Full name | Williams Martini Racing |
---|---|
Base | Grove, Wantage, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom |
Team principal(s) |
Sir Frank Williams Claire Williams OBE (Deputy) |
Group CEO | Mike O'Driscoll |
Technical director |
Rob Smedley (Head of Performance Engineering) Dirk De Beer (Head of Aerodynamics) (As of March 2017) |
Founder(s) |
Sir Frank Williams Sir Patrick Head |
Website | www |
2017 Formula One season | |
Race drivers | 18. Lance Stroll 19. Felipe Massa |
Test drivers | Paul di Resta |
Chassis | FW40 |
Engine | Mercedes M08 EQ Power+ |
Tyres | Pirelli |
Formula One World Championship career | |
First entry |
As a team 1977 Spanish Grand Prix As a constructor 1978 Argentine Grand Prix |
Latest entry | 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix |
Races entered |
As a team: 669 entries (665 starts) As a constructor: 656 entries (655 starts) |
Constructors' Championships |
9 (1980, 1981, 1986, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997) |
Drivers' Championships |
7 (1980, 1982, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997) |
Race victories | 114 |
Pole positions | 128 |
Fastest laps | 133 |
2016 position | 5th (138 pts) |
Coordinates: 51°37′5″N 1°24′46″W / 51.61806°N 1.41278°W
Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited (: WGF1), currently racing in Formula One as Williams Martini Racing, is a British Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded and is run by team owner Sir Frank Williams and automotive engineer Sir Patrick Head. The team was formed in 1977 after Frank Williams' two earlier unsuccessful F1 operations: Frank Williams Racing Cars (1969 to 1975) and Wolf-Williams Racing (1976). All of Williams F1 chassis are called "FW" then a number, the FW being the initials of team owner, Frank Williams.
Williams' first race was the 1977 Spanish Grand Prix, where the new team ran a March chassis for Patrick Nève. Williams started manufacturing its own cars the following year, and Switzerland's Clay Regazzoni won Williams' first race at the 1979 British Grand Prix. At the 1997 British Grand Prix, Canadian Jacques Villeneuve scored the team's 100th race victory, making Williams one of only three teams in Formula One, alongside Ferrari and fellow British team McLaren, to win 100 races. Williams won nine Constructors' Championships between 1980 and 1997. This stood as a record until Ferrari surpassed it in 2000.