Williams FW21

Last updated
Williams FW21
Alex Zanardi 1999 Canada.jpg
Alex Zanardi driving the FW21 at the 1999 Canadian Grand Prix
Category Formula One
Constructor Williams
Designer(s) Patrick Head (Technical Director)
Gavin Fisher (Chief Designer)
Brian O'Roake (Chief Composites Engineer)
Mark Tatham (Chief Mechanical Engineer)
Geoff Willis (Head of Aerodynamics)
Jason Somerville (Principal Aerodynamicist)
Nick Alcock (Principal Aerodynamicist)
Predecessor Williams FW20
Successor Williams FW22
Technical specifications
Chassis Carbon-fibre monocoque
Suspension (front) Williams double wishbone, pushrod
Suspension (rear) Williams double wishbone, pushrod
Engine Renault RS9 (branded as Supertec) FB01 3.0-litre V10 (71°) naturally aspirated mid-engined
Transmission Williams 6-speed longitudinal semi-automatic sequential
Power780 hp @ 15,800 rpm [1]
Fuel Petrobras
Lubricants Castrol
Tyres Bridgestone
Competition history
Notable entrants Winfield Williams
Notable drivers5. Flag of Italy.svg Alessandro Zanardi
6. Flag of Germany.svg Ralf Schumacher
Debut 1999 Australian Grand Prix
Last event 1999 Japanese Grand Prix
RacesWins Podiums Poles F/Laps
160301
Constructors' Championships0
Drivers' Championships0

The Williams FW21 was the car with which the Williams team competed in the 1999 Formula One World Championship. It was driven by German Ralf Schumacher, who had swapped from Jordan with compatriot Heinz-Harald Frentzen, and Italian Alessandro Zanardi, who had last raced in Formula One in 1994 but had since won the CART championship twice.

Contents

Design

Engine

This was also the team's last season using a Renault engine (badged as a customer Supertec) until one was fitted in the race winning FW34 in 2012; with a new works deal with BMW for the 2000 season. [2] [3]

Season summary

Schumacher at the Canadian Grand Prix Ralf Schumacher 1999 Canada.jpg
Schumacher at the Canadian Grand Prix

Although Schumacher had a successful season and was a consistent front-runner with the all-new design of the FW21, Zanardi struggled all season with the handling characteristics of the then-recently introduced grooved tyres and failed to score a point. He was dropped at the end of the year in favour of Formula Three driver Jenson Button.

The team eventually finished fifth in the Constructors' Championship, with 35 points, all scored by Schumacher and thus Williams ended up with their worst season since 1990.

Livery

This was the second and final year for Williams had a sponsorship deal with a cigarette brand Winfield as the team's main sponsor. Williams used 'Winfield' logos, except at the French and British Grands Prix, where it was replaced with "WilliamsF1". In Canada, the kangaroo emblem was replaced with a boomerang-styled emblem. In French, Veltins logo was replaced with "Veltins alkoholfrei" but it was covered up by a barcode for scale models and video games.

FW21B

A "B" spec car was used for testing the BMW V10 engine for their return in 2000 season. Later, the car were run on Michelin tyres, testing them in preparation for their return in the 2001 season.

Complete Formula One results

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position, results in italic indicate fastest laps)

YearTeamEngineTyresDrivers12345678910111213141516PointsWCC
1999 Williams Supertec FB01 V10 B AUS BRA SMR MON ESP CAN FRA GBR AUT GER HUN BEL ITA EUR MAL JPN 355th
Alessandro Zanardi RetRet118RetRetRet11RetRetRet87Ret10Ret
Ralf Schumacher 34RetRet5443Ret49524Ret5

Notes:

Related Research Articles

Williams Racing, legally known as Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, is a British Formula One team and constructor. It was founded by Frank Williams (1942–2021) and 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BMW in Formula One</span> Formula One activities of BMW

The German automobile manufacturer/brand BMW has been involved in Formula One in a number of capacities since the inauguration of the World Drivers' Championship in 1950. The company entered occasional races in the 1950s and 1960s, before building the BMW M12/13 inline-four turbocharged engine in the 1980s. This engine was the result of a deal between BMW and Brabham, which resulted in the team's chassis being powered by BMW engines from 1982 until 1987, a period in which Nelson Piquet won the 1983 championship driving a Brabham BT52-BMW. BMW also supplied the M12/13 on a customer basis to the ATS, Arrows, Benetton and Ligier teams during this period, with various degrees of success. In 1988, Brabham temporarily withdrew from the sport and BMW withdrew its official backing from the engines, which were still used by the Arrows team under the Megatron badge. Turbocharged engines were banned by the revised Formula One Technical Regulations for 1989, rendering the M12/13 obsolete.

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The Williams FW25 is a Formula One car designed by Williams and powered by a BMW V10 engine. The car was used by Williams for the 2003 championship. Three drivers would drive the FW25 in the 2003 season, with Marc Gené replacing regular racer Ralf Schumacher for the Italian Grand Prix after the German suffered a large testing accident at Monza's Lesmo 1 corner prior to that race. The other regular driver Juan Pablo Montoya started all of the season's Grand Prix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Williams FW22</span> Racing car model

The Williams FW22 was the car with which the Williams team competed in the 2000 Formula One World Championship. The car was driven by German Ralf Schumacher in his second season with the team and British rookie Jenson Button who replaced Alessandro Zanardi in the team who was dropped after just one season with the Grove outfit following a poor 1999 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Williams FW20</span> Formula One racing car

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renault RS engine</span> Reciprocating internal combustion engine

The RS series is a family of naturally-aspirated Grand Prix racing engines, designed, developed and manufactured jointly by Mecachrome and Renault Sport for use in Formula One, and used by Arrows, BAR, Williams, Ligier, Lotus, Caterham, Benetton, Renault, and Red Bull, from 1989 until 2013. The engines came in both the original V10, and later V8 configurations, and engine displacement ranged from 2.4 L (150 cu in) to 3.5 L (210 cu in) over the years. Power figures varied; from 650 hp (480 kW) @ 12,500 rpm, to later over 900 hp (670 kW) @ 19,000 rpm. The 2.4-litre RS26 V8 engine, used in 2006, is one of the highest revving Formula One engines in history, at 20,500 rpm. Between 1998 and 2000, the RS9 engines were badged as Mecachrome, Supertec, and Playlife.

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References

Specific
  1. "Engine Supertec • STATS F1".
  2. Beer, Matt (4 July 2011). "Williams to run Renault engines again from 2012". autosport.com. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  3. Weaver, Paul (13 May 2012). "Pastor Maldonado ends Williams' drought with Spanish Grand Prix win". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 August 2017.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Williams FW21 at Wikimedia Commons