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Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, currently racing in Formula One as Williams Martini Racing, is a British Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded and is run by team owner Sir Frank Williams and automotive engineer Sir Patrick Head. The team was formed in 1977 after Frank Williams's two earlier unsuccessful F1 operations: Frank Williams Racing Cars (1969 to 1975) and Wolf–Williams Racing (1976). All of Williams F1 chassis are called "FW" then a number, the FW being the initials of team owner, Frank Williams.
The team's 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's first race at the 1979 British Grand Prix. At the 1997 British Grand Prix, Canadian Jacques Villeneuve scored the team's 100th race victory, making Williams one of only three teams in Formula One, alongside Ferrari and fellow British team McLaren, to win 100 races. Williams won nine Constructors' Championships between 1980 and 1997. This stood as a record until Ferrari surpassed it in 2000.
Drivers for Williams have included Australia's Alan Jones; Finland's Keke Rosberg; Britain's Nigel Mansell, Damon Hill and Jenson Button; France's Alain Prost; Brazil's Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna; and Canada's Jacques Villeneuve. Each of these drivers, with the exception of Senna and Button, have captured one Drivers' title with the team. Of those who have won the championship with Williams, only Jones, Rosberg and Villeneuve actually defended their title while still with the team. Piquet moved to Lotus after winning the 1987 championship, Mansell moved to the American-based Indy Cars after winning the 1992 championship, Prost retired from racing after his 4th World Championship in 1993, while Hill moved to Arrows after winning in 1996.
Williams have worked with many engine manufacturers, most successfully with Renault, winning five of their nine Constructors' titles with the French company. Along with Ferrari, McLaren, Benetton and Renault, Williams is one of a group of five teams that won every Constructors' Championship between 1979 and 2008 and every Drivers' Championship from 1984 to 2008.
Williams F1 also has business interests beyond Formula One racing. Based in Grove, Oxfordshire, UK, Williams has established Williams Advanced Engineering and Williams Hybrid Power which take technology originally developed for Formula One and adapt it for commercial applications. In April 2014, Williams Hybrid Power were sold to GKN. Williams Advanced Engineering had a technology centre in Qatar until it was closed in 2014.
source: Wikipedia
Albon’s Bahrain GP was compromised by overheating issues on his way to an unrepresentative 15th, while in Saudi Arabia he just missed out on the points by finishing 11th.Despite being beaten in Jeddah only by the nine surviving cars from the top five teams – plus the Haas of Nico Hulkenberg, the Thai/British driver still feels that Williams has not yet shown what it can do.“Very simply ...
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Sargeant was sent skidding off the track at Sakhir last weekend after the brake bias moved unexpectedly and caused him to lock up.Read Also:Formula 1Steering wheel brake bias glitch sent Sargeant off road in Bahrain F1 GPWilliams revealed afterwards that the problem had been caused by the brake bias changing in a way that had not been requested.Team principal James Vowles ...
Fry, who joined Williams in November after leaving Alpine in the summer, says parts for the 2024 car came through the Grove factory system much later than was the case at his previous teams, which also include Ferrari and McLaren.It was also the first new car built under team principal James Vowles, who started at the team early last year.Fry indicated that efforts are underway to change the ...
More often than not, drivers progress to F1 via the established path of F3 and Formula 2, but occasionally there are exceptions.The most notable example in recent years is three-time world champion Max Verstappen, who graduated to the top tier directly from European F3 in 2015 with Toro Rosso.Read Also:Autosport AwardsA rising star's first day in an F1 carEntering his ...
Last year's FW45, which Albon guided to eight points finishes as the team climbed from last to seventh in the constructors’ championship, proved particularly weak through low-speed changes of direction, under braking and through longer-duration fast corners.But speaking on the second day of pre-season running in Bahrain, Albon reckoned Williams had worked to rectify many of the significant ...
The 17-year-old Antonelli is heading into his first season of F2 after a meteoric rise through the ranks, and Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has hinted that he is a candidate to replace the departing Lewis Hamilton by suggesting that the team could be "bold" in its choice.Such a move would be a huge step for the teenager even if he has a stellar F2 season, and thus he has also been linked with ...
As part of a revamp that Mercedes has made to its new W15 challenger, the team has moved to a push-rod configuration on its rear suspension layout.Used to good effect by Red Bull and McLaren since the start of the ground effect era, this configuration offers aerodynamic advantages as it allows a more streamlined gearbox and better airflow through the floor and onto the rear wing.The change by ...
And, whilst we haven’t seen the FW46 until now, we thought we could be assured of one detail, with the expectation being that the car would feature a push-rod rear suspension layout, rather than the pull-rod it has employed for the first two years of this regulation phase.That’s due to Mercedes having made that switch this season, with Williams buying its rear end, including the gearbox and ...
The Grove-based outfit had so far only done a season launch with its new livery at an event in New York earlier this month.And having elected to abandon initial plans for a filming day run at Silverstone this month because of uncertainty over the weather, the team has instead revealed its new FW46 challenger on the day before official pre-season testing begins.Posts on social media showed the new ...
Albon and Williams excelled in 2023 on circuits that suited the low-drag FW45, which competed towards the front of the midfield on low-downforce circuits like Monza and Montreal, but had too many weaknesses to be an all-round contender throughout the season.Williams' biggest priority for the FW46 was to cure some of its foul handling characteristics and turn it into a consistent points score at a ...
Albon has been linked to various top teams in recent weeks, including a return to Red Bull and a move to Mercedes to replace Lewis Hamilton from 2025 onwards.While Williams team principal James Vowles clarified Albon is contracted to the Grove team until next year, he also added he would keep the outfit's long-term interests at heart if any offer came in for the 27-year-old."Should any decision go ...
Following his impressive performances with Williams, Albon had been linked to a Red Bull return in 2025, which still has a vacancy for Sergio Perez's current seat alongside world champion Max Verstappen.With uncertainty over Albon's contract situation, which was believed to make him a free agent at the end of 2024, Lewis Hamilton's shock move to Ferrari also brought the 27-year-old into the frame ...
Williams has stuck to largely the same colour scheme for 2024 that adorned last year's FW45, with various shades of dark and navy blue complemented by naked carbon fibre on the lower half of the car that will be raced by Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant.It has also added a red and white pinstripe around the nose and sidepods, which the team says is a nod to its British identity and its lineage of ...
Ex-Mercedes strategy chief Vowles was handed the top job at Williams for 2023 but accepted that on-track results last year and for 2024 were insignificant so long as it allowed the squad to bring about more sustained improvement starting in 2025 before a major push the following season.That drawn out time frame will allow for the revised design department structure (led by new chief technical ...
With investment and commitment from owners Dorilton, incoming team boss Vowles has been backed to make sweeping changes to restore the winner of seven drivers' and nine constructors' titles to its former glory.Williams has suffered from years of underinvestment that gradually turned it from a benchmark into a backmarker.But instead of putting all its efforts into just surviving another year, its ...
In a ringing endorsement of the Thai driver who almost single-handedly helped Williams secure seventh in the constructors’ championship last season, Vowles has opened up on the differences he saw in Albon throughout 2023. And he thinks the way Albon approached the job, with a car that wasn’t consistent in its performance at all tracks, was evidence of the supreme qualities that he thinks will ...
The Grove-based outfit is coming off the back of an encouraging 2023 season where it finished seventh in the constructors’ championship, its best result since 2018. And with Vowles having only arrived just ahead of the start of the campaign, the true impact of the changes he is making to the organisation are yet to be seen. One of the early decisions that Vowles made was for the team to switch ...
After switching from multiple title winner Mercedes, Vowles has admitted some surprise regarding facilities that he said in certain areas were 20 years out of date. It was why he pushed hard, and achieved some success, in changing F1’s capital expenditure limits to free up the possibility for much-needed investment to help address Williams' shortfalls. But while some may have been put off by ...
As teams gear up for the new era of engine regulations that are due to come into play in 2026, efforts have been going on for manufacturers to finalise their partner squads.And with Mercedes having already extended a deal with McLaren at the end of last year, the German manufacturer has now confirmed that Williams will remain a part of its roster too.Williams team principal James Vowles said: "It ...
Let’s take a look at the FW45’s finer details and how it was modified during the season in order to make that leap forward in the pecking order. Photo by: Giorgio PiolaWilliams FW45 brake caliperWilliams were one of a handful of teams that opted to use tube-like fins on the surface of its front brake caliper in order to help reduce weight and improve cooling. Photo by ...
Within minutes of each other, Williams and Sauber revealed that they will launch their respective 2024 seasons at ceremonies to be held on Monday 5 February.While Sauber has committed to showcasing the C44 in a ceremony in London, Williams has made no such promise and last year used the launch to showcase its new livery, and not the car itself. Both teams shared ‘save the date’ cards on ...
Fry started working at Williams in November after leaving a similar role at Alpine earlier this year, as a key figure in overhauling the team after years of underinvestment.The former Benetton, Ferrari and McLaren man has been tasked with identifying and providing what each technical department at Grove needs for long-term success.Fry started too late to have a drastic impact on Williams' launch ...
Williams owner Dorilton Capital is investing to restore the Grove team to its former glory, with long-time Mercedes man James Vowles brought in to oversee the revamp as its new team principal for 2023.After identifying the squad's key weaknesses, Vowles brought in former Benetton, McLaren and Ferrari stalwart Fry from Alpine to become the team's CTO.Fry joined after feeling there was no desire at ...
22-0 in qualifying. 27-1 in points. Sargeant has been completely dominated by team-mate Alex Albon in his first season in F1, after being promoted earlier than expected when other options to replace Nicholas Latifi fell through.Looking purely at results, which is what F1 is all about in the end, Williams could have been expected to jettison the 22-year-old Floridian, who has seen flashes of ...
Following an up and down rookie campaign with Williams, which saw him secure one point but endure some disappointments along the way, Sargeant did enough to convince the Grove-based outfit that he was worth sticking with.Speaking about his new contract, Sargeant said: "I am thrilled to be continuing with Williams Racing for the 2024 season. “It has been an incredible journey with the team so ...
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