Williams F1- A team that lost it's past glory

Williams- A dominant force of the past

Williams F1 was once seen as a dominating force in the F1 circuit during the 80′s and 90′s. It gave a stern competition to the then rival Ferrari. At the end of 1997, Williams had 9 constructor’s championships, one ahead of Ferrari and had won 103 Grand Prix races.

Today, they are placed 8th in the Constructors Championship and both the drivers, Valtteri Bottas and Pastor Maldanado are yet to trouble the scorers. Their last win came in the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix which was won by their current driver Pastor Maldonado. In the last 15 years, they have won just 11 Grand Prix races. These statistics clearly underlines strategic disorders within the team.

Their fall from grace can be attributed to many factors most of which happened in the 90′s.

Withdrawal of Renault:

Williams had forged a partnership with Renault for engine supply in 1989 and it turned out to be a fruitful one for the Oxfordshire based team. The Renault engines powered Williams to 5 constructor championships( 1992,93,94,96,97) and 4 driver championships ( 1992,93,96,97). But the sudden withdrawal of Renault from F1 racing gave a huge blow to the Williams, forcing them to opt for Mecachrome engines which were not a match for Renault engines.

Loss of Adrian Newey:

Aerodynamics specialist Adrian Newey, was seen as a vital cog in the Williams technical team and his aerodynamic prowess helped Williams gain three consecutive constructor titles in the years 1992,93 and 94. With the death of Senna and the subsequent manslaughter charges slapped on the team, the relationship between Newey and the team’s management started degrading.Failing to win the 1995 World Constructor’s title degraded the relations even further leading Newey to join McLaren in the late 1996. With the introduction of narrow tracks and grooved tyres by FIA, the technical advantage Williams had built during their dominant years were washed away.

Loss of title sponsors:

Their main title sponsors Rothmans International was bought by British American Tobacco in 1998. As the latter already had it’s own team, they decided to pull Rothmans out of the sport. This move took away the main source of money for Williams. And these series of events coincided with William’s loss of form and hence, they failed to attract big sponsors.

Meanwhile, the rival team Ferrari were starting to stamp their authority with a powerful combination of Ross Brawn, Jean Todt and skillful Michael Schumacher. Mercedes who entered the F1 circuit in 1994 as an Engine supplier, shook hands with McLaren and the two went on to dominate the ’98 and ’99 seasons with powerful performances.

Partnership with BMW:

Williams entered the millennium with a partnership with BMW for engine supply. The second year of the partnership paid dividends as they won four Grand Prix races. Williams were unable to attain their past glory due to lack of sponsorship and the technical prowess.

Their drivers Montoya and Ralf Schumacher were inconsistent, which further compounded their problems. Meanwhile BMW were trying their hand in controlling the organisation which was not encouraged by it’s partner. Cracks started to form in the alliance with Williams publicly blaming BMW engines as the cause of their failure which lead to truncating their partnership at the end of 2005.

Williams then opted for Cosworth engines in the following year which failed to compete with the rivals pushing them further back in the grid.

All the above mentioned events dented the progress of Williams and brought them to the place where they are now.

Future:

Earlier this month, the Renault powered Williams signed a long term deal with Mercedes for engine supply from the 2014 season. With new 1.6L turbocharged V-6 engine and the introduction of in-season testing for the next season, Claire Williams and Co. with a proper team strategy can expect for a change of things and regain their lost glory.