REGAZZONI VICTORY

FROM ITS DEBUT IN 1977, WILLIAMS WAS ALMOST immediately on the pace. The season itself was a learning year with Patrick Nève, but the hiring for the ’78 season of Australian Alan Jones – who would subsequently take the title with Williams in 1980 – quickly brought points and podiums. Yet it was Swiss star Clay Regazzoni who gave Williams its first victory, at the 1979 British Grand Prix. Teammate Jones had put his Williams on pole and the two diced in the early laps, but a series of retirements, Jones included, put Regazzoni up front, where he took victory by 24 seconds over Renault driver René Arnoux. As if to prove the abilities of both himself and the Williams-Ford FW07, Jones took a hat-trick of victories in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands, and another in Canada, landing him third in the 1979 standings.

Above: Swiss driver Clay Regazzoni gives Williams its first ever GP victory – at Silverstone in 1979