Frank Williams

British team founder who led Williams from 1977 to 2020 and won nine constructors' championships

Frank Williams

British team founder who led Williams from 1977 to 2020 and won nine constructors' championships

Frank Williams paid for his first racing team by working as a traveling grocery salesman. Born in South Shields in 1942, he launched his own team in 1966 and ran a Brabham for Piers Courage in 1969. Lean years followed, and for a time he ran the team from a public telephone box after his own line was cut off over unpaid bills.

In 1977 he and engineer Patrick Head started again in a vacant carpet warehouse at Didcot. Clay Regazzoni won the 1979 British Grand Prix, Alan Jones won both titles in 1980, and by 1997 Williams had nine constructors' championships and 114 Grand Prix wins. The family ended its involvement when the team was sold in September 2020. Williams died on the 28th of November 2021.

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