Formula One’s Frank Williams Has Passed
Legendary driver, team boss, and owner of Williams F1 has died.
Sir Frank Williams, founder of Williams Grand Prix Engineering in 1977, has passed at age 79. He’d been in failing health and was taken to hospital on Friday, November 26. Surrounded by his family, Williams died on Sunday, November 28.
Like so many in the sport of Formula One, Frank Williams wanted to be a driver, but realized that his talents behind the wheel were not commensurate with success in that field. He began his long ascent as a team owner in 1967, with driver Piers Courage in lower formulae until the duo, using an ex-factory Brabham F1 car, began racing select F1 contests in 1969, while continuing to enter cars in both F3 and F2. When Courage died in Williams’ Dallara-designed de Tomaso F1 car at Zandvoort in 1970, Williams was devastated by the loss. Still he kept his team going, building his own cars in 1972 and continuing to do so through his entire career.
Although he had backing for a couple of years from Marlboro and Italian sports car firm Iso, there were always early money issues. He formed a partnership with Walter Wolf for 1976 but a falling-out between the two brought forward the partnership between Sir Frank Williams and then-Wolf team engineer Patrick Head. In 1977 they set up Williams Grand Prix Engineering.
Clay Regazzoni gave the duo their first F1 victory in 1979 when he drove the Cosworth-powered Williams FW07 to victory at Williams’ beloved Silverstone circuit in the British Grand Prix. Arrayed in the colors of Saudia Airlines, the Williams cars were unstoppable with Australian Alan Jones, who secured the team’s first drivers’ and constructors’ championships in 1980. Between 1981 and 1997, Williams Grand Prix Engineering would lay claim to six added drivers’ titles and eight more constructors’ championships. There have been a total of 114 Williams F1 victories.
Frank Williams maintained on-going relationships with manufacturers who supplied F1 engines, including Honda and Renault, taking Honda to two constructors championships with driver Nelson Piquet and earning both drivers’ and constructors’ titles with the Renault V10 engine in the early 1990s, Nigel Mansell and Alain Prost driving. The accident that killed Ayrton Senna in 1994 tried the team, but they came back to earn championships with Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve in 1996 and 1997.
In 1986, Williams nearly died in an auto accident that rendered him tetraplegic. Rushing from the Paul Ricard circuit to the Nice Cote d’Azur airport, with Williams at the wheel and sponsorship manager Peter Windsor alongside, the team owner lost control and clipped a low stone wall, causing the hired Ford Sierra to roll onto the driver’s side. Williams suffered a spinal fracture. He would remain in wheelchair from that date to his death. The duo were rushing to catch a plane after watching testing of the team’s new Williams FW11, so that the team owner could run a half-marathon.
The accident might have crippled Williams but it never severed his love for motorsports. Although Williams’ team began to slip back on the F1 grid after their relationship with BMW ended, Sir Frank ceded control to daughter Claire after the 2012 season as he battled mental issues. The family team was sold in September of 2020 but continues today with Jost Capito at the helm.
Sir Frank Williams was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1987 and knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 1999. He was appointed a chevalier in France’s Legion d’Honneur for his achievements with Renault in Formula One. He was honored with the Wheatcroft Trophy in 2008, in recognition of his considerable contributions to motorsports.
“It is with great sadness that, on behalf of the Williams family, the team can confirm the death of Sir Frank Williams, CBE, Founder and Former Team Principal of Williams Racing, at the age of 79,” the Williams family stated. “Today we pay tribute to our much loved and inspirational figurehead. Frank will be sorely missed. We request that all friends and colleagues respect the Williams family’s wishes for privacy at this time,” they said. Donations to the Spinal Injuries Association, as well as flowers placed at the entrance of the team’s Grove, Oxfordshire headquarters are welcome.
Capito, CEO and team principal for Williams Racing had this statement: “The Williams Racing team is truly saddened by the passing of our founder Sir Frank Williams. Sir Frank was a legend and icon of our sport. His passing marks the end of an era for our team and for the sport of Formula 1,” leaving only Bernie Ecclestone from that era. “He was one of a kind and a true pioneer,” Capito stated. “Despite considerable adversity in his life, he led our team to 16 World Championships, making us one of the most successful teams in the history of the sport. His values including integrity, teamwork and a fierce independence and determination, remain the core ethos of our team and are his legacy, as is the Williams family name, under which we proudly race.”