F1 legend Frank was ‘inspirational’ leader
Tributes to former Williams motor racing supremo who died this week
“HE showed the world that if you’re passionate and driven, there isn’t anything you can’t do.”
Those were the words of David Brodie, the oldest friend of racing boss and former West Berkshire resident Sir Frank Williams, who has died at the age of 79.
Sir Frank, who formed Williams Racing in 1977 and led them to 114 victories and a combined 16 drivers’ and constructors’ world championships, died on Sunday.
In a statement, Williams Racing said: “It is with great sadness that on behalf of the Williams family, the team can confirm the death of Sir Frank Williams CBE, founder and former team principal of Williams Racing, at the age of 79.
“After being admitted into hospital on Friday, Sir Frank passed away peacefully this morning surrounded by his family.
“Today we pay tribute to our much-loved and inspirational figurehead.”
Sir Frank set up Williams Grand Prix Engineering in a warehouse in Didcot and dominated the sport through the 80s and 90s.
The team’s first win was at the 1979 Silverstone Grand Prix, when Swiss driver Clay Regazzoni drove the Cosworth-powered Williams
FW07 to victory.
Its first Drivers’ Championship and Constructors’ Championship came the following year, and between 1981 and 1997 Williams Racing secured six more Drivers’ Championships and eight more Constructors’ Championships.
In 2012, Sir Frank stepped down from the board of Williams F1 to be replaced by his daughter Claire, although he remained as team principle.
He left the team altogether in September last year after it was sold to a US company.
Whitchurch-on-Thames resident Mr Brodie, a racing driver who has held lap records on all UK circuits, has known Sir Frank since 1963 and was an early director of Williams Grand Prix Engineering. He is godfather to Claire.
He said: “The last time I saw him, I said: ‘You remember me, Frank? He said yes Brode, you’re my best friend.’ We’ve been best pals since I was 18.
“The moment I met Frank, I knew he was my kind of guy. He had a great sense of humour, didn’t bull **** , totally realistic – he was just a great fella.
“I was racing every weekend back then, and he’d phone me on the Friday and say, ‘Brode, where are you racing tomorrow? Pick me up.’
“He shows that if you have enough passion, enough willpower, and single-mindedness, you can do anything.”
Sir Frank lived in West Berkshire and North Hampshire with his wife Virginia for much of the past 35 years.
He was living at Boxford House, West Berkshire, in 1986 when he was paralysed from the neck down in a driving accident in the south of France.
His later lived at the Old Rectory at East Ilsley and Craven House in Hamstead Marshall, then in 1993, Sir Frank paid around £2m for the East End mansion Stargroves – the former home of Rolling Stone Mick Jagger, before moving again in 1998 to the Inholmes estate in Woodlands St Mary near Lambourn.
He lived there until 2019, when he moved to Ascot to be nearer to his daughter.