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.
 
this is up there with some of the most depressing news, ive heard in F1 in a long time. the idea that they are a junior team. id rather williams have gone bust than have this abomination. shouldnt be anyone junior team. thats like ferrari or mclaren becoming a junior team

 
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this is up there with some of the most depressing news, ive heard in F1 in a long time. the idea that they are a junior team. id rather williams have gone bust than have this abomination. shouldnt be anyone junior team. thats like ferrari or mclaren becoming a junior team

given That Williams have a long-term contract for Mercedes engines, and to run the gearbox of the Mercedes in 2022, this sounds like garbage.

Alpine may well have contacted Williams, but i could contact them about selling the team to me... doesn’t mean it’s likely to happen!
 
The only way Williams would consider it is if they will get a fairer deal than the one with Mercedes but I thought they have engine deal until.2024
 

Formula 1: Porsche & Volkswagen Group considering entering​

Which team could Porsche and VW join with?​

If Volkswagen Group (VAG) did commit to entering F1, it would be likely to be with either its Porsche or Audi brands, sources say.
And it is not clear whether any entry would be as a full works team, in the manner of Mercedes, or as an engine supplier to an existing entrant.
VAG is said to have had initial exploratory talks with three teams - Red Bull, McLaren and Williams.

Well this might finally happen with Williams, ( through Capito) .Mclaren (through Seidl), and Red Bull the obvious partners
 
Not a surprise really.

VW have been weighing up an entry for years if reports are to be believed.

It would have to be assumed that it would be under the Porsche name but Audi are also a possibility.

With Honda pulling out at the end of the season, Red Bull would be a ready, willing and able engine partner to VW.
 
It'd work for Williams' VC owners as well, keep the profitable bits, sell the F1 team to VAG group, who can then supply engines to RB and AT as well - plenty of users to avoid falling into the Honda trap.
 
Re-badged engines will only remain competitive for about 5 minutes. (Just ask Williams in 1998).

Red Bull will be looking for a works or near works deal if they can get it.
 
Sure I read that Red bull are spunking huge amounts of money on their own engine factory for 2025. So makes no sense to swap to VW for 3 years in my opinion.

I just hope if VW do take over at Williams they retain the name it would be a shame to see them gone. Used to be my favorite team until Claire turned them into an embarrassment.
 
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Used to be my favorite team until Claire turned them into an embarrassment.
i love Williams & they are Ferrari of Britain. most British F1 fans have a soft spot for Williams

but i think claire Williams fault. was delegation she trusted people like paddy lowe too much. somewhere & someone got carried away with 2014 performance & the engine papered over the cracks of a terrible chassis. biggest shame being that it took them until 2017 to realise this & month behind is long time never mind 3 years
 
Hard to believe that he passed away 27 years ago today.
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