Formula 1... When thinking of the sport the mind often wonders to the likes of Mercedes, Ferrari and maybe even Michael Schumacher, but more often than not it will jump to Williams. The British team founded by Sir Frank Williams has been on the grid since 1969, as such Frank has clocked up a record 50 years as Williams' team boss.
Although Williams may not be at the top of its game as of the past few seasons, flicking back through the history books provides a whole different story with as much as 114 race wins and 16 World Championships! So how did one small British team manage to break so many records..? A boy with a dream, thats how.
Frank Williams was born in North East England in 1942, he became hooked on racing but quickly realised he wouldn't make it as a driver. As such he began dealing race cars with 'Frank Williams Racing Cars', before becoming a fully fledged racing team starting in Formula 2 with Piers Courage as their driver. All before graduating to Formula 1 in 1969 with a second hand Brabham chassis, that would lead them to race victory in just their second Grand Prix in Monaco!
Unfortunately, the teams growing momentum quickly ground to a halt after Piers Courage tragically died in a motor racing incident at Zandvoort in 1970. Devastated and financially troubled, Frank found himself between a rock and a hard place, but he refused to give up on his dreams. With finances at an all time low, Frank had no other option but to sell his team to Walter Wolff, a rich Austrian Oil merchant in 1976. But that was not the end of Frank Williams...
1977 birthed 'Williams Grand Prix Engineering' in what was an old carpet warehouse. Frank Williams partnered with Patrick Head, then an up and coming engineer, in the bid to become history makers, which is exactly what they did. After hiring Alan Jones, they soon became major players in the game of Formula 1 with their first podium coming in 1978, whilst by the second half of the 1979 season Williams had racked up five more wins. Just one year later, Alan Jones took the first of back to back Championships!
In the space of four years, Frank Williams had re-started his Formula 1 team and become a double back to back Championship winner!
1986 was a pivotal year, the year Frank sustained life-threatening injuries in a road crash in France leaving him severely paralysed. But a wheelchair was not going to stop Frank getting back to Formula 1, his return to the Paddock allowed his team to win the 1986 constructors Championship and both titles the following year, winning a further five more titles since. Williams have certainly cemented their status as a force to be reckoned with.
Frank Williams has built some of the sports finest cars and subsequently run some of the best drivers, creating a sporting legacy that will live on forever.
This October I had the privilege of meeting Sir Frank Williams, although somewhat tongue tied by meeting this legend, he was such a gentleman and surpassed any and every expectation. The mould was definitely broken when they made Frank.
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