Williams Racing, legally known asWilliams Grand Prix Engineering Limited and competing asAtlassian Williams Racing, is a BritishFormula One team and constructor. It was founded byFrank Williams andPatrick Head. The team was formed in1977 after Frank Williams's earlier unsuccessful F1 operation,Frank Williams Racing Cars (which later becameWolf–Williams Racing in 1976). The team is based inGrove, Oxfordshire, on a 60-acre (24 ha) site.[5]
Of these drivers, Jones, Keke Rosberg, Mansell, Hill, Piquet, Prost, and Villeneuve won theDrivers' title with the team. Of those who have won the championship with Williams, only Jones, Keke Rosberg and Villeneuve defended their title while still with the team; as Piquet moved toLotus after winning the1987 championship; Mansell left F1 to compete in theCART series after winning the1992 championship, Prost retired after winning the1993 championship, and Hill moved toArrows after winning the1996 championship. None of Williams's Drivers' Champions went on to win another championship after their success with Williams.
Williams have worked with many engine manufacturers, most successfully withRenault, winning five of their nine Constructors' titles with the company. Along withFerrari,McLaren,Benetton andRenault, 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 also has business interests beyond Formula One. They have established Williams Advanced Engineering and Williams Hybrid Power, who take technology originally developed for Formula One and adapt it for commercial applications. In April 2014, Williams Hybrid Power was sold toGKN. In May 2020, Williams announced they were seeking buyers for a portion of the team due to poor financial performance in 2019 and that they had terminated the contract of title sponsor ROKiT. On 21 August 2020, Williams was acquired by Dorilton Capital. Frank andClaire Williams stepped down from being Manager and Deputy Manager of the team on 6 September 2020, with the2020 Italian Grand Prix being their last time in their respective positions.[6]
In January 2020, Williams Racing announced a partnership withIsrael Start-Up Nation (nowIsrael–Premier Tech), the professional cycling and innovation organization.Roy Nissany was named an official test driver as part of the collaboration.[7][8]
Frank Williams founded Williams in 1977 after his previous team,Frank Williams Racing Cars, failed to achieve the success he desired. Despite the promise of a new owner, Canadian millionaireWalter Wolf, and the team's rebranding as Wolf–Williams Racing in1976, the cars still were not competitive. Eventually, Williams left the rechristenedWalter Wolf Racing and moved toDidcot, Oxfordshire to rebuild his team as Williams Grand Prix Engineering. Frank recruitedPatrick Head to work for the team, creating the Williams–Head partnership.[9]
For the1978 season, Patrick Head designed the first Williams car: the FW06. Williams signedAlan Jones, who had won theAustrian Grand Prix the previous season for a devastatedShadow team following the death of their lead driver,Tom Pryce. Jones's first race for the team was theArgentine Grand Prix where he qualified in 14th position but retired after 36 laps due to a fuel system failure. The team scored its first championship points two races later at theSouth African Grand Prix when Jones finished in fourth. Williams earnt their first podium at theUnited States Grand Prix, where Jones came second, 20 seconds behind theFerrari ofCarlos Reutemann.[11] Williams finished the season in ninth place in the Constructors' Championship, with a respectable 11 points, while Alan Jones finished 11th in the Drivers' Championship. Towards the end of 1978, Frank Williams recruitedFrank Dernie to join Patrick Head in the design office.
Head designed theFW07 chassis and gearbox for the1979 season withFrank Dernie picking up the suspension, aerodynamic development and skirt design. This was the team's firstground effect car, a technology that was first introduced byColin Chapman andTeam Lotus. Williams also obtained membership of theFormula One Constructors' Association (FOCA) which expressed a preference for teams to run two cars, so Jones was joined at the team byClay Regazzoni.[12] It was not until the seventh round of the championship, theMonaco Grand Prix, that they finished in the points. Regazzoni came close to taking the team's first win but finished second, less than a second behind race winnerJody Scheckter. The next race, theFrench Grand Prix, is remembered for the final lap battle betweenRené Arnoux andGilles Villeneuve, but also saw both cars finish in the points for the first time; as Jones was fourth with Regazzoni in sixth.[13] The team's first win came at theBritish Grand Prix (their home Grand Prix) when Regazzoni finished 25 seconds ahead of second place.
Greater success followed when Williams got a 1-2 finish at the next round inGermany, Jones in first with Regazzoni two seconds behind in second. Jones then made it three wins in a row at theAustrian Grand Prix, finishing half a minute ahead of Gilles Villeneuve's Ferrari. Three wins in a row became four two weeks later at theDutch Grand Prix, with Alan Jones winning yet again by a comfortable margin overJody Scheckter's Ferrari. Scheckter ended Williams's winning streak when he won theItalian Grand Prix; with Regazzoni finishing third behind Scheckter and Villeneuve. Alan Jones managed another win at the penultimate race inCanada to cap off a great season.
Williams had greatly improved their Constructors' Championship position, finishing seven 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. Jones scored 43 points, 17 points behind Scheckter, while Regazzoni was two places behind him with 32 points.
Before the start of the 1980 season, Regazzoni left the team and was replaced byCarlos Reutemann. Williams started strong in the championship, with Jones winning the first race of the season inArgentina. Jones won four more races: theFrench Grand Prix, theBritish Grand Prix, theCanadian Grand Prix and, the last race of the season, theUnited States Grand Prix. Jones became the first of seven Williams drivers to win the Drivers' Championship, 17 points ahead ofNelson Piquet'sBrabham. Williams also won its first Constructors' Championship, scoring 120 points, almost twice as many as second-placedLigier.
Williams won four races in1981. Alan Jones won the first race of the season, theUnited States West Grand Prix, and the final race of the season, theCaesars Palace Grand Prix. Meanwhile, Carlos Reutemann won theBrazilian Grand Prix and theBelgian Grand Prix. Williams won the Constructors' title for the second year in a row, scoring 95 points, 34 points more than second-placed Brabham.
Keke Rosberg'sFW08 used during the1982 season when Rosberg won the Drivers' Championship recording only a single win during the season
This season, Alan Jones retired from Formula One (though he would come back a year later for a single race with theArrows team). The Australian was replaced byKeke Rosberg, the father of2016 World ChampionNico Rosberg. Rosberg had not scored a single point the previous year. He won the Drivers' title that year despite winning only one race, theSwiss Grand Prix. Rosberg's teammate,Reutemann, finished in 15th place having quit Formula One after just two races of the new season. His seat was filled byMario Andretti for theUnited States Grand Prix West; beforeDerek Daly took over for the rest of the year. Williams finished fourth in the Constructors' Championship that year, 16 points behind first-placeFerrari.
Frank Williams looked towards Honda, who was developing aturbocharged V6 engine withSpirit. A deal between Honda and Williams was settled early in 1983 and the team used the engines for the 1984 season. For the1983 season however, Williams continued to use the Ford engine except for the last race of the year inSouth Africa; whereKeke Rosberg finished in an impressive fifth place. The team finished fourth in the Constructors' Championship, scoring 36 points. Also, Rosberg won that year'sMonaco Grand Prix.
For the1984 season, the team ran anFW09. Keke Rosberg won theDallas Grand Prix and finished in second at the opening race inBrazil. Rosberg's new teammate,Jacques Laffite, came 14th in the Drivers' Championship with five points. The team finished sixth in the Constructors' with 25.5 points, with Rosberg finishing in eighth in the Drivers' Championship.
During qualifying for theBritish Grand Prix, Rosberg completed a lap of the circuit in 1:05.591. The lap's average speed was 160.938 mph (259.005 km/h). This was the fastest recorded lap in Formula One history to that point.
From 1985 until 1993, Williams ran their famous yellow, blue and whiteCanon livery.
In March 1986, Frank Williams faced the most serious challenge of his life. While returning to the airport atNice, France, after pre-season testing, he was involved in a road accident that left him paralysed. He did not return to the pit lane for almost a year.[14] Despite the lack of his trackside presence, 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 at theAustralian Grand Prix, the final race of the season, while his fellow championship rival and new teammate, Nelson Piquet made a pitstop shortly after Mansell's retirement as a precaution. This leftAlain Prost to defend his title successfully, despite being in a slower car.
Nelson Piquet's championship-winningFW11B from1987 was the only Honda-powered Williams to win a Drivers' Championship.
The1987 season brought the Williams-Honda partnership its first and only Drivers' Championship title in the hands ofNelson Piquet. Piquet won three races and scored 73 points in the Drivers' Championship. His teammateMansell came in second place with six victories and 61 points. Williams won the Constructors' Championship for the second year in a row, 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.
Unable to make a deal with another major engine manufacturer, Williams usednaturally aspiratedJudd engines for the1988 season.[15] This left them with a significant performance deficit compared with their turbo-powered rivals.Piquet left Williams to joinLotus who had retained theirHonda engines for the 1988 season, helped by havingSatoru Nakajima as number 2 driver to Piquet. Nelson Piquet calledFrank Dernie every week to persuade him to join Lotus. EventuallyDernie moved to Lotus to become their new Technical Director. Williams brought inRiccardo Patrese to replace Piquet. The team did not win a race that season and finished seventh in the Constructors' Championship, scoring 20 points. The highlights of the season for the team were two second-place finishes by Mansell. When Mansell was forced to miss two races due to illness, he was replaced byMartin Brundle for Belgium andJean-Louis Schlesser for Italy. Schlesser's collision withAyrton Senna in that race would deny McLaren a clean sweep of race wins that season.
The team securedRenault as their engine supplier in 1989. Renault engines subsequently powered Williams's drivers to another four Drivers' and five Constructors' Championships up until Renault's departure from Formula One at the end of 1997. The team brought inAdrian Newey to replaceFrank Dernie. The combination of Renault's powerful engine andAdrian Newey's designing expertise led to the team dominating the sport in the mid-1990s alongside McLaren. Mansell had a record-breaking 1992 season, winning the title in record time and leading numerous races from pole to finish.
The Renault era started in1989, withRiccardo Patrese andThierry Boutsen at the helm of the two Williams cars. Boutsen replaced Mansell, who had signed a contract with Ferrari. The engine's first Grand Prix inBrazil was one that the team would prefer to forget: Boutsen retired with an engine failure and Patrese with an alternator failure. Williams managed to get back on track with Boutsen finishing in fourth at the next race inItaly; winning the team three points. Two races later at theMexican Grand Prix, the team managed to achieve their first podium with the Renault engine, as Patrese finished second, 15 seconds behindAyrton Senna in first. The next race saw Patrese finish second again, having started from 14th on the grid, with Boutsen finishing in 6th. At the sixth round inCanada, Williams not only scored their first win with the Renault engine but also their first one-two: with Boutsen finishing in first followed by Patrese in second. This won the team 15 points. Williams came second in the Constructors' Championship, scoring 77 points, 64 points behind McLaren. Patrese finished 3rd in the Drivers' Championship with 40 points, 41 points behind first-placedAlain Prost. Boutsen finished 5th in the championship with 37 points after also winning inAustralia. Boutsen's win gave Williams the distinction of having won both the first and last Grand Prix of the 1980s.
In the1990 season, Williams keptPatrese andBoutsen as the team's drivers. The team scored 20 fewer points than the previous year and finished fourth in the Constructors' Championship two positions lower than in 1989. In the Drivers' Championship, Boutsen finished sixth with 34 points and Patrese in seventh with 23 points.
1991 British Grand Prix winner Nigel Mansell giving Ayrton Senna a lift back to the Silverstone paddock after Senna had run out of fuel
Boutsen left Williams and joinedLigier at the start of the1991 season. Replacing him was a returningNigel Mansell, who was talked out of retirement by Frank Williams himself following two tumultuous seasons at Ferrari. Williams also recruited future 1996 world champion,Damon Hill, as their reserve driver. Williams failed to finish the first Grand Prix of the season, theUS Grand Prix, with both drivers retiring due to gearbox problems. Patrese got back on track for the team in the next Grand Prix atInterlagos, coming second behind McLaren'sAyrton Senna. The1991 San Marino Grand Prix saw both cars retiring yet again: with Mansell crashing and Patrese suffering from an electrical failure. TheMonaco Grand Prix saw Mansell finish in the points, coming in second. At the next race, theCanadian 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 due to an electrical fault. At the following race inMexico, Williams achieved a 1–2 finish, with Patrese finishing in first and Mansell finishing in second. Williams then ran a streak of victories, with Mansell winning theFrench Grand Prix, five seconds ahead ofAlain Prost'sFerrari. Mansell then won again at theBritish Grand Prix; it had been four years since a Briton had won the Grand Prix, Mansell having won it in1987. Three consecutive victories became four when Mansell won again inGermany, with Patrese about 10 seconds behind him in second place. Senna ended Williams's run of victories by winning inHungary, finishing five seconds ahead of Mansell. Mansell later won theItalian Grand Prix and theSpanish Grand Prix, while Patrese won thePortuguese 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 with 72 points, 24 points behind Senna.
Nigel Mansell'sWilliams FW14B used for the1992 season when he won the Drivers' Championship and the team won the Constructors' Championship
Williams took a step up for the1992 season, keeping their1991 driver line-up ofPatrese andMansell. Mansell dominated the first round inSouth Africa, qualifying in pole position and winning the race by 24 seconds from his teammate, Patrese. Nigel Mansell won the next four rounds for Williams, atMexico City,Interlagos,Catalunya andImola, Patrese coming second in all but one (the Spanish Grand Prix at Catalunya, 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 inMonaco, ahead of both Williams cars, which finished second and third. In the next race, inCanada, 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 theBritish Grand Prix. (In the final round, inAdelaide, the two Williams cars 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. Placing first in nine races, Mansell had set a new record for the most wins by a single driver in one year. Despite this, there looked to be significant upheaval at Williams for 1993; what followed led to a domino effect that had not only effects on the World Championship, but also theCART-sanctionedPPG IndyCar Series.
Williams was interested in signing Alain Prost to drive one of its two cars for 1993 as he was returning from his year long sabbatical after being sacked by Scuderia Ferrari during the 1991 World Championship. Patrese, perhaps figuring that he would be the driver being sacked in order for Prost to take one of the two available rides, decided to leave after driving for Williams since 1987. He would join up with Benetton, where he would replaceMartin Brundle alongsideMichael Schumacher in the team'sCamel-backed Fords.
Mansell, meanwhile, was not pleased that Williams was looking to bring Prost aboard. Prost had joined Ferrari alongside Mansell, replacingGerhard Berger, for the 1990 World Championship after his run of success with McLaren, and the two drivers' relationship (or lack thereof) played a large part in Mansell's previously mentioned decision to leave F1 before Williams stepped in. Unwilling to serve as Prost's teammate for another year, Mansell joined theCART IndyCar Series for 1993; he replacedMichael Andretti, son of and teammate toMario Andretti, atNewman/Haas Racing.
Michael Andretti, meanwhile, would be making the jump to F1 for 1993 and signed to drive for McLaren filling the seat held by Berger. He entered a team that was in flux, as there were questions as to who else would be driving for the team and what engines they would be running. Honda, the team's longtime supplier, left the World Championship following the season. Coinciding with this was the fact that Ayrton Senna's contract was due for renewal, and he was not sure he was going to stay. After McLaren was unable to procure a supply of Renault engines, Senna decided to explore other options; he approached Williams with an offer to take the seat Mansell was vacating, claiming he would forgo collecting a salary for the opportunity.
However, as with Mansell, there were lingering bad feelings between Prost and Senna from their championship chasing years at McLaren. Prost would sign a two year contract for Williams, which included a veto power clause for the 1993 season; he exercised that clause and froze Senna out of driving for Williams. Senna returned to McLaren where he ran Ford engines. Williams in turn opted not to pursue Berger, who returned to Ferrari, or Brundle, who signed withLigier; instead, test driverDamon Hill was promoted to pair with Prost.
TheWilliams FW15C was an extremely dominant car, with active suspension and traction control systems beyond anything available to the other teams.[16] Prost won on his debut for the team inSouth Africa and, like Mansell, dominated the weekend, taking pole position and finishing a minute ahead ofSenna, who was second. The next Grand Prix inBrazil 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 inFrance: the only 1–2 of the season for Williams. Prost won the next two Grands Prix atSilverstone andHockenheim. Hill proved competitive especially in the second half of the season. Mechanical problems cost Hill leads in Britain and Germany, but he went on to win the next three Grands Prix atHungary,Belgium andItaly 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 youngMichael Schumacher won the following race inPortugal, and Senna tookJapan andAustralia to overtake Hill in the points. Williams retained their Constructors' title, 84 points ahead of second-placed McLaren. Prost clinched the Drivers' Championship in Portugal and finished the season 26 points ahead of second-placed Senna.
Based on his victory in the 1992 World Championship, Mansell would have been issued car number 1 for the 1993 season, and his teammate issued number 2. However, Mansell's move to the IndyCar series meant that number 1 was not issued; instead, the team was issued the number 0, which was placed on Hill's car, while Prost was issued number 2.
1993 marked the final season that Williams ran with Canon as its primary backer.
Williams FW16B used in the second half of the 1994 season whenRothmans debuted as the team's primary backer
During the1994 season, Williams used FW16 (developed during the pre-season) and FW16B (with shorter sidepods and optimised for the revised floor regulations which were introduced during the season).
After Canon left the team Williams signed a contract with tobacco companyRothmans International for1994, and their namesake brand became its primary sponsor from 1994 to1997.[17]
Despite Prost's continued unwillingness to have his former McLaren teammate run with him, pressure from various sources including the team's new sponsor led Williams to agree to terms with Ayrton Senna for 1994. The veto power in Prost's contract was only in effect for the 1993 season, and since Williams was now free to do as it desired and that Senna was again a free agent, the team decided it would bring in the multi-time former champion. To appease Prost, who decided to retire from racing permanently after Senna's signing, Williams agreed to pay him his full salary for the second half of the contract.
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 favourite, with second-year driverDamon Hill intended to play the supporting role. Between them, Prost, Senna, and Hill had won every race in 1993 but one, which was taken by Benetton'sMichael Schumacher.
As with 1993, Williams's cars were issued numbers 0 and 2, following Prost's victory in the 1993 championship and subsequent retirement. Hill retained the number 0, while Senna's car was issued number 2.
Pre-season testing showed theFW16 had speed but was difficult to drive. TheFédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) had banned electronic driver's aids, such asactive suspension,traction control andABS, 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 1994, 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 comments that theWilliams FW16 had quirks that 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 theFW15C andWilliams FW14B cars that had preceded it. The surprise of testing wasBenetton-Ford which was less powerful but more nimble than the Williams.
The first four rounds were won byMichael Schumacher in theBenetton-Ford. Senna took pole in the first two races but failed to finish either of them. In the third race, the1994 San Marino Grand Prix in Imola, Senna again took pole position, but was involved ina fatal crash at the second corner after completing six laps.[18] The repercussions of Senna's fatal accident were severe for the team itself, as the Italian prosecutors tried to charge the team andFrank Williams with manslaughter, an episode which was not over until 2005.[19] At the next race inMonaco,Damon Hill was the only Williams on the grid, as a mark of respect to Senna,[20] and retired on the first lap. After Senna's death, every Williams F1 car carried a Senna 'S' on its livery in his honour and to symbolise the team's ongoing support of theInstituto Ayrton Senna until the permanent removal starting in 2022, with then Williams CEOJost Capito stating it was time to "move on".[21][22]
At the next race inSpain, Williams brought in test driverDavid Coulthard as Hill's new teammate. Hill took the team's first victory of the season, by almost half a minute overSchumacher'sBenetton, while Coulthard would retire due to an electrical problem. InMontreal, both Williams cars finished in the points for the first time that season, with Hill finishing second and Coulthard finishing fifth. In France, Nigel Mansell replaced Coulthard (in the first of four appearances), at the behest of Renault. At Silverstone, Damon Hill accomplished what had eluded his father, twice Formula One World ChampionGraham Hill, by winning theBritish Grand Prix. Hill closed the points gap with Schumacher, who was disqualified from first atSpa after the Stewards found floorboard irregularities on his Benetton. He was banned for the next two races, and Hill capitalised on this with wins inItaly and a Williams 1–2 inPortugal.
With three races left, 1992 championNigel Mansell returned from CART (where the season had concluded) to replace Coulthard for the remainder of the season. Mansell would get approximately £900,000per race, while Hill was paid £300,000 for the entire season, though Hill remained as lead driver.[23][24]
Schumacher came back after his suspension for theEuropean Grand Prix, which he won by about 25 seconds, to take a lead of 5 points into the penultimate round inJapan. The race in Japan was held in torrential rain, with Hill managing to win the restarted race by three seconds on aggregate over Schumacher who finished second. Going into the final round atAdelaide, Schumacher led Hill by a single point. Mansell took pole for Williams but had a poor start which let Hill and Schumacher through to fight for the lead and the 1994 title. Midway through the race, Schumacher's perceived need for a low downforce setup cost him, as he lost control and clipped the outside wall at the 5th corner (out of sight of Hill). As Schumacher recovered, Hill came around the corner and attempted to overtake into the next corner. Schumacher turned in and the resulting contact (Schumacher in the wall and Hill retiring with bent suspension) meant that Schumacher was the champion. This collision has been controversial with some, such as Williams'sPatrick Head, have suggesting that this was a deliberate attempt by Schumacher to take Hill out of the race.[25] Others, such as then BBC commentator Murray Walker, defended Schumacher, calling the accident a "racing incident". Meanwhile, Nigel Mansell won the last Grand Prix of his career here, driving the second Williams car.
Williams would end the season as Constructors' Champion for the third consecutive year, scoring 118 points, while Hill finished second in the Drivers' Championship with 91 points.
Damon Hill in the FW17 atMontreal in 1995 when he qualified second but retired after 50 race laps due to a gearbox problem
In July 2018, former Mercedes-Benz Motorsport Vice PresidentNorbert Haug stated that before the 1995 season, Williams was close to a deal to secureIlmor-builtMercedes-Benz factory engines. However, Mercedes eventually went on to partner withMcLaren and thus Williams stayed withRenault engines instead.[26]
In1995,Nigel Mansell was not retained, Williams favouringCoulthard over him to partnerHill.Schumacher, whose Benetton team had switched engine suppliers from Ford to Renault in the off-season, won the first round inBrazil, with Coulthard taking second. However, both were disqualified from the race after it was found thatElf supplied their teams with a type of fuel for which samples had not been provided to theFIA. Thus,Gerhard Berger and Ferrari were declared winners. 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 inArgentina andSan Marino and would later win races atThe Hungaroring and inAdelaide. Hill won two laps ahead of the field at Adelaide in one of F1's most dominating victories. Coulthard recorded his only 1995 win for the Williams team atEstoril, before moving to McLaren.
Williams's champion streak was ended byBenetton, who elected to switch engine suppliers from Ford to Renault, the same as Williams. As such, Benetton outscored Williams by 29 points in the Constructors' Championship. Damon Hill placed second in the Drivers' Championship, 33 points behind Benetton's Michael Schumacher.
For1996, Williams had the quickest and most reliable car, theFW18.[27] Coulthard had left Williams to joinMika Häkkinen at McLaren, and Williams replaced him with CanadianJacques Villeneuve, who had won theCART series title in 1995, whileHill remained with the team.Schumacher leftBenetton to joinFerrari. Williams won the first five Grands Prix, Hill winning all but one of them.Olivier Panis would take victory at the sixth round inMonaco after both Williams cars retired. Hill would retire for the second time in a row after he spun-off inSpain, while his teammate, Villeneuve, took third place. Hill and Villeneuve dominated the next Grand Prix inCanada, with a 1–2 in qualifying and a 1–2 finish. Williams made it a second 1–2 after Hill won theFrench Grand Prix. Villeneuve won his second race in F1 atSilverstone after Hill retired with a wheel bearing failure on lap 26. Hill was victorious in the next Grand Prix inGermany while Villeneuve won the race after that inHungary. Schumacher's Ferrari would then take the next two Grands Prix atSpa-Francorchamps andMonza. Villeneuve mounted a title challenge going into the final race of the season atJapan, but Hill reasserted his dominance to take the race and the 1996 title, while Villeneuve lost a wheel and retired.
Williams's 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 joinedArrows for 1997.Adrian Newey had ambitions as a technical director (rather than just chief designer), but this was not possible at Williams, asPatrick Head was a founder and shareholder of the team. McLaren lured Newey away, though he was forced to takegarden leave for the majority of 1997.
In the middle of the 1996 season, Williams moved from its longtimeDidcot headquarters toGrove, 15 kilometers away.[28] Before the move, the racing press occasionally referred to Williams as "the Didcot team."[29][30]
For what would be the final season of Williams-Renault and a car designed with Newey's input,Frank Williams brought in GermanHeinz-Harald Frentzen, who had created a good impression on Williams during his first few seasons in Formula One. Frentzen proved to be a disappointment though, and won only one race in two years with Williams, the1997 San Marino Grand Prix.Jacques Villeneuve won seven races during 1997, compared to five wins by his main rival,Michael Schumacher of a resurgent Ferrari. Williams also achieved the 100-race-win milestone at theBritish Grand Prix. Coming to the final round of the season atJerez, Schumacher led Villeneuve 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". Williams won the Constructors' title for the second time in a row, scoring 123 points. Jacques Villeneuve won the Drivers' Championship by three points to Michael Schumacher, who kept his points total despite being removed from second place; thus, runner-up went to Frentzen with 42 points.[31]
After 1997, the team was unable to maintain their dominance in Formula 1 as Renault ended their full-time involvement in Formula 1, andAdrian Newey moved to the rival team, McLaren. Williams then had to pay forMecachrome engines, which were old, rebadgedRenault F1 engines.[32] This meant that the FW20 not only featured a very similar aerodynamic package to their 1997 car but also virtually the same engine, leading some to comment that they ran what was virtually the same car, adjusted for the 1998 regulations. There were changes on the sponsorship front, as Rothmans opted to promote theirWinfield brand, replacing the popular blue and white livery with a red one.[33] For1998, Williams kept both drivers from the previous season, the first time since1983 that a reigning world champion remained driving for the team. While Ferrari and McLaren battled for the Constructors' and Drivers' titles, Williams fell to the middle of the field. The team won no races and took only 3 podiums during the season, with Frentzen finishing in third at the first round inAustralia and Villeneuve finishing third inGermany andHungary. Williams finished third in the Constructors' Championship, scoring 38 points, while Villeneuve finished fifth in the Drivers' Championship with 21 points, and his German teammate, Frentzen, finished 4 points behind him in seventh.
In1999, Williams employed theSupertec engine, which was a rebadged Mecachrome-Renault unit, and a new driver line-up.Villeneuve moved to the newBritish American Racing (BAR) team, whileFrentzen moved toJordan trading places with fellow GermanRalf Schumacher who joined Williams. To replace Villeneuve, Williams signed ItalianAlex Zanardi, who after an unsuccessful F1 career in the early 1990s had been racing in the CART series forChip Ganassi Racing, winning two series championships and a total of fifteen races in his three years. As with Schumacher, a driver trade was made with Ganassi, where Zanardi would join Williams and the team's test driver at the time,Juan Pablo Montoya, would join CART in Zanardi's car for 1999 and 2000.
The team managed three podiums, all scored by Ralf Schumacher, with third place inAustralia andBritain and a second place inItaly. Zanardi, meanwhile, struggled through the entire season and failed to finish in the points at any race. Due in large part to this, the team finished fifth in the Constructors' Championship, the lowest finish for Williams in the 1990s; the team finished behindStewart andJordan, with Schumacher scoring all of the team's 35 points.
After the season, deciding the relationship was not working, Zanardi's contract with the team was terminated by mutual agreement. He would eventually return to CART in 2001.
In 1998, the team signed a long-term agreement with German manufacturerBMW to supply engines and expertise for a period of 6 years. As part of the deal, BMW expected at least one driver to be German, which led to the team's signing of Ralf Schumacher for the subsequent season. In 1999, the team had a Williams car with a BMW engine testing at circuits, in preparation for a debut in the2000 season.
There were major sponsorship changes for 2000–2005, as Rothmans International had been purchased in 1999 byBritish American Tobacco (BAT), which ownedBritish American Racing and chose not to renew Rothmans's contract with Williams. BMW paid for Williams cars to be entirely in blue and white – unlike the standard motorsport livery scheme, dominated by the colours of the team or major sponsors with the logos of minor sponsors in their own colour schemes. Williams's second major sponsor becameCompaq, and following Compaq's acquisition the team debutedHewlett-Packard (HP) sponsorship at the2002 British Grand Prix. In a cross-promotion of this technological partnership, a worldwide television commercial featured driversRalf Schumacher andJuan Pablo Montoya seemingly driving their BMW Williams cars around a track by radio control from a grandstand.[34]
The new "clean" image allowed Williams to sign a cigarette anti-craving brand,Niquitin,[35] andAnheuser-Busch, alternating with theBudweiser beer brand[36] andSeaWorld Adventure Parks,[37] in compliance with trademark disputes or alcohol bans.
To replace Zanardi, Britain'sJenson Button made his series debut. The first season of Williams's partnership with BMW did not yield a single victory, but they managed to get on the podium three times, withRalf Schumacher responsible for all three. Williams finished third in the Constructors' Championship, with 36 points, one more than the prior year.Ralf Schumacher finished fifth in the Drivers' Championship, while Button, in his debut season, finished in eighth. Button made scrappy mistakes in early races (Monaco, Europe), but overall made an impressive debut in Melbourne, and continued to impress, notably at Silverstone, Spa, and Suzuka.
Williams returned to the winner's rostrum in2001 with four Grands Prix victories including one forRalf Schumacher inMontreal.
In2001, the arrangement between Williams and Ganassi came to an end, and thus Williams was able to bringJuan Pablo Montoya back to drive full-time for the team. He was returning after two successful years in CART, where he succeeded Zanardi as champion for 1999 and won ten races total; he also had become the first CART driver since the infamous 1996 split of American open-wheel racing to win the Indianapolis 500, doing so in 2000.
Since Montoya was returning to Williams, this left Jenson Button as the odd man out. He would move over toBenetton, which was still running rebadged Renault engines, for what was the team's final season under that name.
TheFW23 won four races, three byRalf Schumacher atImola,Montreal, and his home Grand Prix inGermany. His teammate, Montoya, was victorious atMonza, 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's 2001 campaign only yielded third place in the Constructors' Championship.
Williams maintained their driver line-up for the2002 season. The team only won one race, which was atMalaysia, one of only 2 races not won by Ferrari in a year dominated by theFerraris ofMichael Schumacher andRubens Barrichello.[38] Despite Montoya qualifying on pole for 7 races, he ended up having a winless season. Williams did improve on their Constructors' Championship position, finishing in second. Montoya finished third in the Drivers' Championship, eight points ahead of Ralf Schumacher, who finished fourth.
2003 would see Williams come closest to winning its first title since 1997. During pre-season, Frank Williams was very confident that theFW25 would challenge for the title.[39] The team won four races, with Montoya winning atMonaco andGermany, while Ralf Schumacher won at theNürburgring and the following race atMagny-Cours. Montoya stayed in contention for the Drivers' Championship during the season, and finished third, 11 points behindMichael Schumacher, while Ralf Schumacher finished fifth, 24 points behind Montoya. Williams finished second in the Constructors' Championship, two points ahead of McLaren.
At the start of the2004 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 inHungary.Ferrari dominated for a third consecutive season, winning 15 of the 18 races. Williams picked up a win at the final race inBrazil, withJuan Pablo Montoya finishing one second ahead ofKimi Räikkönen's McLaren; this remained Williams's last F1 win until the2012 Spanish Grand Prix. Another low part of the season was when both Williams andToyota were disqualified from theCanadian Grand Prix after it was discovered that both cars had brake irregularities, the brake ducts seemingly not conforming to regulations.[citation needed] 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, scoring 58 points to finish in fifth position.
For the2005 season,Schumacher moved toToyota, whileMontoya moved to McLaren. Taking their places were AustralianMark Webber and GermanNick Heidfeld.[40][41]Jenson Button was to have driven for Williams in 2005,[42] but anFIA ruling forced Button to remain with his current team,BAR.[43]Antônio Pizzonia served as the test driver for the team during the 2005 season. Meanwhile, Button signed a contract to drive for Williams in 2006.
Although there was some positive moments, such as a double podium finish in Monaco and Heidfeld qualifying on pole position at the Nürburgring, Williams slipped further back down the field in 2005, due in part to the return to form of rivals McLaren and the emergence of Toyota as a front-running team. Williams failed to win a race for the first time since 2000, and only registered four podium finishes over the course of the season, finishing fifth in the Constructors' Championship with 66 points. Heidfeld was replaced by Pizzonia for the last five races of the season after the former suffered firstly a testing accident, and then was hit by a motorbike when out cycling prior to the race in Brazil. Pizzonia could only contribute two points towards the team's tally.
During the course of the 2004 and 2005 F1 seasons,BMW Motorsport and directorMario Theissen increasingly became publicly critical of the Williams F1 team's inability to create a package capable of winning the Constructors' Championship, or even multiple victories within a single season.[44] Williams, on the other hand, blamed BMW for not producing a good enough engine.[45] Williams's failed attempt to priseJenson Button out of his BAR contract may also have been an issue with Theissen. DespiteFrank Williams's rare decision to capitulate to commercial demands by employing German driverNick Heidfeld when he allegedly preferredAntônio Pizzonia, the fallout between Williams and BMW continued through the 2005 Formula One season. Despite BMW's contract with Williams to supply engines until 2009, this public deterioration of the relationship between Williams and BMW was a factor in the decision by BMW Motorsport to buySauber and rebrand that team to feature the BMW name.[46]
Williams opted forCosworth V8 engines for the2006 which sawNico Rosberg replaceNick Heidfeld, who departed forBMW Sauber, whileMark Webber stayed on with the team. Despite having signed a contract to race for Williams,Jenson Button decided to stay withBAR 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 Button himself, to cancel this contract.[47]
Williams and Cosworth entered a partnership agreement where Cosworth would supply engines, transmissions and associated electronics and software for the team.[48] Major sponsors Hewlett-Packard concluded sponsorship agreements one year before their official end of contract. The Williams team also switched toBridgestone 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 theBahrain Grand Prix. The rest of the season was disappointing for Williams, with 20 retirements out of 36 starts for the two cars. The team failed to finish on the podium all season, the first time this had happened since Williams's debut season in 1977. The team eventually finished eighth in the Constructors' Championship, with only 11 points.
Following Williams's worst points tally since1978, the team announced that Japanese manufacturer Toyota would be supplying the leased customer engines for the2007 season.[49] In addition, the Toyota engine customer deal also includedMagneti Marelli Step 11 engine control unit (ECU) systems andPanasonic battery package as it was used byworks Toyota 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 driverKazuki Nakajima, son ofSatoru, replaced Wurz as a test driver alongside Karthikeyan. Sponsorship saw a change in 2007, as it was announced thatAT&T would become the title sponsors for the team from the upcoming season.[50] AT&T was previously involved as minor sponsors with theJaguar and McLaren teams but moved to Williams following McLaren's announcement of a title sponsorship deal withVodafone, a competitor of AT&T.[51] On 2 February, the new FW29 was presented to the media in the UK. Soon afterwards, the team secured a sponsorship deal withLenovo who built the team's new supercomputer.
Rosberg and Wurz gave Williams a more productive season in terms of points and, inMontreal, Wurz scored the team's first podium finish since Nick Heidfeld's second-place at the2005 European Grand Prix. Over the course of the year, Rosberg was consistently in the points, scoring 20 during the season; in comparison, teammate Wurz finished in the points three times. Following the announcement that Wurz would be retiring from the sport,[52] Williams brought in their young test driver Nakajima to drive the second car for them in the final race inBrazil. 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.
For the2008 season, Williams confirmed Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima as their race drivers. Rosberg was confirmed as staying with Williams until the end of2009 on 9 December 2007, ending speculation that he could takeFernando Alonso's vacated seat at McLaren.[53] During the Winter testing sessions, the team ran six different liveries to celebrate their 30th year in the sport and their 500th Grand Prix.[54]
The 2008 season was a mixture of success and disappointment for Williams. While Rosberg managed to obtain 2 podiums inAustralia andSingapore, 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 (when new regulations came in) also hindered their season and Williams finished a disappointing 8th in the Constructors' Championship. Rosberg stated that unless the team was more competitive in the near future, he would look to drive elsewhere. Williams retained Rosberg and Nakajima for the 2009 season.
Frank Williams had admitted that he had regretted parting with BMW but stated that Toyota had a 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 second place as their best result. In December 2008, Williams confirmed their commitment to F1 following theHonda withdrawal announcement.[55]
Ahead of the 2009 Brazilian Grand Prix, Williams announced that it would be ending its three-year partnership with Toyota and finding a new engine supplier for 2010.
After the termination of their Toyota contract, Williams announced that from the2010 season they were to enter into a "long-term partnership" withCosworth, and would be using an updated version of the CA V8 engine which powered their cars in 2006.[56] Williams also announced a complete driver change for the 2010 season.Rubens Barrichello joined from 2009 Constructors' ChampionBrawn GP, whilst GP2 championNico Hülkenberg graduated from the test driver seat. Replacing Hülkenberg in the test seat was Finland'sValtteri Bottas, who finished third in the2009 Formula Three Euroseries as well as winning the non-championshipMasters of Formula 3 event atZandvoort.[57]
Their new 2010 car, theWilliams FW32, was unveiled for the first time at a shakedown test atSilverstone.[58] Its first official test was on 1 February atCircuit Ricardo Tormo inValencia. Hülkenberg took the team's first pole position in over five years, in variable conditions at theBrazilian Grand Prix.[59] Hülkenberg was dropped from the team ahead of the2011 season, and replaced by Venezuelan newcomer and reigningGP2 Series championPastor Maldonado.[60] The combination of Barrichello and Maldonado meant that 2011 would be the first time since 1981 that Williams would start a season without a European driver in their line-up.
At the second pre-season test in Jerez, Barrichello posted the fastest time of the week on the last day. That was to no avail as Williams endured one of their worst seasons to date: two ninth places for Barrichello and one tenth place for Maldonado were their best results during the entire year. After Brazil, the team ended with a ninth place in the Constructors' Championship.
Valtteri Bottas, the team's2012 reserve driver, participated in 15 free practice sessions including at theMalaysian Grand Prix then was promoted to a race seat for the2013 season.
On 4 July 2011, Williams announced they would be reuniting with engine-supplier Renault who were to supply the team's engines from 2012 onwards.[61] On 1 December 2011, it was confirmed that Maldonado would be retained for the 2012 season, along with reserve driverValtteri Bottas, who took part in 15 Friday practice sessions.[62] In January 2012, it was confirmed that Bruno Senna would be the driver to partner Maldonado, effectively ending Rubens Barrichello's F1 career.
Prior to the 2012 season, Patrick Head moved from the Williams F1 team to Williams Hybrid Power Limited, another subsidiary of Williams Grand Prix Holdings.[63] The team also announced that its relationship with AT&T ended by mutual agreement, and there were negotiations with another telecommunications company for team's title sponsorship.[64] At the2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Pastor Maldonado took his only Grand Prix victory, which was also Williams's first race victory since2004 Brazilian Grand Prix. Around 90 minutes after celebrating this win, a fire broke out in the garage of the Williams team, damaging the FW34 ofBruno Senna and leaving several injured.[65] The team eventually achieved eighth position in the Formula One World Constructors' Championship.[66]
Claire Williams, the daughter of team principal Frank Williams, was appointed deputy principal in March 2013.[67] Maldonado was retained by the team for2013 and was joined by Bottas, promoted from his role as test driver.[68] The team struggled throughout the season, despite a good qualifying session at theCanadian Grand Prix and a place in the top 10 at theUnited States Grand Prix, scoring only five points in the World Constructors' Championship.[69]
While Williams enjoyed a victory in the 2012 season and occasional points finishes, they did not reach the same heights as was achieved during their domination of Formula One during the 1990s. This, combined with an absolutely dismal 2013 season, prompted Williams to look for a new engine supplier from the 2014 season onwards.
In May 2013, Williams signed a long-term contract with Mercedes to supply engines for the team, the German manufacturer providing 1.6-litre V6 turbo engines from the start of the 2014 season.[70] Bottas was retained as driver for2014, andFelipe Massa was signed fromFerrari to replace Maldonado. The team also unveiled a new, multi-year title sponsorship deal with drinks brandMartini.
The team won its first pole position since 2012, courtesy of Massa at theAustrian Grand Prix; it was the only time thatMercedes would be beaten to pole position over the course of the 2014 season. With Bottas qualifying alongside Massa, it was also the first time the team had locked out the front row since the2003 German Grand Prix.[71] The team enjoyed an upturn in performance, including a double podium inAbu Dhabi, resulting in them taking third place in the Constructors' Championship. They repeated this feat in the2015 season, despite a low-key season owing to the resurgence ofFerrari.
In September 2016, Massa announced his intentions to retire from Formula One, with Stroll later announced as his replacement for2017.[74] FollowingNico Rosberg's decision to retire, the team released Bottas from his contract to allow him to take his place atMercedes, with Massa returning to the team on a one-year deal.[75]
Williams struggled over the course of the 2018 season, scoring only 7 points and finishing last in the Constructors' Championship standings. Although theFW41 rarely suffered from reliability issues, it was significantly off the pace; the team's highest finish was Stroll's 8th-place finish inAzerbaijan. The team's only other points finish was at theItalian Grand Prix, with Stroll finishing 9th and Sirotkin scoring his first championship point in 10th. This was also the only Grand Prix of the season in which the team reached the third qualifying session, with Stroll starting 10th on the grid.
On 27 February 2018,Martini announced that they would leave Williams and Formula One at the end of the 2018 season.[80]
On 12 October 2018, the team announced that reigningFormula 2 championGeorge Russell would be joining the team for the2019 season. On 22 November 2018 it was announced that reserve driverRobert Kubica would be promoted to the other seat, marking his return to Formula One after eight years away from the sport due to injury.[81][82] For the 2019 season, the team entered into a partnership with Polish petroleum companyPKN Orlen and a multi-year title sponsorship arrangement with telecommunications company ROKiT.[83][84]
Williams missed the first two-and-a-half days of pre-season testing inBarcelona due to theFW42 not yet being ready, the only team to suffer such a setback.[85] Williams began the season out of reach from being competitive. During qualifying at the season-opener inAustralia, their fastest time was almost 1.3 seconds slower than the nearest competitor. In the race, Russell and Kubica finished two and three laps behind the leader respectively. The team's best result of the season came inGermany, where Kubica was classified 10th, the team's only points finish that season. However, this result only came after post-race penalties for other drivers. Upgrades came during the season with which the FW42 began to catch up to its competitors; Russell came within 0.1 seconds of reaching Q2 in qualifying for theHungarian Grand Prix and finished close to the points with 12th inBrazil. However, both cars would be eliminated in Q1 at every race of the season. Despite the team's lack of performance in comparison to 2014–2017, it was confirmed that Williams have extended their engine supplier partnership with Mercedes until 2025.[86]
On 19 September 2019, Williams announced that Kubica had decided to leave the team at the end of the 2019 season; he would go on to joinAlfa Romeo as a reserve driver.[87]2019 Formula 2 Championship runner-upNicholas Latifi was promoted from his role of reserve driver to replace Kubica for the2020 season.[88]Jack Aitken replaced Latifi as reserve driver.[89] In May 2020, following publication of significant losses in 2019, Williams announced the immediate termination of its title sponsorship deal with ROKiT.[90]
In the opening race of 2020, the2020 Austrian Grand Prix, Latifi reached 11th place, just outside the points, whereas in qualifying Russell was only 0.15 seconds away from reaching Q2 (Russell retired in the race with a fuel pressure issue). In the wet qualifying for the next race, theStyrian Grand Prix, Russell succeeded in making it out of Q1, the first time a Williams driver had done so since the2018 Brazilian Grand Prix,[91] and, in the slippery conditions, qualified in 12th. Russell started the race in 11th, following the application of penalties for other drivers.[92]
At the2020 Hungarian Grand Prix, both drivers made it out of Q1 for the first time since the2018 Italian Grand Prix. It was Russell's second time getting out of Q1, and Latifi's first time getting out of Q1.
On 21 August 2020, Williams was acquired by US investment group Dorilton Capital for €152 million.[93] The amount includes settling the debt of the company and it will continue to run under the Williams name and keep its UK base.[94][95]
Despite being offered the chance to stay on as Team Principal,Claire Williams announced her departure from the team effective after the weekend of the2020 Italian Grand Prix. Following this announcement, it will be the first time Williams F1 Team has not been under the leadership of the Williams family since its inception 43 years prior.Simon Roberts, who joined Williams fromMcLaren in May 2020, became the acting team principal of the team.[96] In December 2020, Williams announcedJost Capito will be joining Williams as the new CEO, with Roberts becoming team principal and reporting to Capito.[97] Williams failed to score a point in the 2020 season that had been disrupted and shortened by theCOVID-19 pandemic, making it their first pointless season in 44 years.
During the2021 Monaco Grand Prix, Williams celebrated their 750th Grand Prix start. To celebrate the occasion, Williams launched a competition where the names of 100 Williams supporters were featured on their car, theWilliams FW43B, together with the number of races since they started supporting Williams.[98] In June 2021, Roberts left the team. Most of his responsibilities were taken over by Capito, withFrançois-Xavier Demaison taking his trackside leadership duties.[99] The2021 Hungarian Grand Prix saw Williams score their first points since the2019 German Grand Prix withRobert Kubica, and their first double points finish since the2018 Italian Grand Prix. At the2021 Belgian Grand Prix, Russell qualified in 2nd place and scored Williams's first podium since the2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, as the race was stopped after only two laps under safety car conditions were completed, allowing most drivers to retain their qualifying position. The team also achieved a second consecutive double points finish, as Latifi finished 9th.Russell scored back-to-back points at the2021 Italian Grand Prix and at the2021 Russian Grand Prix (9th and 10th respectively; in the latter he qualified 3rd, behindCarlos Sainz Jr. and pole-sitterLando Norris). Williams finished in 8th place in the Constructors' Championship with 23 points, 10 points ahead ofAlfa Romeo, which finished in 9th place.
For the2022 season, Russell left Williams to join theMercedes works team, whose junior team he had been a part of.[100][101] Ex-Red Bull driver,Alex Albon, was signed to replace Russell.[102] Latifi retained his spot in the team.[103] Prior to the season, Williams announced a partnership deal with the battery manufacturerDuracell.[104] Albon scored the team's first points of the season in theAustralian Grand Prix, where he pitted only once on the last lap and finished tenth.[105] Albon also finished ninth in theMiami Grand Prix.[106] Latifi achieved his first ever Q3 appearance at theBritish Grand Prix,[107] though he dropped out of the points and finished in twelfth.[108] Following a number of penalties for other drivers at theBelgian Grand Prix, Albon qualified ninth and started sixth.[109] Albon went on to score Williams's third point position finish by ending the race in tenth.[110] Prior to thethird practice session at the Italian Grand Prix, Albon withdrew after feeling ill and suffering fromappendicitis. Williams announcedNyck de Vries as the replacement.[111] In his first everqualifying session, de Vries qualified thirteenth, but started eighth after penalties.[112] de Vries went on to finish ninth,[113] scoring points on his debut.[114]
Preceding the start of the 2023 race year, Mercedes ex-chief strategist James Vowles was announced to take over as the Team's new Principal, following the resignation of former Team Principal Jost Capito in 2022.[115]
For the2023 season, Williams announced a long-term partnership withGulf Oil.[116] Albon's contract had been extended,[117][118] partnering rookieLogan Sargeant; Sargeant, who replaces the departingNicholas Latifi, is the first American driver to race in Formula One sinceAlexander Rossi drove for the formerMarussia F1 team for five races in2015.
The season-opener of theBahrain Grand Prix saw Albon score one point in tenth ahead of Sargeant, who finished twelfth. Albon retired at the following race at theSaudi Arabian Grand Prix due to a brake failure with Sargeant placing sixteenth after he failed to set a time within the107% rule in qualification due to mechanical issues. In theAustralian Grand Prix, Albon retired again after losing control of his car and crashing heavily early into the race, causing a red flag. Sargeant, meanwhile, crashed withAlphaTauri driverNyck de Vries during lap 56 of 58 after a restart. However, Sargeant was classified as having finished 16th, given that he had completed more than 90% of the race distance. Albon and Sargeant were retained for the2024 season. The latter was due to be replaced byCarlos Sainz Jr. in the2025 season.[119] However, Sargeant was released after the2024 Dutch Grand Prix due to his underperformances and his crash in the third practice section. His replacement, from the2024 Italian Grand Prix to the end of the season, was currentFormula 2 driver andWilliams Driver Academy memberFranco Colapinto, who would become the first Argentine driver to compete in F1 sinceGastón Mazzacane in2001.[120]
In February 2025, Williams announced a record multi-year title sponsorship withAtlassian and have entered the2025 season as Atlassian Williams Racing.[121][122] Near the end of the season, the team announced it will rebrand as Atlassian Williams F1 Team from the2026 season onwards.[123]
Williams Grand Prix Holdings is the public company of Williams Group, which includes the Formula One Team and others like Williams Heritage, Williams Grand Prix Technologies (WGPT), and collaborations with other brands. It was also the former parent company of Williams Hybrid Power & Williams Advanced Engineering. Both of these businesses took technology developed for F1 and adapted it for multiple commercial applications. Williams Hybrid Power was sold toGKN in March 2014 and Williams Advanced Engineering was sold toFortescue in February 2022.[124]
Williams Grand Prix Holdings is currently owned by Dorilton Capital who purchased the team on 21 August 2020. With the acquisition, Claire Williams was offered the chance to stay on as a team principal but that offer was declined. The2020 Italian Grand Prix in Monza was the last race where the Williams family led the team.[125]
The sale happened after years of financial difficulties.Reuters reported on 20 November 2009 that founders Sir Frank Williams and Patrick Head had sold a minority stake in the team to an investment company led byToto Wolff.[126][127] In February 2011, Williams F1 announced plans to raise capital through aninitial public offering (IPO) on theFrankfurt Stock Exchange (FWB) in March 2011, with Sir Frank Williams remaining the majority shareholder and team principal after the IPO.[128]
In December 2017 Sir Frank Williams owned 51.3% of the company, with 24.1% on the public marketplace, Brad Hollinger owning 11.7%, Patrick Head 9.3%, and 3.6% is held by an employee trust fund.[129] However, in May 2020, Williams was put up for sale after posting a £13 million loss in the previous year.[130]
Williams Heritage (WH) is the retired chassis and restoration division of Williams F1 (similar toFerrari F1 Clienti andClassic Team Lotus) that keeps and maintains old retired Williams Formula One chassis that are no longer in racing use. The division's headquarters are located at the Formula One team's site in Grove, Oxfordshire. Williams Heritage manage the restorations, maintenance and on-track activities of the entire Williams collection, as well as privately owned Williams cars. The division was created by Jonathan Williams and the current Heritage Director isJonathan Kennard.
Williams Grand Prix Technologies (WGPT) was launched in April 2024, and the company applies the innovation and technologies of F1 to tackling clients’ engineering challenges in other sectors. Services, capabilities and assets originally developed for and used by the Williams race team are offered by WGPT to a range of sectors that include the wider motorsport sector, premium automotive,aerospace, defence, marine, energy, sport and lifestyle.[131]
Services offered by WGPT include F1 standard platform dynamics, advanced materials, simulation and modelling, and instrument and data analytics. These core engineering services are supported by a range of in-house prototype testing and evaluation resources that include awind tunnel, a driver-in-the-loopsimulator, single-axis testing machines, an 8-post rig, chassis rig, and bedplate testing.[131]
The Williams Experience Centre is located at the home of the Williams Formula 1 team in Grove, Oxfordshire.Originally the base of BMW's Le Mans project, the building was converted in 2002.
Williams developed the car for the revived Formula Two championship, beginning in 2009.[132] The design was originally created for a new, more-powerful offshoot of the Formula Palmer Audi series, however the car was re-purposed whenJonathan Palmer'sMotorSport Vision successfully bid for the rights to run the new Formula Two series.
Williams entered theBritish Touring Car Championship in1995, taking over the works Renault programme.Alain Menu transferred from Renault Dealer Racing, withWill Hoy signed to partner him. Williams employed Ian Harrison, future director ofTriple Eight Racing as team manager. While Menu was a championship contender, Hoy had constant failures and bad luck during the first half of the season. However, Hoy's luck changed and he won three races and scored several podium finishes in the second half of the year, eventually taking fourth in the championship while Menu finished second in the championship with seven wins. Renault won the manufacturers championship.1996 was a more difficult year with the front-wheel-drive cars outclassed by the 4WDAudi A4s ofFrank Biela andJohn Bintcliffe. Menu was second in the championship again, while Hoy finished a lowly ninth.1997 was a breakthrough year for Williams, winning the drivers' championship with Menu, the manufacturers' trophy and teams' award. Other changes for the team sawJason Plato replacing Hoy, taking third in the championship. The team won 15 races out of 24 in 1997. It also competed in the1997 Bathurst 1000 with Menu and Plato leading for much of the early part of the race.Alan Jones drove the second car, his first appearance for Williams since 1981.
1998 saw few changes to the Williams team: the driver line-up was unchanged with Menu to defend his title alongside Plato, but the main sponsor for 1998 wasNescafé, with Renault still putting sponsorship in for the team. While the Renaults had a new look for 1998, the opposition had caught up after 1997, and both Menu and Plato had a more difficult season, finishing fourth and fifth in the championship. In the final round of 1998 atSilverstone, a third car was entered for Independents ChampionTommy Rustad. Renault ultimately finished third in the manufacturers trophy and second in the teams championship.1999 was the most difficult season for Williams, as Menu left Renault after racing with them since 1993. Plato was joined byJean-Christophe Boullion. Nescafé were again the main sponsor for the Williams team in 1999. Renault did not have much luck in 1999 with engine failures haunting the team during the mid-part of the season. One win for Plato was the only success for the season, and Renault pulled out of the BTCC at the end of the season.
The Williams name and logo were used on theRenault Clio Williams, a limited sports model of the production supermini, which was Formula One'ssafety car at the1996 Argentine Grand Prix.[136][137]However, no input was provided by Williams into the development of the car.
WAE Technologies, formerly known as Williams Advanced Engineering (WAE), was the technology and engineering services business of the Williams Group. Based in the United Kingdom, it is located in a dedicated facility of 3,800 square metres (41,000 sq ft), adjacent to Williams Formula One facilities.
The company provides the battery technology used inFormula E[139] andExtreme E, and has assisted the development of the electricVanda Electric Dendrobium car from Singapore.[140] It has worked withJaguar to create theC-X75 hybrid supercar. WAE partnered once again with Jaguar to build new stunt C-X75s for the 24thJames Bond film,Spectre.[141]
WAE announced in June 2013 a new collaboration withNismo, the performance-orientated brand ofNissan, to partner in the development of high-performance road cars.
WAE generated revenues of £10.9m in fiscal year 2014–15, with profits of £1m.[142]
The company announced in August 2017 a collaboration withSinger Vehicle Design. The initial work is a modified, naturally aspirated, air-cooled, flat-sixPorsche 911 engine with a 4.0L capacity, four valves per cylinder and four camshafts, rated at 500HP.
On 1 May 2019, Williams Advanced Engineering announced their partnership with the FIA sanctioned electric off-road racing series,Extreme E. Williams Advanced Engineering will supply the batteries for the first two seasons of Extreme E, which began in 2021.
On 2 May 2019, it was announced that Williams Advanced Engineering will supply the batteries for the multi-makeETCR series that is due to launch in 2020.[143]
On 24 January 2022, the Australian mining firmFortescue announced it had purchased Williams Advanced Engineering for £164m in an effort to meet its carbon neutral targets for 2030.[144] In January 2023, the company was renamed WAE Technologies.[145] In June 2024, the company was renamed again as Fortescue Zero.[146]
Williams Hybrid Power (WHP) was the division of Williams F1 that developed electromechanicalflywheels for mobile applications such as buses, trams and high-performance endurance-racing cars. A hybrid system that uses a spinning composite rotor to store energy, these flywheels help a vehicle save fuel and ultimately reduce its CO2 emissions.
WHP was first established in 2008 and immediately set about developing a new flywheel energy-recovery system for the Williams F1 Team after the introduction of Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS) into Formula One for the 2009 season. While other teams were pouring their efforts into electric battery systems, Williams F1 opted to go down the flywheel route because of a strong belief in the technology's wider applications. While it was never raced in Formula One due to technical changes, WHP has since seen its technology adapted for a range of applications. For example, the Audi R18 hybrid car that won the 2012 Le Mans 24 Hours used a WHP flywheel. WHP has also seen its flywheel technology introduced into a series of buses as part of a deal with the Go-Ahead Group, one of the UK's biggest transport operators. In April 2014, Williams Hybrid Power was sold toGKN.[147]
While the team has entered customer cars into Formula One races since 1974 (running as the predecessorFrank Williams Racing Cars before 1978), the first being theWilliams FW (theFW standing for team founderFrankWilliams), Williams has built and entered their own cars since their first season as a constructor in 1978. All of their cars are named after founder Frank Williams.
Although World Championship races held in 1952 and 1953 were run to Formula Two regulations, constructors who only participated during this period are included herein to maintain Championship continuity. Constructors whose only participation in the World Championship was in theIndianapolis 500 races between 1950 and 1960 are not listed.
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