Adversity, on and off the track
Jones winning four of the final six races of the season. If the Saudis were looking for a return on their investment. Williams was providing it, and then some.
The following year proved to be even more successful, with Jones securing the world championship and Williams winning the constructor’s title.
From 1980-’97, Williams captured the Constructor’s Cup a record nine times, employing a number of Formula One’s top driving stars, including Carlos Reutemann, Keke Rosberg, Ricardo Patrese, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve.
The success Williams achieved immediately following his 1986 crash was overshadowed by two significant setbacks. The first occurred when Honda, supplier of race engines to the Williams team, announced that it was switching teams.
Undaunted, Williams convinced the French automaker Renault to go racing with him, which it did for the 1989 season. Three years later, his Renault-powered Williams team was back on top, winning the overall championship in convincing style, just as it had done with Honda.
The other and more tragic setback occurred in 1994. Williams hired three-time world champion Ayrton Senna to drive for him that year, but in only his third outing (the Italian Grand Prix), the 34-year-old Brazilian crashed into a barrier and was killed.
Incredibly, instead of attributing Senna’s death to the inherent risks of racing, the Italian authorities pointed fingers at Williams’ technical director Patrick Head and his chief designer for a steering malfunction.
The affair hung like a dark cloud over the team with Head eventually being found guilty of manslaughter. By that time — 13 years later in 2007 — the statute of limitations had run out, preventing any penalty.
After two more championship seasons (1996-’97), the Williams team has not been a regular to the top spot on the podium despite employing some of the best drivers and changing engine suppliers several times.
But with the doggedly persistent Williams firmly and resolutely in control, never count out the team as a contender for the Formula One championship.