Current Williams

Williams Grand Prix Engineering

FIA Entry: AT&T Williams
Car 11: Rubens Barrichello
Car 12: Pastor Maldonado
Engine: Cosworth V8
Team Principal: Frank Williams
Director of Engineering: Patrick Head
Technical Director: Sam Michael
Race Engineer Car 11: Tony Ross
Race Engineer Car 12: Tom McCullough

Stats as of end 2010

First Entered 1977
Races Entered 539
Race Wins 113
Pole Positions 126
Fastest Laps 130
Driver World Championships 7
Constructor World Championships 9

Team History

The Early Years

Like many team owners and principals Frank Williams started life as a driver and mechanic. Realising his ability as a driver wouldn't allow him to reach the levels he hoped Williams set up Frank Williams Racing Cars and in 1969 entered a Brabham chassis for Piers Courage. Through to 1976 Williams entered customer cars from other manufacturers before settings up Williams Grand Prix Engineering in 1977 with Patrick Head.

Williams Grand Prix Engineering

In 1977 Williams GPE entered a March 761 for Patrick Neve. In 1978 Patrick Head designed his first Williams car, the FW06, driven by Australian Alan Jones The car scored it's first points at the South African Grand Prix and Jones took Williams first podium at Long Beach, finishing 2nd behind Carlos Reutemann in a Ferrari.

In 1979 the FW07 chassis debuted and Williams had grown into a 2 car team with Clay Regazzoni joining Alan Jones. Regazzoni scored Williams first Grand Prix victory at Silverstone and Jones took another 4 victories that season. Continuing with the FW07(in A and B spec) in 1980 Jones, now partnered by Carlos Reutemann, won 6 races (5 for Jones and 1 for Reutemann) with Jones winning the drivers title and Williams the Constructors Championship.

With the FW07 in C & D spec Williams won 4 more races and again took the Constructors Championship in 1981 but missed out on the Drivers Title. Continuing with Cosworth power in 1982 Williams moved onto the FW08, a car originally designed as 6 wheeler, and Keke Rosberg joined Carlos Reutemann. Reutemann retired 2 races into the season and Mario Andretti stood in for a single race before Derek Daly permanently replaced Reutemann. Rosberg only managed a single win at the Swiss Grand Prix 1982 but it was enough for him to win the Drivers Championship.

Having driven for Frank Williams back in 1974 and 1975 Jacques Laffite partnered Keke Rosberg in 1983. Rosberg won the Monaco Grand Prix with Cosworth power and by the end of the season Williams had moved to Honda turbo power and the FW09 chassis. 1984 continued the pattern of 1 win per season for Rosberg and the Williams team with Keke taking first place in Dallas.

The Honda Era

Nigel Mansell joined Williams in 1985 and the team, still with Honda turbo engines, won 4 Grand Prix. Piquet replaced Rosberg for 1986 and between them Mansell and Piquet won 9 of the 16 races and Williams the Constructors Championship. 1987 saw another 9 victories for the team and another victory in the Constructors Championship as well as Piquet winning the Drivers Title

The departure of Honda as engine supplier and Piquet as a driver in 1989 saw Williams move temporarily to Judd engines and Mansell, now partnered by Riccardo Patrese, had a very lean season with their highest finish only 4th.

Renault Power

Williams secured Renault V10 power for 1989 and the next 9 season proved to be Williams most successful. They won 63 Grands Prix, 5 Constructors Championship (1992, 93, 94, 96 & 97) and 4 Drivers Titles (Mansell 92, Prost 93, Hill 96 and Villeneuve 97). Other winners for Williams in this period of dominance included Riccardo Patrese, Thierry Boutsen, Heinz Harald Frentzen and David Coulthard. This period was also touched by tragedy when Ayrton Senna lost his life in a Williams car at the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola in 1994

The withdrawal of Renault from F1 in 1998 moved Williams into another barren spell as the cars were powered by ageing Renault engines produced by Mecachrome (98) and Supetec (99).

BMW Williams

Williams changed to BMW V10 engines in 2000 and returned to the winners circle in 2001 with Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya at the wheel. The partnership with BMW continued until 2006 with Williams winning 10 Grands Prix and were runners up in the Constructors Championship in 2002 and 2003. Ralph Schumacher drove for Williams for 6 season and was partnered by Alex Zanardi, Jenson Button (debuting in F1 in 2000) and Montoya with Mark Gene and Antonio Pizzonia making occasional appearances as stand in drivers. BMW's final season with Williams saw Mark Webber and Nick Heidfeld taking podiums but able to not challenge for wins.

Toyota Customer

A season of Cosworth power in 2006, with Mark Webber joined by F1 new boy Nico Rosberg, proved very unsuccessful and in 2007 Williams became customers of Toyota. As one of the few truly independent teams still competing in F1 Williams struggled to compete with the factory supported teams and were probably best categorised as "the best of the rest". Webber left at the end of 2007 and Rosberg, initially partnered by Alex Wurz and then by Toyota "works" driver Kazuki Nakajima, managed a highest finish of 2nd in Singapore 2008 with Williams finishing 4th, 8th and 7th in the Constructors Championship whilst using Toyota power.

In 2009 Williams sold a minority share in the company to an Austrian investment company led by Toto Wolff.

Williams Cosworth

In 2010 Williams returned to Cosworth engines and signed up Rubens Barrichello and Nico Hulkenberg to drive for them. Hulkenberg took a surprising pole in changeable weather conditions in Brazil to give Williams their first such grid position since Nick Heidfeld in 2005. Although regular points finishers Williams weren't challenging for wins and finished the season 6th in Constructors Championship.

2011 sees Rubens Barrichello retain his seat at Williams with GP2 Champion Pastor Maldonado alongside him. They will continue with Cosworth engine power.

 

[Senna's_right_foot]

I wonder how much Maldonado actually brings

$46.5 million, to be precise. No wonder they kept him.

 

[RasputinLives]

Apparantly Valtteri Bottas will ALWAYS take Senna's FP1 time when he's in the car, never Maldonado's. This seems really unfair to Senna, I wonder how much Maldonado actually beings, must be a lot because other teams (Force India) have managed to split track time for a development driver between both their race drivers. Just shows how desperate Williams are, without a doubt Bottas would be in that car if Senna or Maldonado were skint.

I wish Bottas would ALWAYS take Senna's place in the Grand Prix

 

[Il_leone]

I wish Bottas would ALWAYS take Senna's place in the Grand Prix

you just don't like Bruno do you even though he drove a fine race in Sepang

 

[RasputinLives]

you just don't like Bruno do you even though he drove a fine race in Sepang

No I'm not a Bruno fan but I did tip my hat to him for his good drive but one good drive won't change my mind completely.

My main point though is that Bottas has more potential than both the current Williams drivers and once again in P1 he's out paced Maldonado and looks like he'd be a much better choice to be behind the wheel of that Williams. I know I'm coming off like a stuck record and I know its all about cash but in days yore Williams would have had him in that seat and I think it shows how far they've fallen that he isn't.

I still think they'd make more money from Bottas scoring reg points than from Bruno's sponsorships.

 

[Il_leone]

No I'm not a Bruno fan but I did tip my hat to him for his good drive but one good drive won't change my mind completely.

well Maldonado is the one a bit more accident prone but has a huge wallet of sponsors which makes his position hard to shift

Yes the Williams situation is tragic but they've always said they were privateer team and really made best use of fruitful partnerships with Honda then Renault to achieve their success[/quote]

 

[teabagyokel]

There is no doubt that on talent Bottas should be in one of the Williams seats, and I believe that by the end of the year he will be in one of the Williams seats.

No I'm not a Bruno fan but I did tip my hat to him for his good drive but one good drive won't change my mind completely.

It'd take three good drives to bring back the credit lost when outqualified by Sakon Yamamoto.

 

[Il_leone]

There is no doubt that on talent Bottas should be in one of the Williams seats, and I believe that by the end of the year he will be in one of the Williams seats.



It'd take three good drives to bring back the credit lost when outqualified by Sakon Yamamoto.

IF Bruno's name was not Senna he would probably be replaced later on but I don't think that will happen because of the Senna- Williams Renault connection

 

[teabagyokel]

I think the Senna connection means less to Williams far less than the Embratel connection, when the cost-benefit analyses are written. But they won't be able to ignore their reserve if he's continually faster than both their drivers.

 

[Bill Boddy]

Hey guys, it was FP1 when it is quite possible that the two drivers in a team are very likely to be doing differing tasks. Once those are all completed satisfactorily the drivers may be allowed to go head to head but that is usually well into FP2.

It may be that Bottas is faster than either of the main drivers but this is unlikely to be decided in the first session of a weekend.

 

[RasputinLives]

It may be that Bottas is faster than either of the main drivers but this is unlikely to be decided in the first session of a weekend.

I'd agree if he hadn't been consistantly faster than both everytime he got in the car.

Still good drive by both today. That car is looking pretty good

 

[FB]

Just noticed Williams carrying sponsorship from Gillette and Head & Shoulders which are both P&G brands. Perhaps Frank has found a new golden egg laying goose? With Unilever sponsoring Lotus it is an interesting new brand war.

 

[canis]

I wondered why the Jenson H&S adds had disapeared....

 

[RasputinLives]

I doubt they'll be replaced by Maldonado one's though

 

[teabagyokel]

I think RasputinLives will have noted that Bottas was a second clear of Maldonado in this session. And he was the only Friday man to outpractice his team-mate.

 

[landogeorgelewis1]

Is it any surprise that Williams turn of fortune has come with the change of Engine suppiler. I think the Renault power has given them much more power and they've produced a fine car to go along with the engine.

 

[The Artist.....]

HammydiRestarules. I'm not convinced you can completely attribute this to the engine... Remember that caterham have the same engine as Williams!

 

[FB]

I wonder if this ranks up there with Regazzoni's first win for Williams way back in 1979? After the times Williams have had over recent years the emotions must be similar. A new car to put into the Williams museum which is a race winner - many congrats to the whole team, great to see them coming back. Hopefully this isn't a Tyrrell type swansong when Alboreto won a couple of a races toward the end of the teams life.

 

[Galahad]

Those were my feelings exactly FB, it feels more like a first win than just another Williams win. They're still facing an uphill battle financially, but this will do them a power of good. I'm so, so happy!

 

[Josh]

Could this post-race fire harm their season? They have to pretty much rebuild Senna's car and I'm guessing a lot of tools etc have become damaged by the fire as well and need replacing.

 

[Fenderman]

They will surely build a new car and Monaco isn't far from "home" so recovery shouldn't be too difficult for them. Had next weeks race been a fly away it would have been more of a problem. My concern is with regard to the members of the crew who have suffered injury. I hope and wish for their speedy recovery.