Frank Williams (1942-2021)

[Picci]

Bottom post of the previous page:

I was never Williams’ biggest fan. Perhaps it was the fact the team always rid their drivers when they were doing so well. And for Senna’s crash and the way they handled it after. But I admire what he has done and how he stood the test of time. Rest in peace, legend.

[sadsac]

RIP Sir Frank reunited Virginia and your lost friends

[Michael Ferner]

And for Senna’s crash and the way they handled it after.

Which one? He crashed in every race he drove a Williams.

[manny]

Is a sign that we all are not the youngest follows anymore, lots of stars from my teenager days are not with us anymore.
A great lost for Formula one and Motorsport in generell.

R.I.P
Sir Frank Williams

[Starling]

Thanks, Sir Frank, for the great moments you gave us with Nigel Mansell. I was sorry when Claire resigned, a great legacy is gone.

[Everso Biggyballies]

F1 legends pay tribute to Sir Frank Williams

Legends of the sport including four Formula 1 world champions gathered in London on Monday to pay tribute to Sir Frank Williams, who died in November.



The Memorial Mass of Thanksgiving at Westminster Cathedral was timed for the day after the British GP in order allow as many F1 regulars as possible to be present.

Over 600 people attended the service, with many past Williams F1 drivers among the well-known names in attendance, including Nigel Mansell, Damon Hill, Jenson Button, Valtteri Bottas, Nick Heidfeld, Martin Brundle, Antonio Pizzonia and Jonathan Palmer. Other notable drivers present included Mika Hakkinen.

The F1 organisation was represented by Stefano Domenicali and Ross Brawn, the latter having started his career in the sport with the Wolf-Williams team in 1976.


Current and past team bosses present included Ron Dennis, Eddie Jordan, David Richards, Christian Horner, Andreas Seidl, Otmar Szafnauer and Jost Capito.

There were also dozens of current and former Williams team members in the congregation from all areas of the organisation, led by Sir Patrick Head and Adrian Newey.


Sir Frank Williams Memorial Service.

Head read a eulogy, noting at the start that “Frank would have hated a eulogy” and insisting that he had instead written an appreciation.

He recalled that he had left motor racing in order to build a boat when Williams got in touch with him in 1976. He drove a £40 Renault 4 to their first meeting at a London hotel, where he was offered a job that he subsequently accepted, and which led to a partnership that spanned four decades.

Head recalled that Williams “was like Tigger for those who have read Winnie the Pooh – full of energy but not always well-directed,” adding that, “his energy was infectious and enthused the whole team.”

Head concluded by saying “wherever your spirit is I hope you still hear the sound of racing engines at the limit.”

Frank’s brother-in-law Jamie Berry also read a eulogy on behalf of the Williams family, stressing how important his late sister Ginny was both in helping to build the team and in the aftermath of the 1986 road accident that left Frank paralysed.



Ron Dennis gave a reading, while journalist and former Williams team member Peter Windsor read To Autumn by John Keats, one of Frank’s favourite poems.

Following the service guests gathered at the Royal Automobile Club in Pall Mall, where Clay Regazzoni’s FW07, which scored the team’s first F1 win at Silverstone in 1979, took pride of place.

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/f1-le ... /10333217/

[Ruslan]

Drivers who won world championships driving a Williams:

1980: Alan Jones
1982: Keke Rosberg
1987: Nelson Piquet
1992: Nigel Mansell (in attendance)
1993: Alain Prost
1996: Damon Hill (in attendance)
1997: Jacques Villeneuve

Good to see Ron Dennis and Andrian Newey there.

[Kai-Star]

Thanks for the highlights on the memorial. Williams were at the peak of their powers when I started following F1. I was too young for Jones and Rosberg but I remember from then on, and to think that Villeneuve was the last in '97 and we've had more years since then than from the first championship. Time does feel faster as you age.

[Michael Ferner]

I still remember when Williams was the Minardi of the seventies - does that make me old?

[Everso Biggyballies]

I still remember when Williams was the Minardi of the seventies - does that make me old?

I can remember Frank Williams turning up at Brands well before he joined up with Patrick Head and was just Frank Williams, with an old F1 car (for Courage?) on an open trailer behind an old delapidated Ford Zephyr Estate car, loaded down with spares, and an old Transit van in convoy. I cant remember whether it was just for testing or maybe Race of Champions.

He moved on then to a red converted bus in the Iso days and was looking more the mark.... again still before the Williams GP Engineering days

[SBan83]

I basically started following F1 seriously in the late 90s. So for me, the early 2000s was when I first took notice of the team, after the McLaren vs Ferrari years. I found the Bridgestone vs Michelin war interesting, and rooted for the enormously potent Williams-BMWs against the all-conquering Ferrari-Schumacher juggernaut at the time. Also, the fact that BMW Motorsport's Director Mario Theissen looked so much like my dad!