Category | Formula One | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Constructor | Williams | ||||||||
Designer(s) | Patrick Head (Technical Director) Neil Oatley (Chief Designer) Frank Dernie (Head of Aerodynamics and R&D) | ||||||||
Predecessor | FW06 | ||||||||
Successor | FW08 | ||||||||
Technical specifications | |||||||||
Chassis | Aluminium monocoque | ||||||||
Suspension (front) | Lower wishbones and inboard springs | ||||||||
Suspension (rear) | Lower wishbones and inboard springs | ||||||||
Engine | Ford-Cosworth DFV 2,993 cc (182.6 cu in) V8 naturally aspirated mid-mounted | ||||||||
Transmission | 1979: Hewland FGB 5-speed manual 1980-1982: Hewland FGA 400 5-speed manual | ||||||||
Weight | 1979: 579 kg 1980: 585 kg 1981–1982: 540 kg | ||||||||
Fuel | Mobil | ||||||||
Tyres | Goodyear (1979–1982) Michelin (1981) | ||||||||
Competition history | |||||||||
Notable entrants | Williams | ||||||||
Notable drivers | Alan Jones, Clay Regazzoni, Carlos Reutemann, Desiré Wilson, Kevin Cogan, Rupert Keegan, Emilio de Villota Mario Andretti | ||||||||
Debut | 1979 Spanish Grand Prix | ||||||||
First win | 1979 British Grand Prix | ||||||||
Last win | 1981 Caesars Palace Grand Prix | ||||||||
Last event | 1982 United States Grand Prix West | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Constructors' Championships | 2 (1980 & 1981) | ||||||||
Drivers' Championships | 1 (Alan Jones, 1980) |
The Williams FW07 was a ground effect Formula One racing car designed by Patrick Head, Frank Dernie, and Neil Oatley for the 1979 F1 season. [1]
It was closely based on the Lotus 79, even being developed in the same wind tunnel at Imperial College London. Some observers, among them Lotus aerodynamicist Peter Wright felt the FW07 was little more than a re-engineered Lotus 79, just having a stiffer chassis. [2] The car was small and simple and extremely light, powered by the ubiquitous Ford Cosworth DFV. It had very clean lines and seemed to be a strong challenger for the new season, but early reliability problems halted any serious threat for the title. While not the first to use ground effects in Formula One, an honour belonging to Colin Chapman and the Lotus 78 (the Lotus 79's predecessor), Dernie may have had a better grasp of the principles than even Chapman. [3] While Head had been developing the Lotus 78's/79's basic principles in the FW07, Chapman's design team was attempting to take the ground effect idea further ahead of rivals on the Lotus 80 engaging the entire bottom of the chassis as an aerodynamic device for generating downforce without the necessity of external wings. Since the Lotus 80 solution had many drawbacks, Chapman devised the twin-chassis concept of Lotus 86 and 88 that should have solved the issues, but it was never allowed to race due to failure to comply with existing technical rules.
When the British Grand Prix at Silverstone came around, chief designer Frank Dernie had designed and implemented a system that ensured that the car's all-important skirts touched the ground at all times and had also corrected some aerodynamic leakage at the back of the chassis between the French and British Grand Prix.
The FW07 became FW07B in 1980, and Alan Jones, now with Carlos Reutemann, developed the FW07 further, working especially on setup and suspension strengthening. The car was now so efficient in creating downforce from its ground effect design that the front wings were unnecessary.
At the 1980 French Grand Prix, Alan Jones used for the first time (in a race) a specially prepared John Judd developed Cosworth DFV. Previously Williams had used "development" DFVs allocated by Cosworth to constructors who were judged to provide the best potential to win races against Renault and Ferrari. Modified in John Judd's workshops in Rugby, the Judd-DFV featured an advanced camshaft/cylinder head design which allowed for greater revs than even a development DFV, producing 500-510 BHP at 11,400 RPM compared to 10,800 RPM of a standard DFV. Since both the Renault turbo V6 produced 520 BHP and the Alfa V12 around 525 BHP, it meant that from the French GP onwards both Alan Jones and Carlos Reutemann had a power deficit of just 10-15 BHP compared to the factory based Alfas and Renaults, which gave both Jones and Reutemann a fighting chance on power sensitive circuits such as Hockenheim, the Osterreichring, Zandvoort and Imola. The Williams had the advantage of only requiring a fuel tank size of 173 litres, where the Renault needed a 215 litre fuel tank and the Alfa around 205 litres, effectively giving the 1980 Williams FW07 a superior power to weight ratio.
The FW07B evolved into the FW07C for 1981, and further work was done to the suspension, especially after the FIA banned the moveable skirts needed for effective ground effect. The hydraulic suspension systems were developed by Jones, who hated the rock hard suspension. During a winter test session at the Paul Ricard Circuit in the south of France, he suggested to Frank Williams that to compensate for the harsh ride and the pounding the driver gets while driving the car that he "put suspension on the seat", which Frank thought was a good idea. However, he then replied that Jones should sit on his wallet. 'Yeah,' drawled the tough Aussie, 'then give me something to put in it!' [4] Jones temporarily left Formula One because of the extremely unpleasant ride the FW07C gave, he later described driving the car as "wrecking the internals". [5]
BBC's Horizon series followed the team during winter testing, and later produced the film Gentlemen, Lift Your Skirts which was broadcast during 1981. The film featured extensive behind the scenes footage of the team at work and interviews with the drivers, Frank Williams and Patrick Head. [6]
The FW07D was an experimental six-wheeled test car (four driven rear wheels, and two undriven front wheels) tested by Alan Jones on a single occasion at the Donington Park circuit. With the FW07D proving the concept, its unique design was incorporated into the six-wheeled FW08B. [7] [8]
The car made its debut at the Spanish Grand Prix at Jarama in 1979, the fifth round of the season and the first European round after the non-ground effect FW06 was used for the first four rounds in the Americas and South Africa. The car proved to be reasonably competitive; Australian Alan Jones put the car 13th at Jarama and then 4th for the next round in Belgium; he even led 16 laps of the race before retiring with electrical failure. At the British Grand Prix, Jones stuck the revised Williams on pole and was immediately 2 seconds faster than the next fastest car. The car served to make Team Williams a contender for the first time; Jones retired with fuel pump failure and his Swiss teammate Clay Regazzoni won his last Grand Prix and first since 1976. [3] Jones then won 4 of the next 5 Grand Prix in Germany, Austria, Holland and Canada in a car that was so much quicker than any of the others, particularly around high-speed circuits. But because the car's competitiveness came only at mid-season, Jones and Williams lost the driver's and constructor's championships to South African Jody Scheckter and Ferrari, respectively. But the FW07's competitiveness meant that Williams was a top contender for the 1980 season and beyond. [9]
Regazzoni was replaced by Carlos Reutemann. While the latter and Williams's other driver, Alan Jones, formed a successful partnership, they were not comfortable with each other. Jones won five races in Argentina, France, Britain, Canada and Watkins Glen in the USA to win his only world championship, while Reutemann won at a wet race in Monaco. Williams won also their first Constructors' Championship. The main challenge to the FW07 came from Nelson Piquet in Brabham's neat BT49. [10]
This time it was Reutemann who challenged Piquet for the championship, narrowly missing out in the final race, but Williams took home the constructors' championship after four more wins. The FW07C was the second fastest car of 1981, behind the Renault RE30, but the Williams was more reliable. [2]
Alan Jones lost two potential victories at Monaco and Hockenheim when fuel pressure "hunting" caused the Cosworth DFV to misfire badly, costing the Australian not just wins but also possibly the 1981 World Drivers Championship. The misfiring which afflicted Jones was caused by the high G forces and acceleration generated by the venturi derived ground effects which caused the fuel in the tank to slosh about so violently that the fuel pump was unable to provide the fuel lines with adequate supply. Carlos Reuetemann also had a similar problem in the French Grand Prix in 1981 when he was in a strong position to finish in the points, and this misfire might also have cost Williams the 1981 Drivers Championship as well.
After Jones retired, Williams took on Keke Rosberg in 1982. His mercurial driving seemed to suit the FW07, which although it was now three years old, was still competitive. After 15 wins, 300 points, one drivers' and two constructors' titles the FW07 was replaced by the similarly engineered FW08 from early 1982.
The Williams FW07 and its variants have been regular fixtures in historic racing. The FW07C won the FIA Masters Historic Formula One Championship in 2016, 2018 and 2021, while the FW07B won the championship in 2017.
Rights to the FW07's design were acquired by Bobby Hillin, owner of the IndyCar team Longhorn Racing. [11] Longhorn Racing built a Williams FW07 copy named Longhorn LR02, with minor adjustments to comply with CART and Indianapolis 500 rules. The car ran in 1981 with Al Unser at the wheel. It achieved a best result of 2nd at the 1981 CART Mexico round. It started the 1981 Indianapolis 500 on the third row in 9th, but finished only 17th. [12] [13]
The car was later sold and turned into a Can-Am car in 1985, [14] with the addition of a 5.0L Chevrolet engine and extensive bodywork, then sold again and raced in SCCA. [13]
(key) (results in bold indicate pole position) (results in italics indicate fastest lap)
* 4 points in 1979 scored using the FW06
* 44 points in 1982 scored using the FW08
Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, currently racing in Formula One as Williams Racing, is a British Formula One team and constructor. It was founded by Sir Frank Williams (1942–2021) and Sir Patrick Head. The team was formed in 1977 after Frank Williams's earlier unsuccessful F1 operation: Frank Williams Racing Cars. The team is based in Grove, Oxfordshire, on a 60-acre (24 ha) site.
Formula One automobile racing has its roots in the European Grand Prix championships of the 1920s and 1930s, though the foundation of the modern Formula One began in 1946 with the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's (FIA) standardisation of rules, which was followed by a World Championship of Drivers in 1950.
The DFV is an internal combustion engine that was originally produced by Cosworth for Formula One motor racing. The name is an abbreviation of Double Four Valve, the engine being a V8 development of the earlier four-cylinder FVA, which had four valves per cylinder.
The 1979 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Silverstone on 14 July 1979. It was the ninth race of the 1979 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1979 International Cup for F1 Constructors.
The 1980 Austrian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 17 August 1980 at the Österreichring circuit in Austria. It was the tenth race of the 1980 Formula One season. The race was the 13th Austrian Grand Prix and the eleventh to be held at the Österreichring. The race was held over 54 laps of the 5.942-kilometre circuit for a total race distance of 321 kilometres.
The 1980 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 28 September 1980, at the Circuit Île Notre-Dame in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was the thirteenth and penultimate race of the 1980 Formula One season. The race was the 19th Canadian Grand Prix and the third to be held in Montreal. The race was held over 70 laps of the 4.41-kilometre circuit for a total race distance of 309 kilometres.
The 1982 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 36th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It included two competitions run over the course of the year, the 33rd Formula One World Championship for Drivers and the 25th Formula One World Championship for Constructors. The season featured sixteen rounds between 23 January and 25 September. The Drivers' Championship was won by Keke Rosberg and the Constructors' Championship by Scuderia Ferrari.
The 1981 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 35th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1981 Formula One World Championship for Drivers and the 1981 Formula One World Championship for Manufacturers, which were contested over a fifteen-race series that commenced on 15 March and ended on 17 October. The 1981 South African Grand Prix, as a non-championship race due to difficulties from the ongoing FISA–FOCA war, was open to Formula One entrants but was not part of the World Championship.
The 1980 Formula One season was the 34th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1980 World Championship of Drivers and the 1980 International Cup for F1 Constructors, which were contested concurrently from 13 January to 5 October over a fourteen-race series. The season also included one non-championship race, the Spanish Grand Prix.
The 1979 Formula One season was the 33rd season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1979 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1979 International Cup for F1 Constructors which were contested concurrently over a fifteen-round series which commenced on 21 January 1979, and ended on 7 October. The season also included three non-championship Formula One races.
The 1980 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 5, 1980 at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York. This event was also referred to as the United States Grand Prix East in order to distinguish it from the United States Grand Prix West held on March 30, 1980 in Long Beach, California.
Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport categories including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar, and sports car racing. More than ten years after its last race, Team Lotus remained one of the most successful racing teams of all time, winning seven Formula One Constructors' titles, six Drivers' Championships, and the Indianapolis 500 in the United States between 1962 and 1978. Under the direction of founder and chief designer Colin Chapman, Lotus was responsible for many innovative and experimental developments in critical motorsport, in both technical and commercial arenas.
The Matra MS80 was the fourth Formula One car produced by Matra. The Ford Cosworth DFV-powered car took Jackie Stewart to the Formula One World Championship title in 1969.
The Lotus 79 is a Formula One car designed in late 1977 by Colin Chapman, Geoff Aldridge, Martin Ogilvie, Tony Rudd, Tony Southgate and Peter Wright of Lotus. The Lotus 79 was the first F1 car to take full advantage of ground effects aerodynamics.
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The Ferrari 312T was a Ferrari Formula One car design, based on the 312B3 from 1974. In various versions, it was used from 1975 until 1980. It was designed by Mauro Forghieri for the 1975 season, and was an uncomplicated and clean design that responded well to mechanical upgrades.
The Brabham BT49 is a Formula One racing car designed by South African Gordon Murray for the British Brabham team. The BT49 competed in the 1979 to 1982 Formula One World Championships and was used by Brazilian driver Nelson Piquet to win his first World Championship in 1981.
The Williams FW06 was the first car produced by the combination of Frank Williams and Patrick Head for their Williams Grand Prix Engineering Formula One team. As was the standard arrangement for the many small British garagiste teams, the car was powered by the Cosworth DFV 3.0 litre V8 engine.
The Williams FW08 was a Formula One car designed by Frank Dernie, which debuted at the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix held at the Zolder circuit. An evolution of the FW07 that it replaced, the car was used by Finnish driver Keke Rosberg to win the 1982 World Drivers' Championship.
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