Williams FW07 Ford

The Williams FW07 was a ground effect Formula One racing car designed by Patrick Head, Frank Dernie, and Neil Oatley for the 1979 F1 season.

Racing history

1979:

The car made its debut at the Spanish Grand Prix at Jarama in 1979, the fifth round of the season and the first European round after the non-ground effect FW06 was used for the first four rounds in the Americas and South Africa. The car proved to be reasonably competitive; Australian Alan Jones put the car 13th at Jarama and then 4th for the next round in Belgium; he even led 16 laps of the race before retiring with electrical failure. At the British Grand Prix, Jones stuck the revised Williams on pole and was immediately 2 seconds faster than the next fastest car. The car served to make Team Williams a contender for the first time; Jones retired with fuel pump failure and his Swiss teammate Clay Regazzoni won his last Grand Prix and first since 1976. Jones then won 4 of the next 5 Grand Prix in Germany, Austria, Holland and Canada in a car that was so much quicker than any of the others, particularly around high-speed circuits. But because the car's competitiveness came only at mid-season, Jones and Williams lost the driver's and constructor's championships to South African Jody Scheckter and Ferrari, respectively. But the FW07's competitiveness meant that Williams was a top contender for the 1980 season and beyond.

1980:

Regazzoni was replaced by Carlos Reutemann. While the latter and Williams's other driver, Alan Jones, formed a successful partnership, they were not comfortable with each other. Jones won five races in Argentina, France, Britain, Canada and Watkins Glen in the USA to win his only world championship, while Reutemann won at a wet race in Monaco. Williams won also their first Constructors' Championship. The main challenge to the FW07 came from Nelson Piquet in Brabham's neat BT49.

1981:

This time it was Reutemann who challenged Piquet for the championship, narrowly missing out in the final race, but Williams took home the constructors' championship after four more wins. The FW07C was the second fastest car of 1981, behind the Renault RE30, but the Williams was more reliable.

Alan Jones lost two potential victories at Monaco and Hockenheim when fuel pressure "hunting" caused the Cosworth DFV to misfire badly, costing the Australian not just wins but also possibly the 1981 World Drivers Championship. The misfiring which afflicted Jones was caused by the high G forces and acceleration generated by the venturi derived ground effects which caused the fuel in the tank to slosh about so violently that the fuel pump was unable to provide the fuel lines with adequate supply. Carlos Reuetemann also had a similar problem in the French Grand Prix in 1981 when he was in a strong position to finish in the points, and this misfire might also have cost Williams the 1981 Drivers Championship as well.

1982:

After Jones retired, Williams took on Keke Rosberg in 1982. His mercurial driving seemed to suit the FW07, which although it was now three years old, was still competitive. After 15 wins, 300 points, one drivers' and two constructors' titles the FW07 was replaced by the similarly engineered FW08 from early 1982.

from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williams_FW07