Team AT&T Williams

History in F1

Founded by Sir Frank Williams in 1977, Williams is one of the major players on the F1 circuit. In 2010, it teamed up with US telecom giant, AT&T. Williams is a formidable competitor, having entered its first F1 Championship season in 1978 and winning both Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships in 1980. The team has since 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 he is in constant pain and is 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. In fact, F1 racing legend Ayrton Senna died, while driving a Williams car in the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.

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. For the 2011 F1 Season, Williams stays with veteran Brazilian driver, Rubens Barrichello, but replaces Germany’s Nico Hűlkenberg, with Venezuela’s Pastor Maldonado, a rookie to the F1 circuit. The team finished the 2010 F1 Season in 6th place, with 69 points. For the 2011 F1 Season, Hűlkenberg will be the test and reserve driver for Force India F1 Team.

Technical Details & Statistics

Williams history with Cosworth dates way back and Williams was using Cosworth engine to power its cars back in 2006. For the 2011 F1 Season, Williams continues to stay with Cosworth and will be using the CA2011 engine. The FW33 – all Williams’ cars are categorized with FW, denoting Frank Williams – chassis is new for 2011 and was first unveiled at a test at Silverstone in January 2011. The car uses carbon-fiber and honeycomb composite monocoque chassis and Cosworth CA-2011 2.4L V8 engine.

Base: Grove (UK)
Team Principal: Frank Williams
Main drivers: Rubens Barrichello & Pastor Maldonado
Engine: Cosworth CA2011
Chassis: FW33
Debut F1 Season: 1978
World Championship Titles: 9
Highest race finish: 1 (x113)
Pole Position: 126
Fastest lap times: 130

Drivers

Driver 1: Rubens Barrichello

Barrichello rose to fame as Michael Schumacher’s driving partner for Ferrari from 2000 to 2005. After Schumacher, he remains the most experienced F1 driver on the circuit and began driving for AT&T Williams Team in 2010, after having driven for Brawn GP in 2009. Over-shadowed in the part by team-mate Schumacher, Barrichello was always just the runner-up and never the winner. He has yet to win a F1 Championship, although he came second in 2002 and 2004. In the 2010 F1 Season, he became the first F1 driver to drive 300 Grand Prix races. Perhaps 2011 will be his season.

Driver Statistics:

Nationality: Brazil
Date of Birth: 23 May 1972
World Championship Titles: 0
Number of Grand Prix won: 11
Pole Positions: 14
Career Points: 654
Podiums: 68

Driver 2: Pastor Maldonado

Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado is a rookie to F1 racing and replaces Niko Hülkenberg for the team. At the age of 26, Maldonado is the current GP2 Champion. He will be making his debut in F1 racing at the 2011 Australian Grand Prix. Maldonado also brings sponsorship of PDVSA, the Venezuelan oil company, to team AT&T Williams. Although he is a newcomer to F1, he is a solid and skilled race car driver and definitely someone to watch this season.

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: 0
Podiums: 0