FW07C
Williams Racing: a British Formula One team founded by Frank Williams and Patrick Head, based in Grove, Oxfordshire.
Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, competing in 2026 as Atlassian Williams F1 Team, is a British Formula One team and constructor. It was founded by Frank Williams and Patrick Head. The team was formed after Frank Williams's earlier unsuccessful F1 operation, Frank Williams Racing Cars (which later became Wolf–Williams Racing in 1976). The team is based in Grove, Oxfordshire, on a 60 acre site.
Quick Facts
- Primary drivers
- Alan Jones (1981)
- Carlos Reutemann (1981)
- Keke Rosberg (1982)
- Jacques Laffite (1982)
Lore & Background
The team's first race was the 1977 Spanish Grand Prix, where the new team ran a March chassis for Patrick Nève. Williams started manufacturing its own cars the following year, and Clay Regazzoni won Williams's first race at the 1979 British Grand Prix. At the 1997 British Grand Prix, Jacques Villeneuve scored the team's 100th race victory, making Williams one of only five teams in Formula One, alongside Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes, and Red Bull Racing to win 100 races. Williams won nine Constructors' Championships between unspecified years. This was a record until Ferrari won its tenth championship in an unspecified year. Notable drivers for Williams include: Alan Jones, Clay Regazzoni, Carlos Reutemann, Keke Rosberg, Nelson Piquet, Nigel Mansell, Riccardo Patrese, Thierry Boutsen, Damon Hill, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, David Coulthard, Jacques Villeneuve, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Ralf Schumacher, Jenson Button, Juan Pablo Montoya, Nico Rosberg, Pastor Maldonado, Valtteri Bottas, George Russell, Carlos Sainz Jr., Alex Albon and Felipe Massa. Of these drivers, Jones, Keke Rosberg, Mansell, Hill, Piquet, Prost, and Villeneuve won the Drivers' title with the team. Of those who have won the championship with Williams, only Jones, Keke Rosberg and Villeneuve defended their title while still with the team; as Piquet moved to Lotus after winning the unspecified championship; Mansell left F1 to compete in the CART series after winning the unspecified championship, Prost retired after winning the unspecified championship, and Hill moved to Arrows after winning the unspecified championship. None of Williams's Drivers' Champions went on to win another championship after their success with Williams (although Mansell won the CART championship in his first season there). Williams have worked with many engine manufacturers, most successfully with Renault, winning five of their nine Constructors' titles with the company. Along with Ferrari, McLaren, and Renault (formerly Benetton), Williams is one of a group of 'Big Four' teams that won every Constructors' Championship between 1979 and 2008 and every Drivers' Championship from 1984 to 2008. Williams also has business interests beyond Formula One. They have established Williams Advanced Engineering and Williams Hybrid Power, who take technology originally developed for Formula One and adapt it for commercial applications.
Reader's Guide
The FW07C was introduced at the 1981 British Grand Prix. Keke Rosberg's only race victory in 1982 was at the Swiss Grand Prix, and he drove the FW07C for that win. He won the 1982 Drivers' Championship with only one race victory, driving the FW07C (and briefly the FW08), but his sole victory was in the FW07C.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Williams FW07C?
The FW07C was the final iteration of Williams' long-running FW07 chassis family, fielded for the 1983 Formula One season. Patrick Head designed it around a composite monocoque, and Williams Grand Prix Engineering built it as a bridge between the naturally aspirated era and the incoming turbo age.
Who drove the FW07C in 1983?
Keke Rosberg and Jacques Laffite shared the driving duties. Rosberg arrived as the defending 1982 World Champion from the predecessor FW07, while Laffite filled the second seat as his teammate.
What engine did the FW07C use, and why does that matter?
It ran the Cosworth DFV V8, a naturally aspirated unit that was increasingly outgunned by the turbocharged engines emerging that year. The car's competitiveness therefore hinged on mechanical reliability and the drivers' skill rather than raw horsepower.
Elsewhere in Williams Racing
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