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 Nigel Mansell driving the FW10 at the1985 German Grand Prix | |||||||||
| Category | Formula One | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constructor | Williams (chassis) Honda (engine) | ||||||||
| Designers | Patrick Head (Technical Director) Frank Dernie (Head of Aerodynamics and R&D) Osamu Goto (Engine Technical Director (Honda)) | ||||||||
| Predecessor | FW09B | ||||||||
| Successor | FW11 | ||||||||
| Technical specifications[1] | |||||||||
| Chassis | MouldedCarbon compositemonocoque | ||||||||
| 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: 1,803 mm (71.0 in) Rear: 1,651 mm (65.0 in) | ||||||||
| Wheelbase | 2,794 mm (110.0 in) | ||||||||
| Engine | HondaRA163E /RA165E 1.5 L (1,494 cc , 91.2 cu in)V6 twin turbocharged mid-engine | ||||||||
| Transmission | Williams /Hewland 6-speedmanual | ||||||||
| Power | 800 hp @ 11,000 rpm[2] | ||||||||
| Weight | 545 kg (1,202 lb) | ||||||||
| Fuel | Mobil | ||||||||
| Tyres | Goodyear | ||||||||
| Competition history | |||||||||
| Notable entrants | CanonWilliamsHonda Team | ||||||||
| Notable drivers | 5. Nigel Mansell6.  Keke Rosberg | ||||||||
| Debut | 1985 Brazilian Grand Prix | ||||||||
| First win | 1985 Detroit Grand Prix | ||||||||
| Last win | 1985 Australian Grand Prix | ||||||||
| Last event | 1985 Australian Grand Prix | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Constructors' Championships | 0 | ||||||||
| Drivers' Championships | 0 | ||||||||
TheWilliams FW10 is aFormula One car designed byFrank Dernie for use by theWilliams team in the1985 Formula One World Championship. It was initially powered byHonda's1983 and1984V6 engine, theRA163E, before the 1985 spec engine, theRA165E was introduced atDetroit. Theturbo engines in the FW10's were driven by BritonNigel Mansell and Finland's1982 World ChampionKeke Rosberg. An upgraded version of the car, dubbed theFW10B, was introduced late in the season, which enabled the team to win the final three races of the year.
1985 marked Williams' second full season withHondaturbo power.1984 had been difficult, as theFW09 struggled to cope with the enormous power and brutal torque curve, leading to handling problems which afflicted driversKeke Rosberg andJacques Laffite throughout the season. Technical directorPatrick Head thus decided to make the FW10 an all-new car- making themonocoque entirely from much stiffercarbon composite, rather than thealuminium honeycomb construction of previous years - the first Williams F1 car ever to be made predominantly of this material. This construction technique had been pioneered by theMcLaren team with theirMP4/1 in1981, and was in the process of being adopted by the other teams for its combination of exceptional stiffness and lightness. In total, nine FW10 tubs were built; one was sent to Japan for Honda test driverSatoru Nakajima to drive, and one was a prototype to test the construction process.[3]
During 1985,Nigel Mansell wrote off two cars in accidents: the first when he went head-on into a barrier atDetroit, the second when he crashed heavily atPaul Ricard due to tyre blowout at over 200 mph (322 km/h), unwittingly setting the record for the highest-speed crash in Formula One. The Honda engine proved to be extremely powerful, with Head claiming around 1000–1250 bhp in qualifying, and up to 900 bhp (670 kW) in race configuration.[4]
The team had a much better season than in the previous two years, scoring four wins and taking third place in the Constructors' Championship. During the early part of the season the cars made do with upgraded 1984 engines. Honda introduced a completely new RA165-E engine at Montreal, which had smaller turbos (with a very small drop-off in power which was recovered thanks to improved engine and turbo technology), and instantly the cars were on the pace, with both Rosberg and Mansell expressing delight in the power of the new engine and how much easier it was to drive being less 'peaky' with a much smoother power delivery. Rosberg won in Detroit, whilst further developments to the engine in the final stages of the season saw the FW10B win the final three races of the season which allowed Williams to snatch third place in the Constructors' Championship on a count-back fromLotus.[5]
Mansell, having joined the team from Lotus at the beginning of the year, took his first F1 victory on home soil atBrands Hatch for theEuropean Grand Prix, and immediately followed it up with his second, inSouth Africa. Rosberg then took his second win of the season, and his fifth and final victory overall, at the last race of the season inAustralia.[6]
During qualifying for theBritish Grand Prix atSilverstone, Rosberg lapped the 4.719 km (2.932 mi) circuit in his FW10 in a time of 1:05.591 for an average speed of 160.9 mph (258.9 km/h), the first time a Formula One car had broken the 160 mph barrier for a qualifying lap. This record would stand until2002. Rosberg's achievement was made more impressive by the fact that he was running on slick qualifying tyres at a time when the track was damp from light rain, and he also had a deflating tyre for most of the lap.[7]
Autocourse picked the FW10 as the third-best car of 1985, behind theLotus 97T and the McLaren MP4/2B, and the chassis also wonAutosport magazine's "racing car of the year" award. The FW10 also acted as an important step-up for the team to1986 and1987, in which theFW11 was generally the class of the field.
The FW10 was the first Williams car to sport the distinctive yellow, blue and white livery that the team would use until the end of the1993 season.
(key) (Results inbold indicate pole position; results initalics indicate fastest lap.)
| Year | Team | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Points | WCC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | CanonWilliams | HondaRA163E 1.5V6t HondaRA165E 1.5V6t | G | BRA | POR | SMR | MON | CAN | DET | FRA | GBR | GER | AUT | NED | ITA | BEL | EUR | RSA | AUS | 71 | 3rd | |
| Nigel Mansell | Ret | 5 | 5 | 7 | 6 | Ret | DNS | Ret | 6 | Ret | 6 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Ret | ||||||
| Keke Rosberg | Ret | Ret | Ret | 8 | 4 | 1 | 2 | Ret | 12 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | ||||||
Source:[8] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Autosport Racing Car Of The Year 1985 | Succeeded by |
