Williams 1998-2013

[Alextrax52]

Remember when Williams were the dominant force in F1? This is their record since 1997

Wins: 11
Podiums: 55
Poles: 19
Fastest Laps: 18
Points: 833.5
Best Constructors Place: 2nd (2002 2003)
Best Drivers Place 3rd (Juan Pablo Montoya (2002 2003)

[FullMetalJack]

It's depressing seeing them so uncompetitive, i've only seen two of those wins which makes it worse. As pessimistic as I am, I really hope they find their way back to the front someday, but i'm really not holding my breath.

[rachel1990]

Remember when Williams were the dominant force in F1? This is their record since 1997

Wins: 11
Podiums: 55
Poles: 19
Fastest Laps: 18
Points: 833.5
Best Constructors Place: 2nd (2002 2003)
Best Drivers Place 3rd (Juan Pablo Montoya (2002 2003)

I didn't think they could sink any lower in 2006. Or 2011. Now its 2013 and they have sunk lower.

[FullMetalJack]

Remember when Williams were the dominant force in F1? This is their record since 1997

Wins: 11
Podiums: 55
Poles: 19
Fastest Laps: 18
Points: 833.5
Best Constructors Place: 2nd (2002 2003)
Best Drivers Place 3rd (Juan Pablo Montoya (2002 2003)

I didn't think they could sink any lower in 2006. Or 2011. Now its 2013 and they have sunk lower.

Their car was only unreliable in 2006, they definitely had pace. If they had reliability, they'd have easily beaten Red Bull, and probably wouldn't have been that far behind Toyota and BMW.

[Alextrax52]

Remember when Williams were the dominant force in F1? This is their record since 1997

Wins: 11
Podiums: 55
Poles: 19
Fastest Laps: 18
Points: 833.5
Best Constructors Place: 2nd (2002 2003)
Best Drivers Place 3rd (Juan Pablo Montoya (2002 2003)

I didn't think they could sink any lower in 2006. Or 2011. Now its 2013 and they have sunk lower.

Well in 2006 they could have scored at least 40 points and a couple of podiums if the car didn't keep breaking down every 2 races. However you're right 2011 and 2013 combined have a best finish of 9th and just 5 points plus very poor qualifying. It's an utter shambles and a sad year for British teams as a whole considering where Mclaren are headed at the moment

[Londoner]

Wasn't Webber running in 2nd place when his car caught fire in Monaco 2006? They lost so many good results because of unreliability that year.

[Alextrax52]

Wasn't Webber running in 2nd place when his car caught fire in Monaco 2006? They lost so many good results because of unreliability that year.

That too and also remember they locked out the second row in Malaysia and Rosberg dragged the car to 6th on the grid in Canada. Webber also had a great race in Germany before a water leak. But the ultimate nadir has to be Brazil where The 2 made contact and that summed up where Williams are now

[Ataxia]

As I think I mentioned in unpopular opinions, I think Williams need a total shake-up; a real leader is required. They had Toto Wolff, but now he's gone to Petronas-green pastures there's not a gap filler. The headstrong-ness of the former Head/Williams partnership at the top just doesn't seem to be there.

Looking at the driving staff, although Bottas proved he has a flash of talent on his person, I still worry about Maldonado. He's just been lacklustre so far this season; he's being chipped away at by Bottas, and I don't know where the real "flash-in-the-pan" results are going to come from this season. If he's going to carry on leading the team, he's really got to fight every step of the way and take the car to places it really doesn't belong.

I've already spoken before about how I don't think Williams are too confident in their corporate identity at the moment; they seem too concerned with making ends meet through the Hybrid Power arm rather than trying to tempt businesses to put their name on their currently spacious livery. To do this, Williams need to make a real concerted effort to prove that they're not just there to make up the numbers.

Definitely, I'd be looking to maximise on the future Mercedes partnership if I was them both from a marketing and technical standpoint.

[James1978]

I think they really need a proper top driver to try and bring them back from the doldrums. Who that might be I don't know, one who's willing to forego a couple of years going for championships.

[good_Ralf]

I think only the turbo era can save Williams now with the massive rule changes. Although I referred earlier that the team-engine partnership felt a bit weird/alien, this and the changes could be the links to success (or so we think...)

As I am a true stats man, here are Williams' championship positions and their score under the current points system post-1997, after they initially lost Renault engines and Adrian Newey.

Year Pos Points (2010-)

1998 3rd 206
1999 5th 165 (Zanardi scores! )
2000 3rd 172
2001 3rd 251
2002 2nd 332
2003 2nd 352
2004 4th 226
2005 5th 167
2006 8th 41 (a massive fall, eh?)
2007 4th 95
2008 8th 77
2009 7th 101
2010 6th 69
2011 9th 5
2012 8th 76
2013 9th 0 (as of round 7)

[mario]

I think only the turbo era can save Williams now with the massive rule changes. Although I referred earlier that the team-engine partnership felt a bit weird/alien, this and the changes could be the links to success (or so we think...)

As I am a true stats man, here are Williams' championship positions and their score under the current points system post-1997, after they initially lost Renault engines and Adrian Newey.

Year Pos Points (2010-)

1998 3rd 206
1999 5th 165 (Zanardi scores! )
2000 3rd 172
2001 3rd 251
2002 2nd 332
2003 2nd 352
2004 4th 226
2005 5th 167
2006 8th 41 (a massive fall, eh?)
2007 4th 95
2008 8th 77
2009 7th 101
2010 6th 69
2011 9th 5
2012 8th 76
2013 9th 0 (as of round 7)

The rule changes for 2014 do probably offer Williams's best chance for a boost in performance, although how long that may last is debatable.

It is probably reasonable to assume that the Mercedes turbo engine will be fairly competitive, and the Mercedes ERS is likely to remain strong (that is possibly where Williams could gain the most, given that Mercedes have seemed to have a very slight edge in that area under the current rules and may carry that advantage over into 2014).
However, the engines will probably be pretty rapidly locked down in terms of design - development restrictions may kick in as early as 2015 and the specifications frozen in 2018, so performance levelling is likely to occur fairly quickly and the drivetrains may once again be reduced in importance. If Mercedes can produce a very competitive unit, Williams need to be able to capitalise on it immediately and hope that they can carry that performance over once the specifications are frozen, so that window of opportunity is fairly narrow.

[Shizuka]

2006 8th 41 (a massive fall, eh?)

Could have been 70 at the very least if Mark finished 3rd in Monaco (going for the worst possible scenario - Coulthard and Barrichello were way behind), and 5th in Hockenheim. That's already 25 points, and I've not taken more races into account yet.

[TomWazzleshaw]

2006 8th 41 (a massive fall, eh?)

Could have been 70 at the very least if Mark finished 3rd in Monaco (going for the worst possible scenario - Coulthard and Barrichello were way behind), and 5th in Hockenheim. That's already 25 points, and I've not taken more races into account yet.

Other than the aforementioned double engine blowup in Malaysia, Webber was also leading in Australia when the transmission decided to give up the ghost on a day where second may have been on the table for him.

EDIT: Having done a quick scan through the early 2006 race reviews as well, it turns out Rosberg could have also been on for a monster result if a throttle failure didn't throw him into the wall. Additionally, Webber was apparently on track for points at the Nurburgring as well before yet another car failure.

[good_Ralf]

I'll try to do a full recount (if Williams had a bulletproof car) with a few of my own guesses, still using the current system

Bahrain: Webber 6th (8 points), Rosberg 7th (6 points)
Malaysia: Webber between 4th and 7th (6 to 12 points), Rosberg 5th to 7th I guess (6 to 10 points)
Australia: Webber 3rd (15 points), Rosberg DNF (0 points)
San Marino: Webber 6th (8 points), Rosberg 11th (0 points)
Europe: Webber 5th (10 points), Rosberg 8th (4 points)
Spain: Webber 9th (2 points), Rosberg 11th (0 points)
Monaco: Webber 3rd (15 points), Rosberg 4th (12 points)
Britain: Webber DNF (0 points), Rosberg 9th (2 points)
Canada: Webber 12th (0 points), Rosberg DNF (0 points)
USA: Webber DNF (0 points), Rosberg 9th (2 points)
France: Webber 7th (6 points), Rosberg 8th (4 points)
Germany: Webber 5th (10 points), Rosberg DNF (0 points)
Hungary: Webber DNF (0 points), Rosberg 8th (4 points)
Turkey: Webber 11th (0 points), Rosberg 6th (8 points)
Italy: Webber 11th (0 points), Rosberg 7th (6 points)
China: Webber 8th (4 points), Rosberg 11th (0 points)
Japan: Webber DNF (0 points), Rosberg 10th (1 point)
Brazil: Webber DNF (0 points), Rosberg DNF (0 points)

Total: about 145 points

BMW in 2006: 109
Toyota in 2006: 106

Allow some unreliability and Williams could still have finished as high as fifth in 2006, under the current points system.

[pasta_maldonado]

I think it's a little unfair to say they weren't competitive at all from 1998-2013, from 2001-2004 they were quite competitive, like Lotus today but with more wins. But as many have pointed out elsewhere they couldn't string anything together, Ralf and JPM were fast but inconsistent, and then a bark up the wrong tree in design philosophy led to the start of the slump. It's a shame really, this was the period when I first started watching F1 properly, and JPM and Williams-BMW were always my favourites.

Still the fact remains they should have done better, and that when you look at things on a bigger scale, Williams have been up the proverbial shite creek for some time.

[go_Rubens]

I think it's a little unfair to say they weren't competitive at all from 1998-2013, from 2001-2004 they were quite competitive, like Lotus today but with more wins. But as many have pointed out elsewhere they couldn't string anything together, Ralf and JPM were fast but inconsistent, and then a bark up the wrong tree in design philosophy led to the start of the slump. It's a shame really, this was the period when I first started watching F1 properly, and JPM and Williams-BMW were always my favourites.

Still the fact remains they should have done better, and that when you look at things on a bigger scale, Williams have been up the proverbial shite creek for some time.

Yeah, really...

I think the first mistake for Williams was releasing Adrian Newey, or else they have been much better off to begin with. Newey became the outright best designer in the early grooved tyre era, and Williams would have a few more drivers and constructors championships in the bag. They would have been closer to Ferrari, and with the team doing better, maybe using BMW engines for a longer period of time may have happened. Plus, the BMW was plain more reliable in '06 than the Cosworth. Possibly better parts like gearboxes and other mish mash could have come with Newey. More championships would come in '07 and '08, after nearly pure dominance along with Ferrari in the grooved tyre era.

After 17 years of being at Williams, Newey moves to Red Bull for a new challenge, to make a mid to rear of the field car into a race winning car, and Williams' hope may have been lost. But Williams still had some of Newey's knowledge and use it to the best of their advantage. They win races in '09, and are in contention at one point. However, in 2010, the team falls into a slump, and their glory days seem to be over...

In 2011, a year of unreliability and lack of pace see five points and a ROTR for the Grove squad. 2012 sees the team bounce back, and claim a race victory and a few podiums with the Reverend. A good year overall.

2013 sees the team hire Mike Coughlan, and the team are as ambitious as ever. However, with the Reverend being a total chump, a Finnish rookie by the name of Valterri Bottas, and a car which Pastor claims is "undrivable" sees the team have its worst start to a season in the whole history of the team "Williams Grand Prix Engineering."

With Newey gone from Williams, he leads Red Bull to three straight doubles after the team was stuck in the midfield for a long while. To this day, he still designs championship winning cars on his old drawing board and helping Vettel, Webber, and Red Bull to more victories and championships in the future.

This would make a fantastic "What If" scenario, wouldn't it?

[Alextrax52]

I think it's a little unfair to say they weren't competitive at all from 1998-2013, from 2001-2004 they were quite competitive, like Lotus today but with more wins. But as many have pointed out elsewhere they couldn't string anything together, Ralf and JPM were fast but inconsistent, and then a bark up the wrong tree in design philosophy led to the start of the slump. It's a shame really, this was the period when I first started watching F1 properly, and JPM and Williams-BMW were always my favourites.

Still the fact remains they should have done better, and that when you look at things on a bigger scale, Williams have been up the proverbial shite creek for some time.

1998 really sparked the decline of Williams. I don't see how you can't class going from dominating the mid 1990's to only managing a trio of 3rd places as your best result as a decline

[mario]

I think it's a little unfair to say they weren't competitive at all from 1998-2013, from 2001-2004 they were quite competitive, like Lotus today but with more wins. But as many have pointed out elsewhere they couldn't string anything together, Ralf and JPM were fast but inconsistent, and then a bark up the wrong tree in design philosophy led to the start of the slump. It's a shame really, this was the period when I first started watching F1 properly, and JPM and Williams-BMW were always my favourites.

Still the fact remains they should have done better, and that when you look at things on a bigger scale, Williams have been up the proverbial shite creek for some time.

1998 really sparked the decline of Williams. I don't see how you can't class going from dominating the mid 1990's to only managing a trio of 3rd places as your best result as a decline

Whilst 1998 was poor, as was 1999, I think that it is fair to say that the partnership with BMW did lead to something of an upturn in form. 2000 was always going to be something of a transitional year due to the introduction of BMW to F1, but by 2001 they were exerting pressure on McLaren at least and went on to beat McLaren in 2002 and 2003 (and were not that far from beating Ferrari in 2003 too, finishing just 14 points behind them in the WCC at the end of the year despite being especially heavily hit by the forced changes to Michelin's tyres).

Yeah, really...

I think the first mistake for Williams was releasing Adrian Newey, or else they have been much better off to begin with. Newey became the outright best designer in the early grooved tyre era, and Williams would have a few more drivers and constructors championships in the bag. They would have been closer to Ferrari, and with the team doing better, maybe using BMW engines for a longer period of time may have happened. Plus, the BMW was plain more reliable in '06 than the Cosworth. Possibly better parts like gearboxes and other mish mash could have come with Newey. More championships would come in '07 and '08, after nearly pure dominance along with Ferrari in the grooved tyre era.

Retaining Newey would have helped, although it has to be said that Newey, even with the fairly substantial resources of McLaren and Mercedes behind him, was unable to beat Rory Byrne and Ferrari and was sometimes unable to beat either Williams or BAR either (the MP4/19 wasn't that competitive, and several of his cars from the early 2000's often proved to have an overly narrow operating window and were difficult to set up).
In some ways, the early 2000's is probably one era where Newey's influence on the design language of the sport at the time was reduced (developments in exhaust design and the front wing philosophy were driven by Byrne more than Newey, I'd argue). Yes, I accept that part of the problem was that Mercedes was struggling a little for performance and reliability in that era (although that was reportedly exacerbated by Newey's designs), but it was only the MP4/20 that really dominated the field in that era, and even then it was far too fragile to take the title that year.

As for the partnership with BMW, that was something of a double edged sword - I still think that they would have drifted apart given that BMW wanted more of a say in the running of the team than Williams or Head were prepared to concede. Given that one of Newey's requests was for a greater say in the running of the team, I cannot imagine that he would have been keen on what he might have perceived to be excessive interference from BMW in the team, so I expect that the relationship between Williams and BMW might still have broken down at about the same point in time that it did in real life.
As for the engines, well, Cosworth's V8 wasn't that unreliable at the time - most of Williams's problems came from their transmission rather than the engine, which was developed in conjunction with Xtrac (it is worth noting that same transmission was reportedly then reused by the new entrants when Mosely opened the grid up again, and it proved to still be fairly troublesome).

[Londoner]

I think it's a little unfair to say they weren't competitive at all from 1998-2013, from 2001-2004 they were quite competitive, like Lotus today but with more wins. But as many have pointed out elsewhere they couldn't string anything together, Ralf and JPM were fast but inconsistent, and then a bark up the wrong tree in design philosophy led to the start of the slump. It's a shame really, this was the period when I first started watching F1 properly, and JPM and Williams-BMW were always my favourites.

Still the fact remains they should have done better, and that when you look at things on a bigger scale, Williams have been up the proverbial shite creek for some time.

1998 really sparked the decline of Williams. I don't see how you can't class going from dominating the mid 1990's to only managing a trio of 3rd places as your best result as a decline

At the time, it must have appeared as a slump. Remember, both Ferrari and McLaren had gone through slumps in the late 1980s and the mid 1990s after being the class of the field for a time, so it was logical to think that Williams would soon bounce back. Which they did, to an extent in the early 2000s.

I think Williams most resembles the original Team Lotus at the moment. The domination of the 1980s/1990s was like Lotus in the 60s and 70s, their late 1990s slump resembled the early 1980s where Lotus lost competitiveness (mostly down to the death of Colin Chapman), and their early 2000s resurgence was like the Senna years at Lotus in the 1980s. And now, it's like the early 1990s for the comparison, with 2012 being comparable with Lotus's decent 1992 and 1993 seasons.

I just hope this comparison doesn't end the same as the original Team Lotus though...

[dinizintheoven]

Until last year I saw Williams as being more similar to Brabham. The liveries (Brabham 1980-91 and Williams 2000-present) were very similar, and the walrus-nose FW26 was the radical idea that didn't work, which the team never recovered from... except Williams have now had that brief upturn that never came for Brabham.

[FullMetalJack]

Until last year I saw Williams as being more similar to Brabham. The liveries (Brabham 1980-91 and Williams 2000-present) were very similar, and the walrus-nose FW26 was the radical idea that didn't work, which the team never recovered from... except Williams have now had that brief upturn that never came for Brabham.

Brabham had a one race upturn, Monaco 89 where they had the 2nd/3rd best car on the grid.

[Londoner]

Until last year I saw Williams as being more similar to Brabham. The liveries (Brabham 1980-91 and Williams 2000-present) were very similar, and the walrus-nose FW26 was the radical idea that didn't work, which the team never recovered from... except Williams have now had that brief upturn that never came for Brabham.

Brabham had a one race upturn, Monaco 89 where they had the 2nd/3rd best car on the grid.

I thin Brabham's failed radical idea was to canter the BMW turbo engine they were using to make the aerodynamics at the rear of the car more effective, at the cost of incredible unreliability, even by Brabham's usual standards in the mid-1980s.

[Nessafox]

I just hope this comparison doesn't end the same as the original Team Lotus though...

Ah, a merger with a backmarker (the role that Pacific had with Team Lotus) Williams Caterham anyone? Or should that be Williams McLaren instead

[Jonny83]

...So in 2031 we'll have two teams arguing over who is the real Williams?

In all seriousness, hope they pull through - as someone who got into the sport at the start of the '90s cheering on Mansell, it's sad to see them reduced to almost backmarkers, and it'd be an even sadder day not to have them on the grid at all.

[good_Ralf]

I don't think anyone has mentioned this, but Williams have now goneten races without a point including the back of 2012, equalling the drought stretching from Spain to Italy in 2006. If they don't score their first points of 2013 in Hungary, then they'll break the worst of their personal records.

[go_Rubens]

I don't think anyone has mentioned this, but Williams have now goneten races without a point including the back of 2012, equalling the drought stretching from Spain to Italy in 2006. If they don't score their first points of 2013 in Hungary, then they'll break the worst of their personal records.

This is sad. This topic I do not want to talk about, because of the anger I get seeing the factory squads dominate and the small teams not being able to mix it up with the top guys as often. But there was only and will be only one 2012

[RonDenisDeletraz]

I may not think too much of the drivers but I do feel sorry for Williams. It isn't good to see them struggle like this

[go_Rubens]

I may not think too much of the drivers but I do feel sorry for Williams. It isn't good to see them struggle like this

Considering they are the only independently-owned team left in the sport, I hate to see this.

[good_Ralf]

I may not think too much of the drivers but I do feel sorry for Williams. It isn't good to see them struggle like this

Considering they are the only independently-owned team left in the sport, I hate to see this.

I guess then that the era for privateer teams in Formula 1 is finally over.

[pi314159]

I may not think too much of the drivers but I do feel sorry for Williams. It isn't good to see them struggle like this

Considering they are the only independently-owned team left in the sport, I hate to see this.

You forgot Sauber.

[good_Ralf]

Considering they are the only independently-owned team left in the sport, I hate to see this.

You forgot Sauber.

Oh yeah. And they're barely able to score points too, with 2012 becoming an ever distant memory.

[UncreativeUsername37]

You forgot Sauber.

Oh yeah.

Sums up their year right there....

[Meatwad]

Considering they are the only independently-owned team left in the sport, I hate to see this.

You forgot Sauber.

Three words: Red Bull Racing.

It's really worrying for Williams as they have only had one season without a top ten finish (and that only if you include the Frank Williams Racing Cars era): 1970 as a one-car team, using a De Tomaso car.

[CoopsII]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/23327416

I would expect this to make a positive difference in the long run, he's a clever man and as tough as old boots.

[wsrgo]

So, crashgate replaces spygate?

[good_Ralf]

Nice to see a man who knows what he's doing at Grove. Being a strategist for a championship-winning team, Symonds should be as good if not better than Coughlan. As mentioned earlier it is funny that a controversial figure of Spygate goes to help Williams and does them some good before flopping and getting replaced by a controversial figure of Singapore/Crashgate. I wish that Symonds (an Oxford-graduate) could help Williams win races again.

[watka]

Well at least if he wants to do crashgate pt. 2 then it has a chance of working at Williams, at Marussia it would have got them up to about 11th.

[good_Ralf]

Well at least if he wants to do crashgate pt. 2 then it has a chance of working at Williams, at Marussia it would have got them up to about 11th.

Crashgate pt.2 will probably involve the Reverend crashing into a wall or someone else deliberately to help whichever teammate he has...

[watka]

Well at least if he wants to do crashgate pt. 2 then it has a chance of working at Williams, at Marussia it would have got them up to about 11th.

Crashgate pt.2 will probably involve the Reverend crashing into a wall or someone else deliberately to help whichever teammate he has...

The perfect crime, no one is ever going to believe that the Pastor of Disaster would crash deliberately.

[good_Ralf]

Williams in deeper financial straights