Williams - the inexorable slide...

Wouldn't have it been easier to replace Coulthard with Villeneuve, after all he was talking to Mclaren around this time.
 
The problem for Hill was that Williams was hell-bent on signing Frentzen. Williams had tried to sign him after Senna's death in 1994, so was looking to get him in the car. Hill was there in 1996 becuase he had a year left on his contract- Williams was just waiting for his chance to sign Frentzen.
 
Lack of stability in the driver line-up must have caused problems. Between 1992 and 1997, the team had different drivers. After 1997, the team tailed off- this must also have something to do with Adrian Newey, who went to design McLaren's title winner for 1998.
 
You could argue that they've never had a stable driver line up apart from 2001-2004 and that was a fractious relationship...... But it was that period of time where you could argue that they were the closest to winning the championship than they have ever been since 1997, (2003)
 
They really should have won the championship in 2003, but Montoya made too many mistakes, and Schumacher, despite at times being in the fourth-best car (or best or second-best depending on what Bridgestone turned out), and Raikkonen in consistently the third-best car, outscored him. As for Ralf, he was just as mediocre as eve. The drivers just weren't good enough to win titles in F1.
 
It is sad to see, but in this sport Money and sound management are the keys to success........RBR are proof enough of that, with or without a Seb they will win, sadly for Williams it has been a tale of decline for a long time now, maybe like Renault need to consider joining another team, share costs and rebuild.

Forgive the ignorance, but by "pay driver" is that the same as "rent-a-driver"?
 
It is sad to see, but in this sport Money and sound management are the keys to success........RBR are proof enough of that, with or without a Seb they will win, sadly for Williams it has been a tale of decline for a long time now, maybe like Renault need to consider joining another team, share costs and rebuild.

Forgive the ignorance, but by "pay driver" is that the same as "rent-a-driver"?

A pay driver is a driver who has large personal sponsorship.He is given the seat on the amount of money that he brings to team, not his ability.
 
Okay......interesting addition to terminologies.

So it is not in the sense of being a money merc, more to do with who and what gets his drive.
 
Hmmm this might help Williams to improve.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/92843 Williams has announced that it will use Renault engines from the 2012 season, in a renewal of the partnership that dominated Formula 1 for much of the 1990s.
The initial deal is for 2012 and 2013, with an option to continue when the new rules are introduced in 2014.
Renault previously supplied Williams with factory engines from 1989 to 1997 in a collaboration that delivered four drivers' and five constructors' titles. The team is currently using Cosworth engines.
Team principal Frank Williams said he was extremely happy to reunite with Renault given their past successes together - but that both parties were now looking to an equally strong future.
 
Agreed Sportsman, that's great news for Williams and was essential if they were to stand any hope of moving towards the front end of the grid again.

There are so many other areas in which they still need to improve but at least this is a step in the right direction.
 
Williams Renault is back!!! Cue loads of people digging around at the back of their wardrobes for all their old Williams Renault gear!

Won't Renault be supplying 4 teams next year now? I didn't think that was allowed. Or are Red Bull's engines not techinically going to be classed as Renault engines next year? haven't they stuck another badge on it or something?

I suspect the deal will come with some terms and with the amount of drivers Renault have on a youth scheme then I suspect it will be one of them landing a Williams seat. Cue Bruno Senna or Roman Grosjean at Williams next year! I do think it will bump them up the grid a bit as I don't think its been the design of the Williams thats let them down over the last few seasons.
 
Agreed Sportsman, that's great news for Williams and was essential if they were to stand any hope of moving towards the front end of the grid again.

There are so many other areas in which they still need to improve but at least this is a step in the right direction.
I seem to recall thats exactly what you said in one of your posts on this topic.
 
Ok - a Renault engine deal is definitely a step in the right direction, but I still feel that Williams' shortcomings are not necessarily solely technical. As has been demonstrated at other teams (Ferrari under Todt, Red Bull currently) it is the clarity of focus within the managerial structure that pushes the team forwards as much as having a fundamentally quick car - it is vital that they get the balance between chiefs and indians right, and develop a clear reporting chain up and down the company. I noticed when Eurosport ran that "year with Williams" series, that although the team had great facilities, not many of the departments seemed to talk to one another. I suppose Kolles is seen as a troubleshooter (given the task he faced to get HRT onto the grid 2 years running), and perhaps that's what Williams have conceded that they need?

Postscript - thanks to all the CTA membership who've been digging out all the snippets of info about Williams to flesh this thread out :cheer:
 
the return of Williams Renault. now THAT brings a smile to my face! the thread of this title is amusing to me now because everything that the team have done in the last month screams that they are going to be on their way back. speaking as someone who's been a fan of them since 1980, i cant wait!!!!!!!!!! fantastic news!!!!!!!!!!!
 
How much does the Williams Renault name mean to Formula One? I think on an importance scale of one to five it gets
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