Williams FW06
Encyclopedia
The Williams FW06 was the first car produced by the combination of Frank Williams and Patrick Head
for their Williams Grand Prix Engineering Formula One
team. As was the standard arrangement for the many small British garagiste teams, the car was powered by the Cosworth DFV
3.0 litre V8 engine.
It first took to the racetrack in anger in the 1978 Argentine Grand Prix
in the hands of Alan Jones
, and a single car competed in all 16 rounds of the World Championship that season, finishing in the points 3 times including a second place at Watkins Glen
.
The FW06 also saw service in the first 4 races of the 1979 season, with Clay Regazzoni
joining Jones in the team. Jones finished in third place at Long Beach, but by now the car was being left behind by the ground effect
cars of Lotus
, Ligier, Tyrrell
and others, and the car was replaced by the FW07
.
Nevertheless the FW06 is widely regarded as one of the best of the pre-ground effect Formula One cars.
* 71 points in scored using the FW07
Patrick Head
Patrick Head , is co-founder and Engineering Director of the Williams Formula One team.For 25 years from Head was technical director at Williams Grand Prix Engineering, and responsible for many innovations within Formula One. Head oversaw the design and construction of Williams cars until May 2004...
for their Williams Grand Prix Engineering Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
team. As was the standard arrangement for the many small British garagiste teams, the car was powered by the Cosworth DFV
Cosworth DFV
The DFV is an internal combustion engine that was originally produced by Cosworth for Formula One motor racing. Named Four Valve because of the four valves per cylinder, and Double as it was a V8 development of the earlier, four-cylinder FVA , making it a Double Four Valve engine...
3.0 litre V8 engine.
It first took to the racetrack in anger in the 1978 Argentine Grand Prix
1978 Argentine Grand Prix
The 1978 Argentine Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 15 January 1978 at Buenos Aires.-Report:Mario Andretti took pole in his Lotus, with Carlos Reutemann's Ferrari joining him on the front row and Ronnie Peterson in the other Lotus third on the grid...
in the hands of Alan Jones
Alan Jones (Formula 1)
Alan Stanley Jones MBE is an Australian former Formula One driver. He was the first driver to win a Formula One World Championship with the Williams team, becoming the 1980 World Drivers' Champion....
, and a single car competed in all 16 rounds of the World Championship that season, finishing in the points 3 times including a second place at Watkins Glen
1978 United States Grand Prix
The 1978 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on October 1, 1978 at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York...
.
The FW06 also saw service in the first 4 races of the 1979 season, with Clay Regazzoni
Clay Regazzoni
Gianclaudio Giuseppe "Clay" Regazzoni was a Swiss racing car driver. He competed in Formula One races from 1970 to 1980, winning five Grands Prix. His first win was the Italian Grand Prix at Monza in his debut season, driving for Ferrari. He remained with the Italian team until...
joining Jones in the team. Jones finished in third place at Long Beach, but by now the car was being left behind by the ground effect
Ground effect
As it pertains to fixed wing aircraft, "ground effect" refers to the increased lift and decreased drag that an aircraft airfoil or wing generates when an aircraft is about one wingspan's length or less over the ground...
cars of Lotus
Team Lotus
Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport series including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar and sports car racing...
, Ligier, Tyrrell
Tyrrell Racing
The Tyrrell Racing Organisation was an auto racing team and Formula One constructor founded by Ken Tyrrell which started racing in 1958 and started building its own cars in 1970. The team experienced its greatest success in the early 1970s, when it won three drivers' championships and one...
and others, and the car was replaced by the FW07
Williams FW07
The Williams FW07 was a ground effect Formula One racing car designed by Patrick Head for the 1979 F1 season. It was closely based on the Lotus 79, even being developed in the same wind tunnel at Imperial College London. Some observers, among them Lotus aerodynamicist Peter Wright felt the FW07 was...
.
Nevertheless the FW06 is widely regarded as one of the best of the pre-ground effect Formula One cars.
Complete Formula One World Championship results
(results in bold indicate pole position) (results in italics indicate fastest lap)| Year | Entrant | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Points | WCC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 1978 Formula One season The 1978 Formula One season included the 29th FIA Formula One World Championship which commenced on January 15, 1978, and ended on October 8 after sixteen races. Mario Andretti was the season Champion and the last American to date to win a Formula One race... |
Williams Grand Prix Engineering WilliamsF1 Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, trading as AT&T Williams, is a British Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded and run by Sir Frank Williams and Patrick Head... |
Ford Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK... Cosworth DFV Cosworth DFV The DFV is an internal combustion engine that was originally produced by Cosworth for Formula One motor racing. Named Four Valve because of the four valves per cylinder, and Double as it was a V8 development of the earlier, four-cylinder FVA , making it a Double Four Valve engine... V8 V8 engine A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft.... |
ARG 1978 Argentine Grand Prix The 1978 Argentine Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 15 January 1978 at Buenos Aires.-Report:Mario Andretti took pole in his Lotus, with Carlos Reutemann's Ferrari joining him on the front row and Ronnie Peterson in the other Lotus third on the grid... |
BRA 1978 Brazilian Grand Prix The 1978 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 29 January 1978 at Jacarepagua. The race was won by Argentine driver Carlos Reutemann driving a Ferrari 312T2 in a flag-to-flag performance. The win also represented the first win for tyre manufacturer Michelin... |
RSA 1978 South African Grand Prix The 1978 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 4 March 1978 at Kyalami.Both the Ferrari and Brabham teams had new cars in Kyalami for the race... |
USW 1978 United States Grand Prix West The 1978 United States Grand Prix West was a Formula One race held on April 2, 1978 at Long Beach, California.__FORCETOC__-Summary:Carlos Reutemann took over at the halfway mark from Ferrari teammate Gilles Villeneuve, when the Canadian crashed out of the lead, and won by eleven seconds... |
MON 1978 Monaco Grand Prix The 1978 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 7 May 1978 at Monaco. It was won by Patrick Depailler of France, his first Formula One victory.-Report:... |
BEL 1978 Belgian Grand Prix -Report:The main news before the Belgian Grand Prix was that the new Lotus 79 was now ready to race, and immediately Mario Andretti showed its pace by taking pole comfortably from Carlos Reutemann and Niki Lauda... |
ESP 1978 Spanish Grand Prix The 1978 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 4 June 1978 at Jarama.-Report:Once again the new Lotus 79 demonstrated its speed, with Mario Andretti on pole again with Ronnie Peterson alongside, and Carlos Reutemann having to settle for the second row... |
SWE 1978 Swedish Grand Prix The 1978 Swedish Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on June 17, 1978 at the Scandinavian Raceway; it was the eighth race of the 1978 Formula One season... |
FRA 1978 French Grand Prix The 1978 French Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 2 July 1978 at Paul Ricard.-Report:Following the banning of the "fan car", Brabham were forced to revert back to their previous car again, but it did not deter them, with John Watson on pole and Niki Lauda starting third behind Mario... |
GBR 1978 British Grand Prix The 1978 British Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 16 July 1978 at Brands Hatch.-Report:Lotus took the front row, with Ronnie Peterson beating Mario Andretti to pole, with Jody Scheckter next up on the second row. Andretti took the lead at the start from Peterson, and the two Lotus cars... |
GER 1978 German Grand Prix The 1978 German Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 30 July 1978 at Hockenheimring.-Report:There were no surprises in qualifying, with Mario Andretti on pole and Ronnie Peterson alongside him, with Niki Lauda third. At the start, Peterson got off better and took the lead from Andretti, but he... |
AUT 1978 Austrian Grand Prix The 1978 Austrian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 13 August 1978 at Österreichring.-Report:The crowds for the Austrian GP were full of Niki Lauda fans; but however for them Lauda qualified only 12th as the Lotus cars again took the front row, with Ronnie Peterson on pole. The surprise in... |
NED 1978 Dutch Grand Prix The 1978 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 27 August 1978 at Zandvoort.-Report:Qualifying was as expected, Mario Andretti taking pole with Ronnie Peterson alongside in the all-Lotus front row, and Niki Lauda heading the second row. At the start, Andretti led with Peterson following,... |
ITA 1978 Italian Grand Prix The 1978 Italian Grand Prix was the 14th race of the 1978 Formula One season. It was held on 10 September 1978 at Monza. It was marred by the death of Ronnie Peterson following an accident at the start of the race.... |
USA 1978 United States Grand Prix The 1978 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on October 1, 1978 at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York... |
CAN 1978 Canadian Grand Prix The 1978 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 8 October 1978 at Montreal.- Pre-Race :Both championships were already sown up , so this, the final round, was a dead rubber in the 1978 title chase... |
11 | 9th | ||
 Alan JonesAlan Jones (Formula 1) Alan Stanley Jones MBE is an Australian former Formula One driver. He was the first driver to win a Formula One World Championship with the Williams team, becoming the 1980 World Drivers' Champion.... |
Ret | 14 | 4 | 7 | Ret | 10 | 8 | Ret | 5 | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 13 | 2 | 9 | ||||||
| 1979 1979 Formula One season The 1979 Formula One season was the 30th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1979 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1979 International Cup for F1 Constructors which were contested concurrently over a fifteen round series which commenced on January 21, 1979, and ended on... |
Albilad-Saudia Saudi Arabian Airlines Saudi Arabian Airlines is the flag carrier airline of Saudi Arabia, based in Jeddah. It operates domestic and international scheduled flights to over 90 destinations in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe and North America... Racing Team WilliamsF1 Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, trading as AT&T Williams, is a British Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded and run by Sir Frank Williams and Patrick Head... |
Ford Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK... Cosworth DFV Cosworth DFV The DFV is an internal combustion engine that was originally produced by Cosworth for Formula One motor racing. Named Four Valve because of the four valves per cylinder, and Double as it was a V8 development of the earlier, four-cylinder FVA , making it a Double Four Valve engine... V8 V8 engine A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft.... |
ARG 1979 Argentine Grand Prix The 1979 Argentine Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 21 January 1979 at the Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez in Buenos Aires.- Classification :- Notes :* Lap Leaders: Patrick Depailler 10 laps ; Jacques Laffite 43 laps .... |
BRA 1979 Brazilian Grand Prix The 1979 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 4 February 1979 at Interlagos.-Race report:The Ligier team dominated the race weekend with their superior ground-effect JS11... |
RSA 1979 South African Grand Prix The 1979 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 3 March 1979 at Kyalami.- Classification :- Notes :* Lap Leaders: Jean-Pierre Jabouille 1 lap ; Gilles Villeneuve 39 laps ; Jody Scheckter 38 laps .... |
USW 1979 United States Grand Prix West The 1979 United States Grand Prix West was a Formula One race held on April 8, 1979 at Long Beach, California.__FORCETOC__-Summary:Canadian Gilles Villeneuve captured pole, fastest lap and the win for Ferrari, followed by teammate Jody Scheckter, as the Prancing Horses took a big step toward... |
ESP 1979 Spanish Grand Prix The 1979 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 29 April 1979 at Jarama.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standingsConstructors' Championship standings... |
BEL 1979 Belgian Grand Prix - Classification :- Notes :* Lap Leaders: Patrick Depailler 25 laps ; Jacques Laffite 12 laps ; Alan Jones 16 laps ; Jody Scheckter 17 laps .-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standings... |
MON 1979 Monaco Grand Prix The 1979 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 27 May 1979 at Monaco.- Classification :- Notes :* Lap Leaders: Jody Scheckter 76 laps .* Last race - James Hunt-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standings... |
FRA 1979 French Grand Prix The 1979 French Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 1 July 1979 at Dijon.It marked the first victory of a turbocharged car in Formula One, with Renault overcoming the reliability problems that had initially plagued their car... |
GBR 1979 British Grand Prix The 1979 British Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 14 July 1979 at Silverstone. It marked the Williams team's first GP pole position and win .- Classification :- Notes :... |
GER 1979 German Grand Prix The 1979 German Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 29 July 1979 at Hockenheimring.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standingsConstructors' Championship standings... |
AUT 1979 Austrian Grand Prix The 1979 Austrian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 12 August 1979 at Österreichring.- Classification :- Notes :* Lap Leaders: Gilles Villeneuve 3 laps ; Alan Jones 51 laps .* First pole position: René Arnoux-Standings after the race:... |
NED 1979 Dutch Grand Prix The 1979 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 26 August 1979 at Zandvoort.-Summary:René Arnoux put his Renault on pole position but the slow start of the turbocharged car allowed Alan Jones to break free. Arnoux and Clay Regazzoni collided, eliminating the Williams on the spot while the... |
ITA 1979 Italian Grand Prix The 1979 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 9 September 1979 at Monza.Monza was revamped for 1979, including a re-surfaced track; and run-off areas were added to the Curva Grande and the Lesmo Curves.... |
CAN 1979 Canadian Grand Prix The 1979 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 30 September 1979 at Montreal.During practice Niki Lauda announced his retirement from Formula One. Ricardo Zunino replaced him for the race. The organizers would not let the Alfa Romeo team compete unless they pre-qualified... |
USA 1979 United States Grand Prix The 1979 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on October 7, 1979 at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York... |
75* | 2nd | |||
| Alan Jones Alan Jones (Formula 1) Alan Stanley Jones MBE is an Australian former Formula One driver. He was the first driver to win a Formula One World Championship with the Williams team, becoming the 1980 World Drivers' Champion.... |
9 | Ret | Ret | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
 Clay RegazzoniClay Regazzoni Gianclaudio Giuseppe "Clay" Regazzoni was a Swiss racing car driver. He competed in Formula One races from 1970 to 1980, winning five Grands Prix. His first win was the Italian Grand Prix at Monza in his debut season, driving for Ferrari. He remained with the Italian team until... |
10 | 15 | 9 | Ret |
* 71 points in scored using the FW07
Williams FW07
The Williams FW07 was a ground effect Formula One racing car designed by Patrick Head for the 1979 F1 season. It was closely based on the Lotus 79, even being developed in the same wind tunnel at Imperial College London. Some observers, among them Lotus aerodynamicist Peter Wright felt the FW07 was...