Williams F1 Team

History in F1

Last season, the team raced under the AT&T Williams-Cosworth name, but for 2012 the sponsorship by A&T has ended and the team name reverts back to Williams and switching to Renault engine for the season. Originally, founded by Sir Frank Williams in 1977, Williams has been one of the major players on the F1 circuit. The team won both Drivers' and Constructors' Championships in 1980. Since then, Williams has won nine Constructors' Championships, the last one in 1997, and stands side-by-side with Ferrari and McLaren as the only three teams in F1 to have won 100 races. In 1986, Frank Williams suffered a serious spinal cord injury in a car accident in France. Although confined to a wheelchair, he remains the Team Principal to date. Some of the most famous F1 drivers have driven for Williams, including Alan Jones, Keke Rosberg, Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna, to mention just a few.

Information

Williams has impressive statistics, having won nine Constructors' Championships and seven Drivers' Championships over the years. The team has completed 539 races, with 113 race victories. However, 2011 was a dismal season for this famous team, probably the worst in its history, with veteran Rubens Barrichello choking, leaving the team with just 5 points, in 9th place, a drop from 6th place in 2010. Because of this, some drastic changes have been made for 2012. Changing back to the Renault engine and bringing in Bruno Senna in and letting Barrichello go.

Technical Details & Statistics

From 2010, Williams had being using the Cosworth engine, but has switched to Renault in 2012 – the same as the winning Red Bull team. The team is probably hoping to recapture some its former glory. Williams had used the Renault engine in the past, between 1989 and 1997, had won five Constructors' Championships during those eight years. The highest finish for a Williams driver in 2011 was 9th place.

Base: Grove (UK)
Team Principal: Frank Williams
Main drivers: Pastor Maldonado & Bruno Senna
Engine: Renault RS27-2012
Chassis: FW34
Debut F1 Season: 1978
World Championship Titles: 9
Highest race finish: 1 (x113)
Pole Position: 126
Fastest lap times: 130

Drivers

Driver 1: Pastor Maldonado

Moving up to the Williams' first driver, Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado replaces veteran driver, Rubens Barrichello. Maldonado was a new-comer to F1 in 2011, debuting at the Australian Grand Prix. Prior to joining the F1 circuit, Maldonado was the GP2 Champion. By joining Williams, Maldonado also brought along the sponsorship of PDVSA, the Venezuelan oil company.

Driver Statistics:

Nationality: Venezuela
Date of Birth: 9 March 1985
World Championship Titles: 0
Number of Grand Prix won: 0
Pole Positions: 0
Career Points: 1
Podiums: 0

Driver 2: Bruno Senna

Bruno Senna, the nephew of legendary F1 driver Ayrton Senna, takes the second driver position from Pastor Maldonado, who moves to the first driver position for Williams. Senna has come through the ranks of Formula Three, GP2 Series and Le Mans Series. He debuted in F1 in 2008, when he test drove for Honda. He got his first driving position with Team Hispania in 2010 and joined Team Renault in 2011. His uncle was driving for Williams, when he died in a crash and apparently Senna had to get the blessing from his family to join the team. His best finish to date was 9th at the 2011 Italian Grand Prix, which garnered him 2 Grand Prix points.

Driver Statistics:

Nationality: Brazil
Date of Birth: 15 October 1983
World Championship Titles: 0
Number of Grand Prix won: 0
Pole Positions: 0
Career Points: 2
Podiums: 0