Formula 1 Team Profile

Williams Racing.

Nine Constructors’ Championships in eighteen seasons — and none since 1997.

Williams is the independent that beat the manufacturers at their own game, then spent a quarter of a century trying to get back. This is the full record: the eras, the cars, the seven champions and the numbers behind them.

Base
Grove, Oxfordshire
Founded
1977 · Frank Williams & Patrick Head
F1 debut
1977 Spanish GP
Power unit
Mercedes (2026)
Titles
9 Constructors' · 7 Drivers'
Read the full history
9
Constructors' Titles
All between 1980 and 1997
7
Drivers' Titles
Seven different drivers
114
Grand Prix Wins
First at Silverstone, 1979
128
Pole Positions
Constructors' title years
1980 1981 1986 1987 1992 1993 1994 1996 1997
Overview

What Is Williams Racing?

Williams Racing is a British Formula 1 team based in Grove, Oxfordshire, and one of only two constructors to have won nine Constructors’ Championships. Frank Williams had been running customer cars as Frank Williams Racing Cars since 1966; the team that races today was founded in 1977, when he and the engineer Patrick Head established Williams Grand Prix Engineering.

What followed was the most successful independent campaign in the sport’s history. Between 1980 and 1997 Williams won nine Constructors’ titles and carried seven different drivers to the Drivers’ Championship, beating works efforts from Ferrari, Renault, Honda and McLaren without ever being a car manufacturer itself.

The team has not won a championship since 1997 or a Grand Prix since 2012. Frank Williams and his daughter Claire ran it until 2020, when it was sold to the American investment firm Dorilton Capital — the first time in its history the team was not led by the family whose name it carries. James Vowles has been team principal since 2023.

Era 01 · 1966—1985

From Customer Cars to Champions

Frank Williams started out running other people's machinery in 1966 and spent a decade close to bankruptcy. The team as it exists now dates from 1977, when he joined forces with Patrick Head and founded Williams Grand Prix Engineering.

Head's FW07 turned the operation into a winner. Clay Regazzoni took the team's first Grand Prix victory at Silverstone in 1979; a year later Alan Jones won the Drivers' Championship and Williams its first Constructors' title, and the FW07C repeated the constructors' win in 1981. Keke Rosberg then took the 1982 title with a single race victory, in a naturally aspirated car against far more powerful turbos.

Williams 1980 FW07 racing car in Saudia-Leyland livery driving on a wet track during a Grand Prix weekend Didcot → Grove · the founding years
Era 02 · 1986—1997

The Dominant Decade

Seven Constructors' Championships in twelve seasons, powered first by Honda and then by Renault. Nelson Piquet and the FW11B completed a Honda-powered double in 1987. The Renault years produced the most technically advanced cars on the grid: the FW14B of 1992 carried active suspension, a semi-automatic gearbox and traction control, and Nigel Mansell won nine races with it.

Alain Prost took the 1993 title, Damon Hill the 1996, and Jacques Villeneuve the 1997 — the team's ninth Constructors' Championship and its most recent. The period also holds its darkest day: Ayrton Senna was killed driving a Williams at Imola in 1994, the season the team went on to win the constructors' title.

Williams Damon Hill driving the FW18 race car in Rothmans livery during a Formula 1 session FW14B · active suspension, ten wins
Era 03 · 1998—Present

The Long Wait

The BMW partnership of 2000 to 2005 brought wins and pole positions but no title, and the years that followed were the hardest in the team's history. Pastor Maldonado's victory in Spain in May 2012 remains the last of the 114 — and it ended a drought that was already eight years old.

Dorilton Capital bought the team in August 2020, ending family control. Under James Vowles, team principal since 2023, Williams is rebuilding at Grove with Mercedes power, and fields Carlos Sainz and Alexander Albon in 2026.

Williams Carlos Sainz driving the modern Formula 1 race car during a Grand Prix practice session Independent again · rebuilding at Grove
Team Timeline

Williams Timeline

1966

Frank Williams Racing Cars

Frank Williams begins entering customer cars in Formula 1.

1977

Williams Grand Prix Engineering

Frank Williams and Patrick Head found the team that still races today, debuting at the Spanish Grand Prix.

1978

The First Williams

The FW06 gives the new constructor its first full season as a designer of its own cars.

1979

First Victory

Clay Regazzoni wins the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in the FW07.

1980

First Titles

Alan Jones takes the Drivers' Championship and Williams its first Constructors' title, with six wins.

1982

A Champion With One Win

Keke Rosberg wins the Drivers' Championship having won only the Swiss Grand Prix.

1986

Frank Williams Injured

A road crash in France leaves the founder paralysed. The team still wins the Constructors' Championship.

1987

Honda Double

Nelson Piquet and the FW11B take both titles.

1992

The FW14B

Nigel Mansell wins nine races in a car with active suspension, a semi-automatic gearbox and traction control.

1994

Title Amid Tragedy

Ayrton Senna is killed at Imola driving for the team; Williams goes on to win the Constructors' Championship.

1996

Hill Delivers

The FW18 wins 12 of 16 races and Damon Hill takes the title.

1997

Ninth and Last

Jacques Villeneuve wins the Drivers' Championship and Williams its ninth Constructors' title — still its most recent.

2012

The Last Win

Pastor Maldonado wins the Spanish Grand Prix, the team's 114th victory and its first in eight years.

2020

New Ownership

Dorilton Capital buys Williams, ending more than 40 years of family control.

2023

Vowles Takes Over

James Vowles joins from Mercedes as team principal.

By the Numbers

Championship Record

The nine seasons in which Williams won the Constructors' Championship, the car that won it, and whether the team also took the Drivers' title that year.
Season,Car,Drivers' Champion,Double Car Drivers' champion Double
1980 FW07 / FW07B Alan Jones Double
1981 FW07C — Constructors' only
1986 FW11 — Constructors' only
1987 FW11B Nelson Piquet Double
1992 FW14B Nigel Mansell Double
1993 FW15C Alain Prost Double
1994 FW16 / FW16B — Constructors' only
1996 FW18 Damon Hill Double
1997 FW19 Jacques Villeneuve Double

Keke Rosberg's 1982 Drivers' Championship does not appear above because Williams finished fourth in the constructors' standings that season — which is why the team has seven drivers' titles but only six doubles. Figures verified 13 August 2026: 114 Grand Prix wins and 128 pole positions from 862 races entered as a constructor.

Sources

  1. Williams F1 Team profile · Formula1.com (official)
  2. Williams Racing · Wikipedia
  3. Sir Frank Williams · Williams Racing (official)
  4. Sir Frank Williams' extraordinary career as an F1 Team Principal · Formula1.com — source of the pull quote
  5. Photo — Williams FW07 (1980) · David Merrett from Daventry, England via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0 · cropped and resized
  6. Photo — Damon Hill, Williams FW18, Bahrain 2010 · Derek Morrison from Kuwait, Kuwait via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0 · cropped and resized
  7. Photo — Carlos Sainz, Williams, 2025 Italian Grand Prix · Eustace Bagge via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0 · cropped and resized
  8. Photo — Williams FW08 (1982) · Legends Of Motorsports via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0 · cropped and resized
  9. Photo — Williams Honda FW11B (1987) · Tokumeigakarinoaoshima via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped and resized
  10. Photo — Williams FW14B (1992) · David Merrett from Daventry, England via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0 · cropped and resized
  11. Photo — Williams FW18 (1996) · Nic Redhead via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0 · cropped and resized
  12. Photo — Williams FW19 (1997) · Morio via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped and resized
  13. Photo — Williams FW07 · Legends Of Motorsports via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0 · cropped and resized
  14. Logo — Williams Racing logo (2024) · Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, via Wikimedia Commons via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · converted to PNG
Machinery

Six Cars That Made Williams

1979—82 A Williams FW07 Formula 1 car on track in Saudia-Leyland colours

Williams FW07

Patrick Head's ground-effect design took the team's first win at Silverstone in 1979 and, as the FW07B, Alan Jones's 1980 title. The FW07C won the constructors' championship again in 1981.

1982 A 1982 Williams FW08 in Saudia colours photographed side-on on track

Williams FW08

Frank Dernie's Cosworth-powered car carried Keke Rosberg to the Drivers' Championship on the strength of a single race win, against a grid of far more powerful turbos.

1987 A Williams Honda FW11B, the 1987 Formula 1 car, photographed from the front

Williams FW11B

The Honda turbo years at their peak: Nelson Piquet's championship and the team's fourth Constructors' title.

1992 Nigel Mansell's 1992 Williams FW14B in Canon and Labatt's colours on display

Williams FW14B

Adrian Newey and Patrick Head's active-suspension car, with a semi-automatic gearbox and traction control. Ten wins in a season, nine of them Nigel Mansell's.

1996 Damon Hill's Williams FW18 in Rothmans colours at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2014

Williams FW18

Twelve wins and twelve poles from sixteen races, and a 105-point constructors' margin. Damon Hill took eight of those wins and the title.

1997 A Williams FW19 shown front three-quarter at the Williams Conference Centre

Williams FW19

Jacques Villeneuve's championship car, and the last to win a title for the team.

Champions in Blue and White
AJ
Alan Jones
1 title · 1980
KR
Keke Rosberg
1 title · 1982
NP
Nelson Piquet
1 title · 1987
NM
Nigel Mansell
1 title · 1992
AP
Alain Prost
1 title · 1993
DH
Damon Hill
1 title · 1996
JV
Jacques Villeneuve
1 title · 1997
From the Founder
“It is a competitive sport and I am a competitive person. Above all it is the need for speed.”
Sir Frank Williams, quoted by Formula1.com
Frequently Asked

Frequently Asked Questions

How many championships has Williams won?
Nine Constructors' Championships and seven Drivers' Championships. The constructors' titles came in 1980, 1981, 1986, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996 and 1997.
Who founded Williams?
Frank Williams and the engineer Patrick Head founded Williams Grand Prix Engineering in 1977. Frank Williams had run an earlier team, Frank Williams Racing Cars, from 1966.
When did Williams last win a championship?
1997, when Jacques Villeneuve won the Drivers' title and the team took its ninth Constructors' Championship.
When did Williams last win a Grand Prix?
At the Spanish Grand Prix in May 2012, when Pastor Maldonado won — the team's 114th victory and its first in eight years.
Who owns Williams?
The American investment firm Dorilton Capital, which bought the team in August 2020, ending more than four decades of control by the Williams family.
Which drivers won titles with Williams?
Alan Jones (1980), Keke Rosberg (1982), Nelson Piquet (1987), Nigel Mansell (1992), Alain Prost (1993), Damon Hill (1996) and Jacques Villeneuve (1997).
What engine does Williams use?
Mercedes power units. The team has never built its own engine, having raced Ford-Cosworth, Honda, Renault, BMW and Toyota units over its history.
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