Williams ‑ Eight That Were Great!

These eight winning Williams racers are particularly special to the team thanks to their on-track achievements and the legacy they created. They have immense sentimental value and take pride of place in the Collection, for very good reasons.

1. FW07 1979

Williams joined the winners’ circle in Formula 1 on 14 July 1979 when Clay Regazzoni won the team’s home race, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, in chassis #002. It was sold after the ’79 season but brought back to its spiritual home in 1993 after being acquired in San Francisco.

2. FW10 1985 

Remember Keke Rosberg’s scintillating pole lap at a wet-dry Silverstone in 1985? This is chassis #3 into which the mustachioed Finn strapped himself that Saturday afternoon, stopping the clock at 1m05.591s – an average speed of a whisker over 160mph! And, it transpired, he had a slow puncture!

3. FW11B 1987 

British race fans will recall fondly the 1987 British GP, in which Nigel Mansell made up a chunk of time on team-mate Nelson Piquet and sold him a dummy at Stowe to take an historic victory. This is chassis #4, which may well have lost that day in Piquet’s hands but it went on to take the Brazilian to the drivers’ title later that year.

4. FW14B 1992 

One of the fastest, most technologically advanced and successful F1 cars of all time, this Renault V10-powered monster, chassis #11, carried Mansell to second place in Hungary – where he secured the world title as early as August. Mansell also won in Portugal to break Ayrton Senna’s most-wins-in-a-season record with nine victories from the 16 races.

5. FW19 1997 

Williams’ most successful individual chassis, FW19 #4 was used by Jacques Villeneuve in every race bar the season-opening Australian GP in 1997. He took nine poles and seven wins in it and it still bears the scars of the infamous title-deciding European GP at Jerez where he collided with Michael Schumacher but survived to win the world title.

6. FW25 2003 

The BMW-powered FW25 of 2003 allowed Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya to fight for the constructors’ title, although the team lost out to Ferrari in the final reckoning. This is chassis #6 in which Colombian Montoya took his two wins that season – in the Monaco and German GPs.

7. FW34 2012 

After inheriting pole position for the Spanish GP, second-fastest qualifier Pastor Maldonado drove the race of his life to hold off home hero Fernando Alonso to win in this car, chassis #02. It marked Williams’ first win since the end of 2004 and came on the weekend of Sir Frank Williams’ 70^th birthday.

8. FW36 2014 ­­­

Revitalised by a switch to Mercedes power, Williams was a force to be reckoned with in 2014. And everyone loved the legendary stripes of returning sponsor Martini on the FW36. This is the car in which young Finn Valtteri Bottas finished second to Lewis Hamilton in the team’s home race at Silverstone – 35 years after that breakthrough success with the FW07.