Frank Williams Racing Cars
 |
|
| Full name | Frank Williams Racing Cars |
|---|---|
| Founder(s) | Frank Williams |
| Noted drivers |
 Piers Courage Jacques Laffite Carlos Pace Jacky Ickx Ronnie Peterson
|
| Next name | Walter Wolf Racing |
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| First entry | 1969 Spanish Grand Prix |
| Constructors' Championships |
0 |
| Drivers' Championships |
0 |
| Race victories | 0 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 1 |
| Final entry | 1976 Japanese Grand Prix |
Frank Williams Racing Cars was a British Formula One team and constructor.
Frank Williams had been a motor-racing enthusiast since a young age, and after a career in saloon cars and Formula Three, backed by Williams' shrewd instincts as a dealer in racing cars and spares, he realised he'd reached his peak as a driver and started entering other drivers, in particular his friend and sometime flatmate Piers Courage. After Williams backed Courage in a successful 1968 Formula Two season, he purchased a Brabham Formula One car for Courage in 1969. This allegedly angered Jack Brabham, as the car had been sold to Williams with the expectation that it would be used in the Tasman Series and then converted to Formula 5000. Courage in fact had a great year, taking second place at both the Monaco and US Grands Prix.
Their efforts attracted the interest of Italian sports car manufacturer De Tomaso, who built a Formula One chassis (designed by Gian Paolo Dallara) for the 1970 season. However, the car was initially uncompetitive, failing to finish the first four races of the year. In the fifth, the Dutch Grand Prix, the De Tomaso 505/38 flipped and caught fire, killing Courage. The death of his friend seriously upset Williams; the subsequent distance the team principal placed between himself and his drivers has been attributed to this event. The team soldiered on, however, first with Brian Redman, then with Tim Schenken. With no results, the partnership with De Tomaso was dissolved.
For 1971, Williams purchased a year-old March 701, and ran Frenchman Henri Pescarolo. The team later upgraded to a new March 711, but results were difficult to come by. The old car was also entered for Max Jean at the French Grand Prix. After the success of 1969, Williams was now low on funds, living a hand-to-mouth existence from race to race. Pescarolo did, however, keep the outfit ticking over with fourth place at the British Grand Prix and sixth in Austria.
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