This is part 2 of the Williams F1 story. In the first part, we talked about the start-up of the team and the beginning of what would be a colossal rise in the sport.
We looked at the team’s first set of world titles and their various driver changes. In this part of the series, we will pick up where we left off. The next part of the story will kick off at the start of the 1983/84 season.
1983
The year kicks off with a driver change. Lucky for Frank Williams it is not his star driver at the time Keke Rosberg. The team bring in experienced driver Jacques Laffite. This season would also be the last the team would use Cosworth engines before switching to Honda Turbocharged engines.
In terms of the car, the ground effect was no longer the craze. Attention across the grid would turn to flat-bottomed cars. This created a nightmare about car design. Most of the grid would have to overhaul their cars to fit in with the changes. To make matters worse, Williams was not moving at the same pace as other teams on the grid in terms of car development.
The team had again not switched to turbocharged engines like some of their competitors like Ferrari. The car was old and dated. The once pioneer of the sport in car development was slacking behind and as a result, this would affect their position in the sport.
The season kicked off with a Rosberg poll position. Great! No, he was disqualified. Laffite would score a podium however scoring 3 points. The team would not score any notable results until round 5 in Monaco where Rosberg would win the team’s only win of the season. This would also be the final Cosworth engine win. 2 races later and Rosberg scores another podium, finishing 2nd in Detroit. At this point in the season, Laffite had been a useful second driver as Rosberg was making mistakes or not finishing the race.
This meant that by round 7, Williams F1 was 2nd in the constructors championship. They would lead by just 1 point to Ferrari. They would sit on 32 points. By the end of the season, 7 races later, the team would finish on a disappointing 38 points. This would put them in 4th in the constructors a staggering 36 points behind Brabham. All three teams ahead of them were using turbocharged cars. Frank knew it was time to change engines and would sign an exclusive deal with Honda.
1984
The 1984 season would add to the decline of Williams. The team came very close to signing rookie Ayton Senna after he impressed when testing a Williams F1 car. However, the team’s driver lineup remained the same. Something new was that the team moved into a new factory, a symbol of stability and growth of the team. The car was more powerful and looked like it could challenge the new leaders of the grid. In reality, this was not the case.
The new engine did not suit the chassis designed for it. The car was unbalanced and hard to drive. The engine quality could have been better, delivering more reliable power levels. The body of the car itself created way too much drag at high speed which left the car vulnerable on long straights. Laffite would only finish 5 races this season due to poor reliability. For the first 9 rounds, Rosberg recorded 5 finishes with one 2nd place and one 1st place.
Laffite finished 4 out of the 9. After the first 9 races, the team decided to run a heavily modified car with different parts, some designed by McLaren. For the final 7 races, the team only recorded 2 finishes. Throughout the whole 16-race calendar the team only had 2 cars cross the finish line together 3 times. It was a disaster. Williams finished 6th in the constructors.
1985
The 1985 season could not have come sooner. It was a new dawn of Williams F1 on paper. The team would completely design a new car using the Honda engine still. This downfall could not continue. Rosberg stayed for another season but it was Nigel Mansell that would take the other drive.
The car itself would be made out of new material, inspired by the work of McLaren. This car would be stiffer and lighter than before. The car would also get a new look on the outside. Previously the car had been oriented around the Fly Saudi colour scheme. Now it was time to bring in the iconic yellow, blue and white.
The season would start terribly with neither car finishing due to reliability issues. Would the struggles of last season seep into this one again? Well looking at qualifying for the opening race, it seemed as if the car had more pace and had solved several performance-related issues from last season. Rosberg would start 2nd with Mansell in 5th.
Up until round 6, it looked as if it would be a slow painful season. While the car was finishing races, it was not getting any podiums. Round 6 brought joy and relief (to an extent). Mansell would go on to win partially thanks to poll sitter Senna retiring from the race. As it stood Williams was 4th in the constructors and Rosberg would be 5th in the drivers.
More joy came for Mansell in the next round scoring a 2nd place finish. But it wouldn’t be until round 13 when Williams F1 was “back”, Rosberg scored a 2nd-place finish. The next round at Brands Hatch for the European Grand Prix would see Williams finally win a race. Mansell and Rosberg were 3rd and 4th. They were poised for a podium finish at least.
Mansell would win with help from Rosberg. Rosberg would act as the ultimate teammate holding up the infamous Senna for as long as possible. He would allow Mansell to win by an incredible 21 seconds. Rosberg would finish 3rd. Next up in South Africa, Mansell sits on the poll with Rosberg in 3rd. By the end of the race, it’s a 1-2 for the team. Incredible.
A down-and-out team last season has picked themselves up designed a new car and now has back-to-back wins. The Williams was incredibly fast and both had lapped the likes of Prost and Berger.
The next round in Australia would see the team qualify in 2nd and 3rd. Senna was on the pole, this meant they couldn’t let him get too far ahead otherwise the chances of them winning would slide away. Senna would retire on lap 62 allowing Rosberg to take the lead and win the race. 3 wins in a row.
By the end of the season, Williams F1 team had finished in 3rd place as had Rosberg. The team had not given up in hard times, but instead banned together and took the initiative. While they didn’t win the championships, it was a sign of improvement. The team had picked themselves up, put the time and effort into the R&D and done what they are known for doing, making good race cars. This is a running theme throughout Williams as we will see later in the series.
1986
The 1986 season would be a huge season for Williams. They would bring in one of the most iconic driver pairings of all time. Nelson Piquet and Nigel Mansell. It is also famous for being one of the most competitive as well.
The car would play host to one of the most powerful engines ever in the sport. This would be Williams’s season with Nelson Piquet winning the first race of the season in Brazil. It would be around 8 to 14 where Williams would dominate the most.
They would win 6 out of those 7 races. By round 14 in Hungry, Mansell would be leading the drivers championship with Senna 7 points behind. Just 2 races later in Italy, it would be a Williams 1-2 in the drivers standings with Mansell still leading but by only 5 points.
Things were hotting up and the Williams team were back at the top of the sport. Come the last race of the season, Williams had won the constructors championship, easily. All Mansell had to do was finish 3rd to win the drivers.
Things were looking great with Nelson Piquet qualifying 2nd and Mansell on pole. Nelson Piquet would finish second, but heartbreak struck as Mansell’s tire blew on lap 63.
The championship had gone and Senna won back-to-back titles. This would not be the only heartbreak of the season with team principal and founder Frank Williams being in a horrific car crash leaving him paralysed and wheelchair bound.
Next Time
So here we leave it, Williams had dragged themselves out of a dark period. The team was back and winning. Unlike last time, we leave on a more positive note about results. Come back next week for another instalment.
Image Credit: Deposit Photos