Williams Grand Prix Engineering is one of the last remaining privateers
in the competitive world of Formula One. Frank Williams' involvement in
F1 started in 1968, when he entered the British Grand Prix at Brands
Hatch with a Brabham chassis piloted by Briton Piers Courage. In 1970
Williams was confronted for the first time with the many hazards
inherent to F1 racing when his friend and driver died during a race at
the Zandvoort circuit in the Netherlands.
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40 Years of Frank Williams in F1 Celebration in Collecting Area. Photo by Dave Dyer.
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In 1973, at the very same circuit, Dutchman Gijs van Lennep scored
the first F1 championship points for Frank Williams, in a Williams
Iso-Marlboro. In 1976, in order to resolve his financial difficulties,
he got into a partnership with Walter Wolf. The partnership did not work
out and Williams decided to start his own team again, Williams Grand
Prix Engineering. His friend, designer and business partner Patrick Head
joined him, and in 1978 the team entered the championship with a car
Head had designed.
In the early days money was always a problem. The book is full of
stories and anecdotes about Frank Williams trying to find creative
solutions to compensate for the chronic lack of money. In 1979 he
managed to get some sponsorship from the Saudi Arabian airline Saudia,
and this proved to be the turning point. In 1979 they won their first F1
race at Brands Hatch with Clay Regazzoni at the wheel. In 1980 Williams
won the drivers' and constructors' championship with Australian Alan
Jones driving the FW07. From that moment on, Williams became a force to
be reckoned with in F1.
In 1986 disaster struck. Frank Williams was seriously injured in a car
accident in France. For weeks his life was hanging in the balance, but
he somehow managed to survive all of his ordeals, showing the same
determination and dedication as he did in Formula One racing. But he
had suffered spinal injuries which had left him paralyzed and Williams
would spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. Many feared that this
was the end of the Williams team, but Williams came back to the circuits
a year later and with help of his wife Virginia and Patrick Head he
continued the success of his team.
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Sir Frank Williams, WilliamsF1 Team, Team Chief, Managing Director, Team Principal. Photo by xpb.cc.
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So far the Williams team has won the drivers' championship seven times,
and the constructors' championship nine times. In the Eighties Williams
employed all the great Grand Prix drivers of that era: Alan Jones, Keke
Rosberg, Carlos Reutemann, Nelson Piquet, Jacques Lafitte and Nigel
Mansell. In the Nineties Riccardo Patrese, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna,
Damon Hill, Jacques Villeneuve and Juan Pablo Montoya raced for the
Williams team.
At the heart of this book are the memories and anecdotes of Sir Frank
Williams himself. Other strong points are without a doubt the comments
of the many friends and colleagues of Frank Williams: Peter Windsor,
Frank Dernie, Bernie Ecclestone, Ron Dennis, Dickie Stanford, Ian
Anderson, Sid Watkins, Adrian Newey and of course his wife, Virginia,
and his other partner for life, Patrick Head. The recollections of Frank
Williams are very down-to-earth. He is very honest in his comments, he
has a great sense of humor and his enthusiasm and love for the sport is
obvious in this book.
The story of Frank Williams is truly the story of a self-made man, who,
with his determination and dedication, became very successful in the
sport he loves the most: Formula One. For thirty years he has taken on
the gargantuan task of leading a Formula One team, and has been very
successful in doing so. This book gives you the inside story of the ups
and downs of the Williams team. The chapters about his car accident in
France and the fatal accident of Ayrton Senna are impressive to say the
least. This book celebrates the 30th anniversary of the team's first win
in 1979. If you want to know what it's like and what it takes to be a
successful team owner in the highly competitive world of Formula One,
this book is a must-have.
As Nigel Mansell says in one of his comments: "Very few people are
legends in their own lifetime, but Frank is quite an exception."
About Maurice Hamilton
If anyone is qualified to write a book about Sir Frank Williams, it
must be Maurice Hamilton. He is a freelance journalist and has written
numerous books about Formula One, including a biography of another F1
legend, Ken Tyrrell. He is the commentator for BBC's Five Live,
and has been writing about motorsport since 1973. He has been the F1
correspondent for the British newspaper The Observer since 1990
and writes columns for publications all over the world. His approach to
writing this book was somewhat unusual -- he writes his story in his own
words at the beginning of each chapter, complemented by the comments and
memories of the people who were involved. But this unusual approach is
exactly what makes this book very interesting and worthwhile reading.
Williams: The legendary story of Frank Williams and his F1 team in their own words
Maurice Hamilton
Ebury Press, London
ISBN 978-0-0919-3267-1
