Thursday, September 3, 2009
Flag of the United Kingdom Brawn-Mercedes
 | |
| Full name | Brawn GP Formula One Team |
|---|---|
| Base | Brackley, Northamptonshire, United Kingdom |
| Team principal/s | Ross Brawn Nick Fry[1] |
| 2009 Formula One season | |
| Race drivers | 22.  Jenson Button23.  Rubens Barrichello |
| Test drivers |  Alexander Wurz[2] Anthony Davidson[3] |
| Chassis | Brawn BGP 001 |
| Engine | Mercedes-Benz FO 108W |
| Tyres | Bridgestone |
| Formula One World Championship Career | |
| Debut | 2009 Australian Grand Prix |
| Latest race | 2009 Belgian Grand Prix |
| Races competed | 11 |
| Constructors' Championships | 0 |
| Drivers' Championships | 0 |
| Race victories | 7 |
| Pole positions | 4 |
| Fastest laps | 4 |
Brawn GP (full name Brawn Grand Prix Ltd.) is a Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was formed on 6 March 2009 when it was confirmed that Ross Brawn, the ex-technical director of the Honda Racing F1 Team, had bought the team from Honda[4][5] in the wake of the Japanese marque's withdrawal from the sport in December 2008. On 17 March 2009 the FIA officially agreed to the name change from Honda Racing F1 Team to Brawn GP. Although the team can be seen as a continuation of the Honda team, the FIA considered Brawn GP to be an entirely new entry, but agreed to waive the standard entry fee in recognition of the team's circumstances.[6] The new team made its racing debut at the 2009 season-opening Australian Grand Prix on 28 March 2009, where they took pole position and 2nd place in qualifying. The team went on to win the top two positions in their debut Grand Prix race on 29 March 2009, with Jenson Button winning the race and Rubens Barrichello coming in second.
The team uses Mercedes-Benz engines and its cars are driven by the ex-Honda partnership of Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello, which has lasted for 3 years.[7] In the early part of the season, several other sponsors were signed, including Virgin, M I G Investments, Henri Lloyd and PerkinElmer.
History
[edit] 2009
Further information: 2009 Formula One season
Jenson Button en route to his win at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Although Honda were thought to be the first team to run a KERS in 2008,[8] Ross Brawn stated in an interview that due to the circumstances of the change in ownership the team did not have the time to develop the system yet.[9] On 20 March it was confirmed that Brawn GP would be allocated the final pitlane slot, with Force India moving up one slot. Bernie Ecclestone suggested that this is due to the takeover involving a name change, saying that 'If ... it was called Honda ... [w]hatever was due to Honda, they would have got'.[10] For this reason Brawn GP were initially assigned numbers 20 and 21 after Force India were assigned Honda's old numbers of 18 and 19. This however was changed at the request of Force India because their promotional material had already been printed with numbers 20 and 21. Brawn had no objection and were reassigned numbers 22 and 23, with 18 and 19 not assigned to anyone.[11]
The team started off strongly on the Friday Practice of the Australian Grand Prix finishing in the top five. In qualifying at Australia Jenson Button took pole, with fellow teammate Rubens Barrichello coming 2nd, followed by Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel.[12] This was followed by a race win for Jenson Button, who led from start to finish, with Rubens Barrichello second [13] giving Brawn a 1-2 finish on their debut, which had not happened since Mercedes did it in 1954.[14]
Jenson Button won the rain-shortened Malaysian Grand Prix from pole and picked up the fastest lap.[15] With the win in Malaysia, Brawn GP became the only constructor to win their first two races since Alfa Romeo won the first ever two World Championship Grands Prix at the 1950 British Grand Prix and Monaco Grand Prix.[16]
At the 2009 Chinese Grand Prix Barrichello qualified in front of Button for the first time this season but in the rain Jenson Button finished 3rd with Rubens Barrichello 4th behind the Red Bulls of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber.[17]
Rubens Barrichello couldn't beat Button on race day in Monaco.
Button won again at the Bahrain Grand Prix from fourth on the grid with Barrichello in fifth from sixth. Button ran most of the race in clean air and maintained the lead after the Toyotas pitted and fell down the order. This was the first time they were slower, with the fuel corrected qualifying times, in the season and was blamed on the lack of development on the car.[18]
At the 2009 Spanish Grand Prix, Brawn achieved their second 1-2 of the season with Button leading home Barrichello again. Brawn's fourth win saw them overtake Honda on the all-time wins list.[19]
Button at the 2009 Turkish Grand Prix.
At the Monaco Grand Prix the same qualifying results as in Spain were achieved with Button on pole. Button led Barrichello, who'd overtaken Kimi Räikkönen off the line, into the first corner with Button leading Barrichello, Räikkönen and Felipe Massa for the majority of the race. Button took Brawn's third 1-2 and his first hat trick of wins.[20]
At the 2009 Turkish Grand Prix the Brawns were beaten to pole by Vettel after struggling with pace throughout Friday and Saturday, for Button especially. At the start, Barrichello's anti-stall cut in and he fell to the back of the grid; Button meanwhile, after pointing the car at Vettel got off cleanly and inherited the lead at turn 10 when Vettel ran wide. Button lead the race calmly for the rest of the race with his team mate having many incidents before giving Brawn their first retirement after losing seventh gear.[21]
At the British Grand Prix both drivers struggled for the team’s home race. The car couldn't heat up the tyres enough and both drivers struggled with balance issues. Button had his worst qualifying of the season in sixth with Barrichello achieving second. In the race neither of the drivers shone and both had rather quiet races to third and sixth with Button having a late surge.[22]
At the German Grand Prix the team suffered the same fate as in Britain as both drivers suffered with tyre temperatures. [23]The team qualified light as to get onto the front row and qualified behind Webber in second and third, respectively.[24] Despite leading in the first stint, Barrichello finished sixth after a faulty fuel rig ruined his race. Button ran in the low points after getting stuck behind Kovalainen and managed to overtake Barrichello to finish fifth.[25]
At the Hungarian Grand Prix Brawn suffered the same uncompetitiveness after experiencing their worst qualifying of the season with Button in eighth and Barrichello in thirteenth, respectively. Although the reason for Barrichello's underperformance is of a spring falling off the back of his engine a subsequently hit Massa on the head hospitalizing him. In the race neither driver showed much pace although when the temperatures hit 40oC Button was the fastest man on the track at that point. Button managed to repass Trulli through the final pit stops and pick up seventh with his teammate in tenth closely behind Nakajima and Trulli.[26]
[edit] BGP 001
Main article: Brawn BGP 001
The Brawn BGP 001 during testing.
Following Honda's withdrawal, development of the BGP 001 never stopped and on the day of its debut, Jenson Button performed its shakedown – the car featuring white, fluorescent chartreuse yellow and black colours.[27] The team gave the BGP 001 its first test at Circuit de Catalunya on 9 March 2009, topping the timesheets many times.[28] With the testing moving to Circuito de Jerez, Brawn GP continued to set the pace, finishing the test leading two of the three tests.[29] During an interview Brawn said there was more speed to come after he explained that '...The BGP 001 car is the result of 15 months of intensive development work and the team have been nothing less than fantastic in their commitment to producing two cars in time for the first race'.[30] At the first race an official complaint was launched by four teams against the rear diffusers of the Williams FW31, Toyota TF109 and the Brawn BGP 001 on the grounds that they did not fall within the dimensions set out in the regulations,[31] but after analysing the cars the race stewards reported that the cars were legal. This ruling has been appealed, the appeal was heard after the second race of the season.[32] However motorsport's governing body ruled that the car was legal.[33] There was another complaint at Malaysia after which BMW Sauber joined the appeal after they were deemed legal, again.[34] After the appeal the diffuser was deemed legal by the FIA. [35] In Spain, the car received its first improvements since Australia[citation needed] and gave Brawn a 1-2, just as in Melbourne.
[edit] Sponsorship
The Brawn BGP 001 with the Terminator livery.
The Brawn GP motor home hosts all the team's sponsors.
The sponsors that were still with the Honda team stayed on as sponsors, including Bridgestone.
Through the early stages of the 2009 season Brawn obtained various sponsor deals. On 26 March 2009, Brawn GP announced a partnership with British clothing manufacturer Henri Lloyd. The company will supply the team with clothing and footwear and their brand will appear on the BGP 001.[36] On 28 March 2009 Sir Richard Branson announced Virgin as a major sponsor for the team.[37] On April 17 Brawn announced an agreement with MIG Investments. They would sport the logo on the front of the car.[38] It was also confirmed on April 19 that Ray-Ban, a sunglasses manufacturer, would carry on sponsoring the team - their logo appears on the drivers' helmets.[39] At the 2009 Bahrain Grand Prix Virgin sported their Virgin Galactic logo instead of Virgin.[40] They re-signed Endless Advance[41] and NCE[42] and signed a new supplier deal with safety harness supplier Willans before the Spanish Grand Prix.[43] Only for the Spanish Grand Prix, Sony Pictures joined the team with the cars featuring promotional imagery from the upcoming film Terminator Salvation.[44]. However, Virgin look set to end their deal from next season citing cost as a hurdle.[45] At the 2009 Monaco Grand Prix, Google co-founder Larry Page was rumoured to be in talks with Brawn to sponsor the team in 2010. Although a guest of McLaren-Mercedes, Page is believed to want the Google name to appear on a race-winning team.[46] The team took up sponsorship from Graham-London before the British Grand Prix. Their logo was shown on the BGP 001s' wing mirrors.
Complete Formula One results
(key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)| Year | Chassis | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Points | WCC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Brawn BGP 001 | Mercedes-Benz FO 108W | B | AUS | MAL‡ | CHN | BHR | ESP | MON | TUR | GBR | GER | HUN | EUR | BEL | ITA | SIN | JPN | BRA | ABU | 133* | 1st* | |
| Jenson Button | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 7 | Ret | |||||||||||
| Rubens Barrichello | 2 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 2 | Ret | 3 | 6 | 10 | 1 | 7 |
‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed
Flag of India Force India-Mercedes
 | |
| Full name | Force India Formula One |
|---|---|
| Base | Silverstone, Northamptonshire, United Kingdom |
| Team principal/s |  Vijay Mallya |
| Technical director | James Key |
| 2009 Formula One season | |
| Race drivers | 20. Adrian Sutil21.  Vitantonio Liuzzi |
| Test drivers | Vitantonio Liuzzi |
| Chassis | Force India VJM02 |
| Engine | Mercedes-Benz FO 108W |
| Tyres | Bridgestone |
| Formula One World Championship Career | |
| Debut | 2008 Australian Grand Prix |
| Latest race | 2009 Belgian Grand Prix |
| Races competed | 30 |
| Constructors' Championships | 0 |
| Drivers' Championships | 0 |
| Race victories | 0 |
| Pole positions | 1 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| 2008 position | 10th |
Force India F1 is a Formula One motor racing team. The team was formed in October 2007, when a consortium led by Indian businessman Vijay Mallya and Michiel Mol bought the Spyker F1 team for € 88 million.[1]
Force India F1 represents increased Indian participation within Formula One, with Delhi set to host the first ever Indian Grand Prix in 2011.[2] The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile confirmed the change in name from Spyker to Force India on 24 October 2007.[3]
After going through 29 races without a point, Force India won their first Formula One world championship points and podium place when Giancarlo Fisichella finished second in the 2009 Belgian Grand Prix.[4]
Background
Although created in 2007, the team's roots can be traced back to 1991, when it was founded as Jordan Grand Prix. Jordan enjoyed many years in Formula One even running the title close in 1999, but financial problems crept in and the team's performance dried up. Eddie Jordan, the then owner, realised the writing was on the wall and the best way to save the team was to opt for a sale.
The Silverstone-based squad and facilities were bought by the Midland group in 2005 and re-named Midland F1 Racing in 2006, before being sold to Spyker Cars towards the end of the 2006 season. However, the running costs of a small Formula One team once again caused the sale of the team this time to the Orange India Holdings group, with Vijay Mallya and Michiel Mol taking over the ownership of the team.
[edit] Buyout of Spyker F1
Rumours about the possible sale of the team had been abundant in the paddock throughout the last few months of the 2007 season, after Spyker announced their intention to sell 50% of the team,[5] less than a year after Spyker bought it from Midland. The cost of the team was € 88 million, several million more than Spyker paid for the team initially.[6]
[edit] 2008 and onwards
Adrian Sutil testing for Force India in January 2008.
Fisichella driving for Force India at the 2008 Chinese Grand Prix.
Colin Kolles remained as team principal in 2008, with Michiel Mol as director of F1 racing, and Mike Gascoyne as the Chief Technology Officer.
Force India used the VJM-01 chassis, an updated version of the previous year's Spyker car, for the first part of the 2008 season.[7] The team used customer Ferrari engines in 2008, with the team's existing deal with Ferrari originally running to 2010.[8] The team also used the Indian flag in its team logo from 2008.[3] Former Spyker sponsor Etihad Airways have a contract with the team until 2009, and have yet to announce any changes to this arrangement. Force India will construct their own cars as Spyker did, rather than using customer chassis.[9] Force India has a contract with Adrian Sutil for 2008.[6] In November 2007 the team invited Vitantonio Liuzzi, Christian Klien, Giancarlo Fisichella, Ralf Schumacher, Franck Montagny and former Spyker test drivers Giedo van der Garde and Roldan Rodriguez to take part in winter tests along with Sutil.[10] Giancarlo Fisichella took the second seat at Force India after being replaced at Renault by Fernando Alonso.[11][12] On January 10, 2008, Force India confirmed Fisichella as first driver and Vitantonio Liuzzi as a test driver. Adrian Sutil had already been confirmed and took the second driver Role. Former Spyker test drivers Roldan Rodriguez and Giedo van der Garde were confirmed as test drivers for Force India F1.[13]
At Monaco 2008 it looked like Force India was near to scoring their first point as Adrian Sutil had moved up to fourth place until Kimi Räikkönen collided with him 10 minutes before the end of the race. However, it was judged that Sutil was in wrong position because he had overtaken under yellow flags.[14] More points were lost in Singapore because the safety car period that ensued after Sutil's accident ruined Fisichella's strategy. He had run as high as third earlier in the race.
Force India retained the same drivers for the for the 2009 season.[15] At the wet 2009 Chinese Grand Prix, Sutil almost secured Force India's first points, holding sixth place in front of Lewis Hamilton and Timo Glock with six laps remaining when aquaplaning led to the Force India car skidding off the road and crashing out of the race.
At Monaco, Fisichella finished just out of the points in ninth place. Fisichella and Sutil had moved to Q2 during qualifying and secured positions in the top 15.
At the German GP, Sutil qualified in the 7th place and battled for the points, reaching second at one point, before crashing with Kimi Räikkönen after leaving the pitlane and being forced to pit again to change a broken front wing. He finished 15th. Fisichella also fought for the points the whole race, but despite being a part of a group that were battling for the final points position, he finished 11th.
Force India gained their first pole position in Formula One on August 29, 2009 at the Belgian GP in Spa with Fisichella posting a time of 1:46.308.[16]. Giancarlo Fisichella finished the race in second position earning Force India's first ever points.
On September 3 2009, Force India announced that they were releasing Fisichella to allow him to race for Ferrari for the remainder of the season.
[edit] VJM01
Giancarlo Fisichella leads Adrian Sutil at the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix.
Main article: Force India VJM01
The VJM-01 was launched with a white, gold and tungsten colored livery at the Gateway of India, in Mumbai, India, on February 7 2008. The car was named after Force India F1's owners Dr. Vijay Mallya, Jan Mol and Michel Mol. The car was fitted with new aerodynamic updates after almost every race.
[edit] VJM02
Main article: Force India VJM02
Adrian Sutil in pre-season testing at Barcelona.
The VJM-02 is powered by Mercedes-Benz engines from the 2009 season after signing a five year deal on 10 November 2008. The deal also includes supply of McLaren-Mercedes gearboxes, hydraulic systems and Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS). The car was revealed on March 1 2009.[17]
[edit] Sponsorship
Kingfisher, a brand owned by Vijay Mallya, is the primary sponsor. Other sponsors for 2008 included ICICI Bank, Medion, Kanyan Capital and Reliance Industries Limited.[18] Kingfisher also sponsored FMS International, a GP2 team partly-owned by Fisichella. The above sponsors, except ICICI Bank and Kanyan Capital, continue to sponsor the team in 2009. New sponsors include AVG, Airbus and Whyte & Mackay.
Partners
Force India F1 has tied up with Airbus and EADS for technological support has a technical partnership with McLaren.[19]
Complete Formula One results
(key) (results in bold indicate pole position)| Year | Chassis | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Points | WCC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Force India VJM01 | Ferrari 056 V8 | B | AUS | MAL | BHR | ESP | TUR | MON | CAN | FRA | GBR | GER | HUN | EUR | BEL | ITA | SIN | JPN | CHN | BRA | 0 | 10th | |
| Adrian Sutil | Ret | Ret | 19 | Ret | 16 | Ret | Ret | 19 | Ret | 15 | Ret | Ret | 13 | 19 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 16 | ||||||
| Giancarlo Fisichella | Ret | 12 | 12 | 10 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 18 | Ret | 16 | 15 | 14 | 17 | Ret | 14 | Ret | 17 | 18 | ||||||
| 2009 | Force India VJM02 | Mercedes FO 108W V8 | B | AUS | MAL | CHN | BHR | ESP | MON | TUR | GBR | GER | HUN | EUR | BEL | ITA | SIN | JPN | BRA | ABU | 8* | 9th* | ||
| Adrian Sutil | 9 | 17 | 17 | 16 | Ret | 14 | 17 | 17 | 15 | Ret | 10 | 11 | ||||||||||||
| Giancarlo Fisichella | 11 | 18 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 9 | Ret | 10 | 11 | 14 | 12 | 2 |
Flag of the United Kingdom Williams-Toyota
 | |
| Full name | AT&T WilliamsF1 Team |
|---|---|
| Base | Grove, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom |
| Team principal/s | Frank Williams Patrick Head |
| Technical director | Sam Michael |
| 2009 Formula One season | |
| Race drivers | 16. Nico Rosberg 17.  Kazuki Nakajima |
| Test drivers | Nicolas Hülkenberg |
| Chassis | Williams FW31 |
| Engine | Toyota RVX-09 |
| Tyres | Bridgestone |
| Formula One World Championship Career | |
| Debut | 1978 Argentine Grand Prix |
| Latest race | 2009 Belgian Grand Prix |
| Races competed | 514 |
| Constructors' Championships | 9 (1980, 1981, 1986, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997) |
| Drivers' Championships | 7 (1980, 1982, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997) |
| Race victories | 113 |
| Pole positions | 125 |
| Fastest laps | 130 |
| 2008 position | 8th (26 points) |
WilliamsF1, the trading name of Williams Grand Prix Engineering Ltd., is a Formula One (F1) motor racing team and constructor. It was founded and run by Sir Frank Williams and Patrick Head. The team was formed in 1977 after two earlier and, compared with WilliamsF1's achievements, unsuccessful F1 operations, Frank Williams Racing Cars and Walter Wolf Racing. All of WilliamsF1 chassis are called "FW" then a number, the FW being the initials of team owner, Frank Williams.
Williams' first race was the 1977 Spanish Grand Prix, where the new team ran a March chassis for Patrick Nève. Williams started manufacturing its own cars the following year, and Switzerland's Clay Regazzoni won Williams' first race at the 1979 British Grand Prix. At the 1997 British Grand Prix, Canadian Jacques Villeneuve won the team's 100th race, making Williams one of only three teams in Formula One, alongside Ferrari and fellow British team McLaren, to win 100 races. Williams won nine Constructor's titles between 1980 and 1997. This stood as a record until Ferrari surpassed it in 2000.
Many famous racing drivers have driven for Williams, including Australia's Alan Jones; Finland's Keke Rosberg; Britain's Nigel Mansell and Damon Hill; France's Alain Prost; Brazil's Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna, and Canada's Jacques Villeneuve, each of whom, with the exception of Senna, have captured one Drivers' title with the team. After Senna died in a Williams car in a crash at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, Frank Williams, Patrick Head and designer Adrian Newey were all accused of manslaughter. The trial finally closed in 2005, when Williams, Head and Newey were cleared of any wrongdoing.
Williams have worked with many notable engine manufacturers, most successfully with Renault: Williams won five of their nine constructors' titles with the French company. Along with Ferrari, McLaren, and Renault (formerly Benetton), Williams is one of the "Big Four" teams that have won every constructors' championship since 1979 and every driver's championship since 1984. Williams remains the only one independently owned, as the other three "factory teams" have been set up by or bought out by major automobile manufacturers.
Origins
Related Articles: Frank Williams Racing Cars & Walter Wolf Racing
Frank Williams started the current Williams team in 1977 after his previous outfit, Frank Williams Racing Cars, failed to achieve the success he desired. Despite the promise of a new owner in the form of Canadian millionaire Walter Wolf, the team's 1976 cars were not competitive. Eventually Williams left the rechristened Walter Wolf Racing and moved to Didcot to rebuild his team as "Williams Grand Prix Engineering". Frank recruited young engineer Patrick Head to work for the team, creating the "Williams-Head" partnership.[1]
[edit] Racing history – Formula One
[edit] Ford (1976–1983)
The original Williams logo.
Related Article: Ford Motor Company
1977
Williams entered a customer March 761 for the 1977 season. Lone driver Patrick Nève appeared at 11 races that year, starting with the Spanish Grand Prix. The new team failed to score a point, achieving a best finish of 7th at the Italian Grand Prix.[2]
1978
The Williams FW06 being raced at Silverstone in 2007.
For the 1978 season, Patrick Head designed his first Williams: the FW06. Williams signed Australian Alan Jones, who had won the Austrian Grand Prix the previous season for a deflated Shadow team following the death of their lead driver, Tom Pryce. Jones’s first race for the team was the Argentine Grand Prix where he qualified the lone Williams in 14th position, but retired after 36 laps with a fuel system failure. The team scored its first championship points two rounds later at the South African Grand Prix when Jones finished fourth. Williams managed their first podium position at the US Grand Prix, where the Australian came second, some 20 seconds behind the Ferrari of future Williams driver Carlos Reutemann.[3] Williams ended the season in tenth place in the constructors’ championship, with a respectable 16 points, while Alan Jones finished 12th in the drivers' championship.
1979
Head designed the FW07 for the 1979 season. This was the team’s first ground effect car, a technology first introduced by Colin Chapman and Team Lotus. Williams also obtained membership of the Formula One Constructors Association (FOCA) which expressed a preference for teams to run two cars, so Jones was partnered by Swiss driver Clay Regazzoni.[4] They had to wait until the seventh round of the championship, the Monaco Grand Prix, for a points-scoring position. Regazzoni came close to taking the team’s first win but finished second, less than a second behind race winner Jody Scheckter. The next round at Dijon is remembered for the final lap battle between René Arnoux and Gilles Villeneuve,[5] but also saw both cars finish in the points for the first time: Jones was fourth with Regazzoni sixth. The team’s first win came at the 1979 British Grand Prix – their home Grand Prix - when Regazzoni finished almost 25 seconds ahead of anyone else. Things got even better when Williams cars finished first and second at the next round in Hockenheim, Alan Jones two seconds ahead of Regazzoni. Jones then made it three wins in a row at the Österreichring, finishing half a minute ahead of Gilles Villeneuve’s Ferrari. Three wins in a row became four wins two weeks later at Zandvoort, Alan Jones winning again by a comfortable margin over Jody Scheckter’s Ferrari. Scheckter ended the Williams winning streak when he won Ferrari’s home Italian Grand Prix, Regazzoni finishing third behind both Ferraris. Alan Jones managed another win at the penultimate race at Montreal to cap off a great season.
Williams had greatly improved their constructors' championship position, finishing eight places higher than the previous year and scoring 59 more points. Alan Jones was the closest driver to the Ferrari duo of Villeneuve and 1979 champion Jody Scheckter, the Australian scored 43 points, 17 behind the South African, while Jones’s team mate, Regazzoni, was two places behind him with 32 points.
1980
In 1980 Alan Jones partnered the Argentine Carlos Reutemann. The team started well in the championship, with Jones winning the first round of the season in Argentina. Jones won four more races: Paul Ricard, Brands Hatch, Montreal and the final round at Watkins Glen. Jones became the first of seven Williams drivers to win the drivers' championship, 17 points ahead of Nelson Piquet’s Brabham. Williams also won its first constructors’ championship, scoring 120 points, almost twice as many as second-placed Ligier.
1981
The duo won four races for the Williams team in the 1981 season. Alan Jones won at the first round at Long Beach and the final round at Las Vegas, while Carlos Reutemann won at the second round at Jacarepagua and the fifth round at Zolder. Williams won the constructors’ title for the second year running, scoring 95 points, 34 points more than second-placed Brabham.
1982
Keke Rosberg’s Williams FW08. This car was used during the 1982 season where Rosberg won the Drivers' Championship recording only a single win over the course of the season.
Alan Jones retired from Formula One, only to come back a year later for a single season with the Arrows team. The Australian was replaced by Finnish driver, Keke Rosberg, who had not scored a single championship point the previous year. He won the Drivers title that year; winning only one race, the Swiss Grand Prix at Dijon-Prenois. Rosberg’s teammate, Reutemann, finished in 15th place having quit Formula One after just two races of the new season. His seat was filled by Mario Andretti for the US Grand Prix West before Derek Daly took over for the rest of the year. The Williams team finished fourth in the constructors’ championship that year, 16 points behind champions Ferrari.
By the end of the season, Frank Williams realised that to compete at the top levels of Formula One he needed the support of a major manufacturer, such as Renault or BMW who could supply his team with a turbo engine.
[edit] Honda and Judd (1983–1988)
Related Articles: Honda Racing F1, Judd engines
1983
Frank Williams looked towards Honda, which was developing its own turbo-charged V6 engine with the Spirit team. A deal between Honda and Williams was finally settled early in 1983 and the team used the engines for the 1984 season. For the rest of the 1983 season, Williams used the Ford engine. The team finished fourth in the constructors’ championship, scoring 36 points, including a win for Keke Rosberg at the 1983 Monaco Grand Prix.
1984
For the 1984 season Head designed the ungainly FW09. Keke Rosberg won the Dallas Grand Prix and managed to get second at the opening race in Brazil. Rosberg’s team mate, Jacques Laffite, came 14th in the drivers' championship with five points. The team finished sixth with 25.5 points, with Rosberg eighth in the drivers' championship.
1985
Nigel Mansell’s Williams FW10. This car was used during the 1985 season.
In 1985, Head designed the FW10, the team’s first chassis to employ the carbon-fibre composite technology pioneered by the McLaren team. British driver Nigel Mansell joined the team to partner Rosberg. The team scored four wins with Rosberg, winning in Detroit and Adelaide, while Mansell won the European Grand Prix and the South African Grand Prix. Williams finished third in the constructors' championship, scoring 71 points.
1986
In March 1986, Frank Williams faced the most serious challenge of his life. While returning to the airport at Nice, he was involved in a car accident which left him paralysed. He did not return to the pit lane for almost a year.[6] Despite the lack of his presence in the team, the Williams team won nine Grands Prix and the constructors’ Championship and came close to winning the Drivers' championship with Nigel Mansell, but the British driver’s left-rear tyre blew up along the back straight at the Australian GP, the final round of the season, while his fellow championship rival, and teammate, Piquet made a pit stop shortly after Mansell’s retirement as a precaution. This left Alain Prost to defend his title successfully, despite being in an inferior car.
1987
Nelson Piquet’s championship-winning FW11B from 1987.
The 1987 season brought Williams-Honda partnership its first and only Drivers' championship title in the form of Nelson Piquet, who scored 76 points and won three races, while the Brazilian’s teammate, Mansell, was 15 points behind him in second place with six victories during the season. The Williams team finished as constructors’ champions for the second year running, scoring 137 points, 61 points ahead of their nearest rivals McLaren. Despite this success Honda ended their partnership with Williams at the end of the year in favour of McLaren and Lotus.
1988
Unable to make a deal with another major engine manufacturer, Williams used naturally-aspirated Judd engines for the 1988 season.[7] This left them with a significant performance deficit compared with their turbo-powered rivals. Piquet left Williams to join Lotus, who had secured Honda engines for the 1988 season. Williams brought in Italian Riccardo Patrese to replace him. The team did not win a single race that season and finished seventh in the constructors’ championship, scoring 20 points. The highlights of the season were two second places by Mansell, at the British and Spanish Grand Prix. When Mansell was forced to miss two races through illness, he was replaced by Martin Brundle and then Jean Louis Schlesser.
[edit] Renault and Mecachrome (1989–1999)
Related Article: Renault F1
The team secured an engine supply from Renault in 1989. Renault engines subsequently powered Williams drivers to another four Drivers' and five constructors’ Championships up until Renault’s departure from Formula One at the end of 1997. The combination of Renault’s powerful engine and Adrian Newey’s design expertise led to a particularly dominant period in the mid 1990s. Mansell had a record breaking 1992 season winning the title in record time and leading many races from pole to finish. Some maintain that the Williams FW14B and FW15C were "the most technologically advanced cars that will ever race in Formula One".[8]
1989
Williams FW12C, the first Renault engine powered Williams
The Renault era started in 1989, with Italian Riccardo Patrese and Belgian Thierry Boutsen at the helm of the two Williams cars. The engine’s first grand prix in Brazil was one that the team would prefer to forget, with Boutsen retiring with an engine failure and Patrese with an alternator failure. The Williams Renault team managed to get back on track with Boutsen coming fourth in the next race at Imola, earning the team three points in their championship campaign. Two races later at the Mexican Grand Prix, the team managed to achieve their first podium with the Renault engine, thanks to Patrese, who came second, 15 seconds behind the race winner Ayrton Senna. The next race saw Patrese come second again, having started from 14th on the grid, with Boutsen 6th. At the sixth round in Canada, Williams not only scored their first win with the Renault engine but also their first one-two: Thierry Boutsen came first followed by Patrese, resulting in 15 points for Williams' championship campaign. Williams came second in the constructors’ championship, scoring 77 points in total; 64 points behind winners McLaren. Patrese finished 3rd in the drivers' championship with 40 points, 41 points behind the 1989 world champion, Alain Prost.
1990
In 1990, Williams kept Patrese and Boutsen as the team’s drivers. Although Patrese won the San Marino Grand Prix and Boutsen won pole position and the race at the Hungarian Grand Prix, the team scored 30 fewer points than the previous year and finished the constructors’ championship two positions lower, in fourth. In the drivers' championship, Boutsen finished sixth with 34 points and Patrese seventh with 23 points.
1991
1991 British Grand Prix: Nigel Mansell gives Ayrton Senna a lift back to the Paddock at Silverstone. Senna had run out of fuel and Mansell won the race.
Boutsen left Williams and joined Ligier at the start of 1991. His replacement was Britain's Nigel Mansell; Williams also recruited future 1996 world champion, Damon Hill, as one of their new test drivers. Williams failed to finish in the first Grand Prix of the season at Phoenix, both drivers retiring with gearbox problems. Patrese got back on track for the team in the next Grand Prix at Interlagos, coming second behind McLaren's Ayrton Senna. The 1991 San Marino Grand Prix saw both cars retiring again: Mansell after a collision and Patrese with an electrical failure after 17 laps. The Grand Prix at Monaco saw Mansell finally finish in a points-scoring position, coming second, 18 seconds behind race winner Ayrton Senna. At the next race, the Canadian Grand Prix, Williams locked out the front row only for Patrese to drop back with gearbox problems and Mansell to retire from the lead on the final lap with an electrical fault. At the following race, in Mexico, Williams finally broke their 1991 duck with a 1-2, Patrese finishing ahead of Mansell to score 16 points for the Williams team. Williams then had two consecutive further victories, with Mansell winning the French Grand Prix, five seconds ahead of Alain Prost’s Ferrari. Mansell then won again at the British Grand Prix; it had been four years since a Briton had won the grand prix, Mansell having won it in 1987. Three consecutive victories became four when Mansell won again in Germany, Patrese was about 10 seconds behind him in second place. Senna ended Williams' run of victories by winning in Hungary, finishing five seconds ahead of Nigel Mansell. Mansell later won the Italian Grand Prix and the Spanish Grand Prix, while Patrese won the Portuguese Grand Prix after Mansell's race was ruined by a botched pitstop in which only three wheel nuts were fitted. Williams finished second in the constructors’ championship, scoring 125 points in total, 14 points behind McLaren. Mansell finished second in the drivers' championship, scoring 72 points, 24 points behind Senna.
1992
The Williams FW14B of Nigel Mansell, which was used for the 1992 season. The team won the constructors' championship that year, and Mansell won the drivers' championship
Williams took a step up for the 1992 season, keeping their 1991 driver line-up of Patrese and Mansell. Mansell dominated the first round in South Africa, qualifying in pole position and winning the race by 24 seconds from his team-mate Patrese. Nigel Mansell won the next four rounds for Williams, at Mexico City, Interlagos, Catalunya and Imola, Patrese coming second in all but one (the Spanish Grand Prix, where he retired after spinning off). Mansell's five victories in the opening five races was a new record in Formula One. Senna won the next race in Monaco, ahead of both Williams cars, which finished second and third. In the next race, in Canada, both Williams cars retired: Mansell spun off on entering the final corner (he claimed that Senna pushed him off) and Patrese had a gearbox failure. Mansell went on to record four more Grand Prix wins, including at the British Grand Prix. (In the final round, in Adelaide, the two Williams again retired, Mansell after Senna violently crashed into the back of him, and Patrese with electrical problems.) Williams won the constructors’ championship with 164 points, 65 points more than second place McLaren. Mansell became World Champion, scoring 108 points, with Patrese finishing second with 56 points. In winning nine races in a single season Mansell had set a new record for the most wins by a single driver in one season.
Despite capturing the title and nine races, Nigel Mansell's seat was not safe for 1993. Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna were both trying to sign for Williams. Patrese's position looked to be under threat and he signed for Benetton before the end of the year. Ironically, only Prost was able to agree terms with Williams for 1993, leaving a seat free for Patrese had he remained with the team. Upon hearing that Prost had signed with Williams, Mansell departed for CART rather than be teammates with the Frenchman as they did not have a good relationship from their time together at Ferrari. Prost's contract with Williams included a clause that forbid the signing of Senna for the 1993 season, and the Brazilian remained at McLaren.
1993
Williams uniform, 1993
Nigel Mansell left the Williams team in 1993 for CART racing, the team hired triple champion Alain Prost, and promoted test driver Damon Hill to replace Riccardo Patrese, who had left to join Michael Schumacher at Benetton.
The Williams FW15C was the dominant car, with active suspension and traction control systems beyond anything available to the other teams.[9] Prost won on his debut for the team in South Africa and, like Mansell, dominated the weekend, taking pole position and finishing a minute ahead of Senna, who was second. The next Grand Prix in Brazil saw Prost collide with Christian Fittipaldi's Minardi in the rain on lap 29, while Hill went on to his first podium finish: second, 16 seconds behind Senna. Prost won three of the next four Grands Prix for Williams, Senna winning the other race. Prost and Hill later scored a 1-2 in France: the only 1-2 of the season for Williams. The Frenchman won the next two Grand Prix at Silverstone and Hockenheim. Prost’s team mate Hill proved competitive especially in the second half of the season. Mechanical problems cost the Englishman leads in Britain and Germany, but he went on to win the next three Grand Prix at Hungary; Belgium and Italy which moved him to second in the standings, as well as giving him a chance of taking the drivers' title. After Italy, Williams would not win a Grand Prix for the rest of the season, as a young Michael Schumacher won the following race in Portugal, and Senna took Japan and Australia to overtake Hill in points. Williams retained their constructor’s title, 84 points ahead of second placed, McLaren. Prost clinched the driver’s championship in Portugal and finished the season 26 points ahead of second placed Ayrton Senna.
1994
Williams FW16
During the 1994 season, Williams exclusively used version FW16B (developed still during the pre-season), in which Ayrton Senna’s fatal crash occurred and Damon Hill came close to winning the season, his third year in Formula One
From 1994 to 1997 the cars ran in the highly distinctive blue and white Rothmans livery, widely regarded as one of F1’s most popular colour schemes.[10]
Williams secured the signing of Senna in 1994, causing Alain Prost to retire rather than partner his greatest rival, as the contract prohibiting the signing of Senna covered only the 1993 season.[11] Given this was the same team that had won the previous two World Championships with vastly superior cars, Senna was a natural and presumptive pre-season title favorite, with second-year driver Damon Hill intended to play the supporting role. Between them, Prost, Senna, and Hill had won all but one race, which was taken by Benetton's Michael Schumacher.
Pre-season testing showed the car had speed but it was difficult to drive. The FIA had banned electronic drivers aids, such as active suspension, traction control and ABS, to make the sport more "human". It was these technological advancements that the Williams chassis' of the previous years had been built around. With their removal in '94 Williams had not been a good-handling car, as observed by other F1 drivers, having been seen to be very loose at the rear. Senna himself had made numerous (politically careful) comments that the Williams FW16 had some quirks which needed to be ironed out. It was obvious that the FW16, after the regulation changes banning active suspension and traction control, exhibited none of the superiority of the FW15C and FW14B cars that had preceded it. The surprise of testing was Benetton-Ford which was less powerful but more nimble than the Williams.
The first four rounds were won by Michael Schumacher in the Benetton-Ford. Senna took pole in the first three races but finished none of them, most infamously at Imola after a fatal crash at the first corner after completing five laps, this day was described by many as "F1’s darkest day".[12]
The repercussions of Senna's fatal accident were severe for the team itself, as the Italian prosecutors tried to charge the team and Frank Williams with manslaughter, an episode which was not over until 2005.[13] At the next race in Monaco, Damon Hill was the only Williams on the grid, this was done as a mark of respect to Senna,[14] the Brit retired on the first lap. Since Senna’s death, every Williams F1 car has carried a Senna 'S' somewhere on its livery in his honour.[15]
The next race in Spain, Williams brought in test driver, David Coulthard, as Hill’s new teammate. In the race itself, Hill took the team's first victory of the season, by almost half a minute over Schumacher's Benetton, while Coulthard would retire due to an electrical problem. In Canada, both Williams cars finished in the points for the first time that season, with Hill finishing second and Coulthard finishing fifth. Two rounds later, Damon Hill did something his father, Graham, never did, which was winning the British Grand Prix. Hill closed the gap with Schumacher in the championship, after the German was disqualified from first at Spa after the Stewards found floorboard irregularities on his Benetton. He was banned for the next two races, in which Hill capitalised on with wins in Italy and a Williams 1-2 in Portugal. Schumacher would come back after his suspension for the European Grand Prix, which he won by about 25 seconds. By the penultimate round in Japan, Hill was 5 points behind Schumacher and if he did not finish ahead of the German, it would be very unlikely that he would take the title in the final round in Adelaide, however Hill did win the rain-soaked restart, by three seconds to Schumacher who finished second and so to the final round in Adelaide, where Schumacher led Hill by one point.
With four races left, Frank Williams brought back in 1992 champion Nigel Mansell to replace Coulthard. Mansell would get approximately £900,000 per race, while Hill was paid £300,000 for the entire season, though Hill remained as lead driver.[16][17]
Mansell would take pole for Williams, however he had a poor start which gave way for Hill and Schumacher to fight it out for the lead and the 1994 title. Mid way through the race, Schumacher’s tactics for low aerodynamics, would cost him as he clipped the wall coming into the fifth corner and went wide. Schumacher and Hill would end up colliding on the next corner, and the double retirement that resulted meant Schumacher was the champion. This collision has been controversial. Some, such as Williams' Patrick Head, have suggested that this was a deliberate attempt by Schumacher to take Hill out of the race.[18] However others, such as then BBC commentator Murray Walker, defended Schumacher, calling the accident a "racing incident". Williams would end the season as constructors champions for the third consecutive year, scoring 118 points, while Hill finished second in the drivers championship with 91 points.
1995
Damon Hill driving the Williams FW17 at Montreal. Hill had qualified 2nd for the race but retired after completing 50 laps due to a gearbox problem
In 1995, Nigel Mansell left Williams again, this time he moved to McLaren to leave Williams with Hill and Coulthard. At the first round in Brazil, Schumacher started off with a win, with Coulthard coming second. However, both were disqualified from the race after it was found that their fuel supplier, Elf, supplied the teams with a type of fuel that was different than the ones they gave to the FIA as samples. So Gerhard Berger and Ferrari were declared winners, until Schumacher and Coulthard had their positions reinstated after appeal, though Benetton and Williams were not awarded their constructors points. Hill won the next two races in Argentina and San Marino and would later win two more races, which were at The Hungaroring and in Adelaide, the latter where Hill won two laps ahead of the field in one of F1's most dominating victories. Coulthard would also record his only win for the Williams team, at Estoril, before moving to McLaren. Benetton would end Williams' four year dominance after they won the championship 29 points ahead Williams. Hill would come second for the second year running, 33 points behind Schumacher.
1996
Jacques Villeneuve driving the Williams FW18 at the 1996 Canadian Grand Prix
For 1996, Williams clearly had the quickest and most reliable car.[19] Coulthard had left Williams to join Mika Häkkinen at McLaren, Williams replaced the Scotsman with Canadian Jacques Villeneuve, while Hill remained with the team. Schumacher left Benetton to join Ferrari. Williams won the first five Grands Prix, Hill winning all but one of them. Olivier Panis would take victory at the sixth round in Monaco after both Williams cars retired. Hill would retire for the second time in a row after he spun off in Spain, while his team mate, Villeneuve, took third place. Hill and Villeneuve dominated the next Grand Prix in Canada, with a 1-2 in qualifying and a 1-2 in the race. Williams made it a second 1-2 after Hill won the French Grand Prix. Villeneuve won his second race in F1 at Silverstone after Hill retired with a wheel bearing failure on lap 26. The Brit would be victorious in the next Grand Prix in Germany while Villeneuve would win the race after that in Hungary. Schumacher’s Ferrari would then take the next two Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps and Monza. Villeneuve mounted a title challenge going into the final race of the season at Japan, but Hill reasserted his dominance to take the race and the 1996 title, while Villeneuve lost a wheel and retired.
Williams' dominance was such that they had clinched the constructors' championship and only their drivers had a mathematical chance of taking the title, several races before the season concluded. Around that time, Frank Williams announced that Hill would not be re-signed after his contract expired, despite Hill's successes and eventual drivers' championship, so he joined Arrows for 1997. Also, Adrian Newey had ambitions to succeed Patrick Head as technical director, but this was blocked as Head was a founder and shareholder of the team. McLaren lured Newey away, though he was forced to take gardening leave for the 1997 season.
1997
For what would be the final season of Williams-Renault and a car designed with Newey's input, Frank Williams brought in German Heinz-Harald Frentzen, under the impression that he could perform better than Hill. Frentzen, however, proved to be a disappointment and won only one race in his two year spell at Williams, which was at 1997 San Marino Grand Prix. Jacques Villeneuve won seven races during the season, with his main rival, Michael Schumacher of a resurgent Ferrari, winning five. Williams also achieved the 100 race win milstone at the British Grand Prix. Coming to the final round of the season at Jerez, Schumacher lead the Canadian by 1 point, however on lap 48, Schumacher and Villeneuve collided. Schumacher was disqualified from second place in the championship as the accident was deemed by the FIA as "avoidable",[20] Williams won the constructors title for the second time in a row, scoring 123 points, while Jacques Villeneuve won the driver’s championship by three points to Michael Schumacher, who kept his points total despite being removed from second place, with Williams team-mate Frentzen a further thirty six points behind.
1998
After 1997, the team were unable to maintain their dominance in Formula 1 as Renault ended their full time involvement in Formula 1, and Adrian Newey moved to rival team McLaren. Williams then had to pay for Mecachrome engines, which were old; rebadged Renault engines.[21] Both these meant that the car not only featured a very similar aerodynamic package to their 1997 car, but also virtually the same engine, leading to some to comment that they ran what was virtually the same car, adjust for the 1998 regulations. There were changes on the sponsorship front however as Rothmans opted to promote their Winfield brand, which ended the popular blue and white livery.[22] For 1998, Williams kept the two drivers from the previous season. While Ferrari and McLaren battled for the constructors' and drivers' titles, Williams fell to the mid of the field. The team won no races and took 3 podiums during the season, with Frentzen finishing in third at the first round in Australia and Villeneuve finishing third in Germany and Hungary. Williams finished third in the constructors championship, scoring 38 points, while Villeneuve finished fifth in the driver’s championship with 21 points and his German team mate, Frentzen, finished 4 points behind him in seventh.
1999
In 1999, Williams employed a completely new driver line up, Villeneuve moved to new team, BAR and Frentzen moved to Jordan. Williams brought in German Ralf Schumacher and Italian Alex Zanardi. The team managed three podiums, all scored by Ralf Schumacher, with third place in Australia and Britain, along with a second place in Italy. The team finished fifth in the constructor’s championship, the lowest finish for Williams in the 1990s; the team finished behind Stewart and Jordan; scoring 35 points (all by Schumacher), 3 less than the previous season.
[edit] BMW and Cosworth (2000–2006)
Williams returned to the winner's rostrum in 2001 with four Grand Prix victories, including one for Ralf Schumacher in Canada.
Schumacher driving for the WilliamsF1 team (chassis FW25) at the 2003 United States Grand Prix. The German qualified in fifth position before he retired after completing 21 laps.
Related Articles: BMW, BMW in motorsport
Logo of the team during its partnership with BMW.
2000
During 1998, the team signed a long term agreement with BMW, with the German manufacturer supplying engines and expertise for a period of 6 years. As part of the deal BMW expected at least one driver to be German and Ralf Schumacher was signed. In 1999, the team had a Williams car with a BMW engine testing at circuits, in preparation for a debut in 2000. Williams sought the services of Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya as a proven racer for the up coming season but he was initially unavailable, so Britain's Jenson Button made his debut instead.
BMW Williams' first season did not see a single victory during the season, they did however, manage to get on the podium three times, Ralf Schumacher responsible for all three. Williams finished third in the constructor’s championship, with 36 points; one more than last year. Ralf Schumacher finished fifth in the driver’s championship, while Button, in his debut season, finished three places behind in eighth.
2001
In 2001 Button moved to Benetton-Renault due to Montoya's arrival at the team. The FW23 won four races, three by Ralf Schumacher at Imola; Montreal and his home Grand Prix in Germany. His teammate, Montoya, was victorious at Monza, and would have won a few more races if not for the FW23's unreliability and pit crew blunders. The car proved to be quicker than the Ferrari and McLaren counterparts in several races, but Williams' 2001 campaign only yielded third place in the constructor’s championship.
2002
For 2002, Williams kept their 2001 driver line up for the upcoming season. The team only won one race, which was at Malaysia, one of only 2 races not won by Ferrari in a year dominated by the Ferraris of Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello.[23] Williams did improve on their constructor’s championship position, finishing in second. Montoya finished third in the driver’s championship, eight points ahead of Ralf Schumacher, who finished fourth.
2003
2003 would see BMW Williams reach their peak of success, during pre-season, Frank Williams was very confident that the FW25 would challenge for the title.[24] The team won four races, Montoya winning twice at Monaco and Germany, while Ralf Schumacher won at the Nürburgring and the following race at Magny-Cours. Montoya stayed in contention for the driver’s championship during the season, the Colombian finished third in the championship, 11 points behind Michael Schumacher, while the younger Schumacher finished 24 points astern of Montoya in fifth. Williams finished second in the constructor’s championship, two points ahead of McLaren.
2004
Juan Pablo Montoya driving the Williams with the "Walrus-Nose" design FW26 during the 2004 United States Grand Prix. Montoya had qualified in fifth for the race, but he was disqualified for Illegally using the spare car
At the start of the 2004 season it was announced that Montoya would be moving to McLaren in 2005. The team began the season with a radical nose-cone design, known as the "Walrus-Nose", that proved uncompetitive and was replaced by a more conventional assembly in the second half of the year. Ferrari for the third time running, dominated the season, winning 15 of the 18 races, Williams did however pick up a win during the season, which was at the final race in Brazil, Juan Pablo Montoya winning the race by a second to Kimi Räikkönen’s McLaren. Another memorable part of the season was when both Williams and Toyota were disqualified from the Canadian Grand Prix after it was discovered that both cars had brake irregularities, the brake ducts seemingly not conforming to regulations. Williams finished the season in fourth, scoring 88 points and finishing on the podium six times. While Montoya was the highest placed Williams driver that year, finishing in fifth position; scoring 58 points.
2005
For the 2005 season, Schumacher moved to Toyota; while Montoya moved to McLaren. Taking their places were Australian Mark Webber and German Nick Heidfeld.[25][26] Initially Jenson Button was to have driven for Williams in 2005,[27] but an FIA ruling forced Button to remain with his current team BAR.[28] Nick Heidfeld competed with Brazilian test driver Antônio Pizzonia for the remaining racing seat during December 2004 and January 2005, and Heidfeld was chosen,[29] partly in deference to BMW’s wishes for a German driver. Pizzonia served as the test driver for the team during the 2005 season. Meanwhile, Button signed a contract to drive for Williams in 2006.
Nick Heidfeld driving the Williams FW27 during the 2005 United States GP.
During the course of the 2004 and 2005 F1 seasons, BMW Motorsport and director Mario Theissen increasingly became publicly critical of the WilliamsF1 team’s inability to create a package capable of winning the constructors championship, or even multiple victories within a single season.[30] Williams, on the other hand, blamed BMW for not producing a good enough engine.[31] Williams' failed attempt to prise Jenson Button out of his BAR contract may also have been an issue with Theissen. Despite Frank Williams' rare decision to cave in to commercial demands by employing German driver Nick Heidfeld when he allegedly preferred Antônio Pizzonia, the fallout between BMW and Williams continued through the 2005 Formula One season. This public deterioration of the relationship between BMW and WilliamsF1 was a factor in the decision by BMW Motorsport to buy Sauber and rebrand that team to feature the BMW name.[32]
Williams could have opted to continue with BMW engines in 2006, despite the fact that the engine manufacturer was about to set up its own team. In the end, though, WilliamsF1 opted for Cosworth V8 engines for 2006.
This period (2000–2005) saw Williams depart from the standard livery scheme in motorsport, which consists of one colour scheme, either the teams' or the major sponsors', with smaller logos in their own scheme. BMW stipulated that, and paid for, the whole vehicle to be in blue and white, with other sponsors adopting this scheme. Also in 2000, Williams abandoned tobacco advertising in favour of Information Technology companies, as the team’s second major sponsor became Compaq. That sponsorship lasted until Compaq’s acquisition by Hewlett-Packard. At the 2002 British Grand Prix, the team debuted the Hewlett-Packard sponsorship. After complaints about the HP logo on the rear wing it was replaced in 2003 with the sponsor’s tag line, "Invent".[citation needed] One of the most memorable results of this technological partnership was a worldwide television commercial featured drivers Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya seemingly driving their BMW Williams cars around a track by radio control from a grandstand.[33]
This "clean" image allowed Williams to sign a cigarette anti-craving brand, Niquitin,[34] and Anheuser-Busch, alternating with the Budweiser beer brand[35] and Sea World Adventure Parks,[36] in compliance with trademark disputes or alcohol bans.
2006
Related Article: Cosworth
Nico Rosberg driving the Williams FW28-Cosworth at Canadian GP.
The 2006 season saw Nico Rosberg replace Nick Heidfeld, who departed for BMW Sauber, while Mark Webber stayed on with the team. Despite having signed a contract to race for Williams, Jenson Button decided to stay with BAR for 2006 as it was to become a Honda works team. In September 2005 a deal was reached to allow Button to remain with BAR, with Williams receiving around £24m, some of it paid by Jenson himself, to cancel this contract.
WilliamsF1 and Cosworth entered a partnership agreement where Cosworth would supply engines, transmissions and associated electronics and software for the team.[37] Major sponsors Hewlett Packard (HP) concluded sponsorship agreements one year before their official end of contract. The WilliamsF1 team also switched to Bridgestone tyres.
The season started well, with both drivers scoring points in the opening race of the season, and Nico Rosberg setting the fastest lap at the Bahrain Grand Prix. However, the rest of the season was very disappointing, with 20 retirements out of 36 starts for the two cars. The team failed to finish on the podium all season, the first time since Williams’ first season in 1977. The team eventually finished eighth in the constructors’ championship, with only 11 points.
[edit] Toyota (2007 onwards)
Related Articles: Toyota & Toyota F1
Alexander Wurz driving for Williams at the 2007 Malaysian Grand Prix.
Following Williams' worst points tally since 1978, the Grove-based team announced that Japanese car manufacturer Toyota would be supplying the engines for the 2007 season.[38] Along with Toyota supplying engines to the team, a number of other changes were announced for 2007: Alexander Wurz, who had been a test driver at Williams since 2006, became the team’s second driver to replace the outgoing Mark Webber; Japanese driver Kazuki Nakajima, son of Satoru, replaced Wurz as a test driver alongside Karthikeyan. Sponsorship also saw a change in 2007, as it was announced that AT&T would become the title sponsors for the team from the upcoming season.[39] AT&T were previously involved as minor sponsors with the Jaguar and McLaren teams, but moved to Williams following McLaren’s announcement of a title sponsorship deal with Vodafone, a competitor of AT&T.[40] On February 2, the new FW29 was presented to the media in the UK. Soon afterwards the team secured a sponsorship deal with Lenovo who built the team's new supercomputer.
Rosberg and Wurz gave Williams a more productive season in terms of points and in Canada the Austrian scored the team's first podium finish since Nick Heidfeld's second place finish at the 2005 European Grand Prix. Over the course of the year Rosberg was consistently in the points, scoring 20 during the season, in comparison teammate Wurz who finished in the points three times. Following the announcement that Wurz would be retiring from the sport,[41] Williams brought in their young test driver Nakajima to drive the second car for them in the final race in Brazil. The Japanese driver finished in tenth despite starting from near the back of the grid, while Rosberg enjoyed his best race of the season, finishing in fourth. Williams finished fourth in the Constructors' Championship that year.
Kazuki Nakajima driving for Williams at the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix.
Nico Rosberg driving for Williams at the 2009 Turkish Grand Prix.
For the 2008 season, Williams confirmed Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima as their race drivers. Rosberg was confirmed as staying with Williams until the end of 2009 on December 9, 2007, ending speculation that he could take Fernando Alonso's vacated seat at McLaren.[42] During the Winter testing sessions, the team ran six different liveries to celebrate their thirtieth year in the sport and their 500th Grand Prix.[43]
The 2008 season was a mixture of success and disappointment for Williams. While Rosberg managed to obtain 2 podiums in Australia and Singapore, the team struggled at circuits with high speed corners. The fact that the team was one of the first to switch development to their 2009 car (where new regulations come in) also hindered their season, and Williams finished a disappointing 8th in the constructors championship. Rosberg has stated that unless the team is more competitive in the near future, he will look for drives elsewhere. Williams have retained Rosberg and Nakajima for the 2009 season.
Frank Williams had admitted that he had regretted parting with BMW but stated that Toyota has tremendous ability to become a top engine supplier. Speculation had been surrounding Toyota's future on the Formula 1 grid. This was due to the fact that for a big budget team, Toyota had only managed 2nd place as their best result.
In December 2008 Williams confirmed their commitment to F1 following the Honda withdrawal announcement.[44]
[edit] Formula One results
Main article: WilliamsF1 Grand Prix results (results for Williams Grand Prix Engineering/WilliamsF1, 1977–2009)
See Frank Williams Racing Cars for that team’s results from 1975 to 1976.
[edit] Other motorsports and Williams-branded cars
[edit] Formula 2
Main article: Formula 2
Williams have developed the car for the revived Formula 2 championship, beginning in 2009[45]. The design was originally created for a new, more powerful off-shoot of the Formula Palmer Audi series, however the car was re-purposed when Jonathan Palmer's MotorSport Vision successfully bid for the rights to run the new Formula 2 series.
[edit] Group B rallying
Main article: Group B
The Metro 6R4 rally car was developed by Williams in 1984 on commission from Rover. The rally car was a Rover Metro with a completely new V6 engine (mid-engined) and four-wheel drive, developed to the international Group B rallying regulations. Williams developed the car in just six months.
[edit] British Touring Car Championship
Main article: British Touring Car Championship
Williams Touring Car Engineering were Renault's official entry to the British Touring Car Championship between 1995 and 1999. The Renault Laguna based cars were produced at Williams' Didcot factory (the Formula One team having recently moved to new premises at Grove). The touring car venture was very successful, Williams-Renault won the Manufacturers title in 1995 and 1997 and the BTCC drivers title with Swiss Alain Menu in 1997.
[edit] Le Mans 24 Hours
Main article: 24 Hours of Le Mans
Prior to their F1 partnership, Williams Motorsport built Le Mans Prototypes for BMW, known as the V12 LM and V12 LMR. The V12 LMR won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1999. The car was driven by Pierluigi Martini; Yannick Dalmas and Joachim Winkelhock,[46] and operated by Schnitzer Motorsport under the name of BMW Motorsport.
[edit] Renault Clio Williams
Williams's name and logo were used on the Renault Clio Williams. However, no input was provided by Williams into the development of the car.[47]
The Metro 6R4 was developed by Williams for the 1986 World Rally Championship.
The Williams engineered Renault Laguna BTCC car ran between 1995–1999 and won two manufactures titles and one drivers title.
The Renault Clio Williams.
