 The FW09B ofKeke Rosberg at theHonda Collection Hall | |||||||||
| Category | Formula One | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constructor | Williams | ||||||||
| Designers | Patrick Head (Technical Director) Neil Oatley (Chief Designer) Frank Dernie (Head of Aerodynamics and R&D) Nobuhiko Kawamoto (Engine Designer (Honda)) | ||||||||
| Predecessor | FW08 | ||||||||
| Successor | FW10 | ||||||||
| Technical specifications[1] | |||||||||
| Chassis | Aluminiumhoneycombmonocoque withcarbon fibre stress points[2] | ||||||||
| Suspension (front) | Double wishbone, rocker-operated inboard spring damper | ||||||||
| Suspension (rear) | Lower wishbone, rocker-operated inboard spring damper/Double wishbone, pullrod-operated inboard spring damper | ||||||||
| Axle track | Front: 1,778 mm (70.0 in) Rear: 1,676 mm (66.0 in) | ||||||||
| Wheelbase | 2,769 mm (109.0 in) | ||||||||
| Engine | HondaRA163E, 1,494 cc (91.2 cu in), 80°V6,turbo,mid-engine,longitudinally mounted | ||||||||
| Transmission | Williams /Hewland 6-speedManual | ||||||||
| Weight | 558 kg (1,230.2 lb) (FW09) 540 kg (1,190.5 lb) (FW09B) | ||||||||
| Fuel | Mobil | ||||||||
| Tyres | Goodyear | ||||||||
| Competition history | |||||||||
| Notable entrants | TAGWilliams Racing Team | ||||||||
| Notable drivers | 5. Jacques Laffite6.  Keke Rosberg | ||||||||
| Debut | 1983 South African Grand Prix | ||||||||
| First win | 1984 Dallas Grand Prix | ||||||||
| Last win | 1984 Dallas Grand Prix | ||||||||
| Last event | 1984 Portuguese Grand Prix | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Constructors' Championships | 0 | ||||||||
| Drivers' Championships | 0 | ||||||||
TheWilliams FW09 was aFormula One car designed byFrank Dernie andNeil Oatley. It was the firstWilliams chassis to be powered by aturbochargedHondaV6 engine, for whichFrank Williams negotiated a deal towards the end of 1982 and the beginning of 1983.
Honda was already supplying the smallSpirit team for 1983, but was enthusiastic about supplying Williams, who not only had the reigningWorld ChampionKeke Rosberg as lead driver, but were one of the leading constructors in Formula One who had previously won both the Drivers' and Constructors titles on two occasions, a résumé that neither Spirit nor their youngSwedish driverStefan Johansson could match. Williams had agreed to help develop the engine underGrand Prix race conditions. Spirit folded shortly afterwards.[3]
The chassis was built fromaluminium withcarbon fibre used at stress points and was based on the reasonably successful 1983Williams FW08C. The engine cover had to be redesigned as the car was powered by a smaller, but more powerful (850 bhp (634 kW; 862 PS))[citation needed] V6 engine rather than the 530 bhp (395 kW; 537 PS)CosworthV8 that powered the FW08C. The front of the car was also redesigned giving the car cleaneraerodynamics.[4] The FW09 was introduced at theSouth African Grand Prix, the last race of the 1983 season, which was nothing more than a shakedown exercise. Rosberg showed the potential of both car and engine by qualifying sixth and finishing in fifth place while teammateJacques Laffite started 10th (after failing to qualify the old car at the previousEuropean Grand Prix atBrands Hatch), but spun off under braking for Crowthorne Corner at the end of the long main straight on lap two, his car ending up in the tyre barrier and out of the race.[5]
The car was then raced in the1984 season by Rosberg and teammate Laffite. Both drivers found extra power of the engine to their liking, but not the chassis which suffered from the sudden bursts of power that the Honda gave, upsetting the balance of the car- and the engine power delivery was so abrupt that parts of the 1.5L Honda block were actually found to have twisted during the race. Furthermore, the car body was found to produce a lot of drag at high speeds.[6] The problems with the 1984 chassis were noted by broadcasterClive James, opining inFOCA's season review video that "Rosberg had managed to make the Williams look driveable, which everyone includingFrank Williams knew it really wasn't".[7]
Reliability was also a problem, with Laffite only recording five finishes during the whole season, but the basic speed was there with the Honda powered FW09 consistently among the fastest cars through the speeds traps on many tracks despite the car itself producing high drag. Indeed, both drivers recorded a top speed of 310 km/h (193 mph) in qualifying and the race at the1984 South African Grand Prix (although it wasn't as fast as theBrabham-BMWs which recorded 325 km/h (202 mph) in qualifying). Rosberg had a more successful year than Laffite, managing to tame the car's unpredictable handling by winning the attrition-filledDallas Grand Prix for his and the team's first win since the1983 Monaco Grand Prix, and giving Honda its first Formula One Grand Prix win sinceJohn Surtees won the1967 Italian Grand Prix atMonza and its first win with a turbo engine.[8]
A modified version of the car dubbed theFW09B was introduced in Round 10 of the season atBrands Hatch for the1984 British Grand Prix. The car featured 'coke bottle' type sidepods pioneered by McLaren. Unfortunately from that race until the end of the season both Rosberg and Laffite only recorded one finish each and neither was in the points. Rosberg was 8th at theDutch Grand Prix while Laffite ended the season inPortugal with a disappointing 14th place, following which the FW09 was retired. One particular incident that was more or less a summation of Williams's season was at theAustrian Grand Prix at theÖsterreichring – which was at the time the fastest circuit used by Formula One with average lap speeds as high as 150+ mph – Rosberg drove into the pits from 9th place and informed technical director Patrick Head that he was retiring the car from the race because it was dangerously unstable at the Österreichring's very fast sweepers and he feared he might have a massive accident – all too commonplace at such a fast circuit. The Finnish driver, who had amazing reflexes and had a flat-out driving style was not one to just quit out of fear, and Head, a hard-nosed character with little patience for losing, accepted Rosberg's decision wholeheartedly. Williams, which along withFerrari andBrabham were one of the few race winners in a season dominated byMcLaren driversNiki Lauda andAlain Prost, finished sixth in the constructors' championship in 1984 having scored 25.5 points.[9]
The FW09 was retired following the 1984 season. It was replaced in1985 by the all carbon fibre and more successfulWilliams FW10.
(key)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | Tyres | Driver | Grands Prix | Pts. | WCC | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BRA | USW | FRA | SMR | MON | BEL | DET | CAN | GBR | GER | AUT | NED | ITA | EUR | RSA | |||||||||
| 1983 | TAGWilliams Team | FW09 | Honda RA163E V6tc | G | Keke Rosberg | 5 | 2 | 11th | |||||||||||||||
| Jacques Laffite | Ret | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1984 | BRA | RSA | BEL | SMR | FRA | MON | CAN | DET | DAL | GBR | GER | AUT | NED | ITA | EUR | POR | 25.5 | 6th | |||||
| Williams Grand Prix Engineering | FW09 | Honda RA163E V6tc | G | Keke Rosberg | 2 | Ret | 4 | Ret | 6 | 4 | Ret | Ret | 1 | ||||||||||
| Jacques Laffite | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 8 | 8 | Ret | 5 | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| FW09B | Keke Rosberg | Ret | Ret | Ret | 8 | Ret | Ret | Ret | |||||||||||||||
| Jacques Laffite | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 14 | ||||||||||||||||
