused by the departure of BMW and the Cosworth engine. Williams had a difficult season with Nico Rosberg as their second driver.

In 2007 Williams switched engine suppliers from Cosworth to Toyota. They also brought in veteran Austrian driver Alexander Wurz. The season proved to be an improvement on the previous year, with regular points finishes and a podium at the Canadian Grand Prix. The team finished in 4th place in the championship. 

The team had high hopes for the 2008 season with Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima at the wheel. Williams spent much of the season in midfield anonymity. Despite strong performances at city circuits, Williams finished 8th in the championship.

Regardless of the financial problems, Williams' driver line-up for 2009 remained unchanged. The team's engine supplier was Toyota. Despite the difficulties, Williams managed to score points in several races. Rosberg finished sixth in the first Grand Prix of the season and almost won the race in Malaysia. After two races without scoring a point, Rosberg managed to finish eight consecutive races in points. Meanwhile, Nakajima continued to struggle, failing to score points throughout the season. In the end, the BMW Sauber team overtook the Williams team to finish sixth in the Constructors' Championship. 

In 2013, Rosberg signed with Mercedes after a disappointing end to the 2012 season. Williams also dropped Nakajima due to his poor results. The team returned to Cosworth engines this year. They also signed Nico Hulkenberg and acquired experienced driver Rubens Barrichello. Frank Williams was replaced as team principal by Adam Parr. The start of the season was difficult. Both drivers struggled to score points. As the season progressed, Barrichello consistently finished in the top ten. At the same time, Hülkenberg improved and got a pole position at the Brazilian Grand Prix. It was the team's first pole position in five years. Williams finished sixth in the Constructors' Championship, ahead of Force India.

In 2011, Williams had to rely on a paid driver after the departure of its main sponsors. Venezuelan driver Pastor Maldonado replaced Hülkenberg who was dismissed. Maldonado was backed by his country's government.

In 2012, Renault returned as the team's engine supplier. There was a renewed sense of hope and excitement. After five races the team was on the top step of the podium, with driver Pastor Maldonado winning in Spain. In the end, the team finished eighth in the Formula 1 Constructors' World Championship.

In 2013, Claire Williams became Team Director. Pastor Maldonado remained with the team. Valtteri Bottas, who was the team's test driver, joined the line-up. Both drivers had some promising results, but the team had a difficult season. They scored 5 points in the Constructors' Championship.

Williams' decision to switch to Mercedes engines for the 2014 season proved to be a wise move. The top-performing engines helped the team secure a third-place finish in the championship. In 2015, Williams repeated their 3rd place result, with Massa and Bottas. Both scored two podiums this season.

The team's performance declined between 2016 and 2018. In 2018 the team scored 7 points and finished last in the Constructors' Championship.

2019 proved to be one of the worst years on record. Williams began the season with a delayed start to testing in Spain. Throughout the season, they finished at the bottom in almost every race. The only standout of the season was the wet German Grand Prix at Hockenheim, where Kubica scored a point. Williams finished the season in last place with 1 point.

Williams retained Mercedes Academy driver George Russell for the 2020 season. His partner was the inexperienced Canadian driver Nicholas Latifi. Neither scored a point throughout the season. As a result, Williams finished last in the Constructors' Championship for the third year in a row. The Williams family sold the team to the Dorilton Capital consortium as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new owners have retained the same driver line-up for 2021. The team has also strengthened the technical staff with personnel from Volkswagen Motorsport. Jost Capito became the team principal.