When Williams were actually good: the tale of the FW14

The early 90s were a very interesting time for F1 constructors. The turbo formula was outlawed in 1989 in favour of a 3.5-litre naturally-aspirated formula which allowed different engine layouts. There were V8s, V10s and V12s (plus a highly uncompetitive W12 from the Life F1 team which entered just two races, failing to pre-qualify in both of them). Computer control began to creep into cars, and it was an arms race between the teams and the regulators to take advantage of a system before it gets banned.

Much of the content here is sourced from Adrian Newey’s “How To Build A Car”. I’m in the middle of reading it and I highly recommend it for anyone who’s interested in the technical elements of F1.

FW14 (1991)

The FW14 chassis was already thought to be the most advanced on the grid, featuring a semi-automatic transmission and the beginnings of driver aids such as traction control. However, it had serious teething problems - of the first 8 race entries (4 races times 2 cars), 6 were DNFs. McLaren’s MP4/6 proved to be the more reliable car, winning both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ championships. The engine could also have been a factor - the Renault V10 was thought to be less powerful than the higher-revving Honda V12.

Active Suspension

Aerodynamics tend to work best at a very specific ride-height. If the car rides too high or too low, the airflow pattern can change which can lead to a loss of downforce on one end of the car which is obviously not good in the middle of a corner or braking zone. Downforce itself affects ride height as it compresses the suspension, and weight transfer during braking, cornering or acceleration can affect it as well. What active suspension does is keeps the ride height on all wheels close to the optimal level. For example, it will work to prevent the front from dropping under braking.

Work was done on the car, but it didn’t seem to be ready. The plan was to stick with the FW14 chassis until the start of the European season, then switch to the FW15 which would feature the active suspension. The drivers, Nigel Mansell and Riccardo Paltrese, didn’t seem too keen about the system either.

Mansell soon warmed to it, as the car suited his aggressive driving style. However, Paltrese didn’t have as much upper-body strength as his team-mate which was a key factor since there was no power steering and the increased downforce meant the steering was extremely heavy. In fast corners, he would have to turn the wheel, then completely lock his arms to keep it there. In the event that he lost the rear, removing lock would be easy, but reapplying it was extremely difficult.

The car also featured a “push-to-pass” button which lifted up the rear in order to reduce airflow to the diffuser and reduce drag at the expense of downforce. It was essentially an early version of DRS, but it could be used at any time. Mansell was even thought to have used it around Blanchimont at Spa.

The active suspension was ready and introduced at the start of the 1992 season in an evolved chassis called FW14B. This car would end up being used for the entire season, with the FW15 saved for 1993.

Mind Games

The two drivers knew that one of them would become World Drivers’ Champion in 1992. Mansell was known for playing with the minds of other drivers, and this was no exception. Before the season, the drivers would be weighed. Mansell was the larger of the two Williams drivers, and he was known for not paying much attention to diet. He allegedly wore lightweight clothes, starved and dehydrated himself in a bid to weigh-in less than his team-mate. It worked.

It didn’t stop there though. During practice and testing, the car setup is very important, and if something appears to work on one car, the race engineer for the other car will copy it. Mansell would change the settings for traction control and other stuff that could be adjusted from the cockpit during the in-lap. This meant that incorrect settings were copied onto Paltrese’s setup which ultimately hindered him.

Dominance

The car turned out to be ridiculously dominant - it was 2-3 seconds faster around most tracks than the nearest competitor. It suffered from a few reliability issues, but Mansell won the first five races back-to-back with Paltrese coming 2nd in four of them. There were a few more DNFs later on, but Williams go on to win their first WDC and WCC since 1987.

Legacy

Williams ditched Mansell for the next season, instead taking on Alain Prost with Damon Hill as his team-mate. The FW15 featured even more technology such as traction-control, anti-lock brakes, power steering and pneumatic valve springs. Prost dubbed the car as “a little Airbus”.

Because Honda left F1, McLaren were even weaker, leading Senna to try to convince Williams to sign him. He even offered to drive for free, but this was in vain because Prost’s contract had a clause that meant Senna could not be his team-mate. Prost ended up winning the WDC with Williams scooping yet another title.

For 1994, driver aids were banned. The FW16 had plenty of speed, but it was difficult to drive. Senna joined Williams replacing Prost, but alas he retired in the first two before his fatal accident at Imola. Williams went on to win the WCC, but Schumacher won the WDC in a year plagued by the events of Imola and allegations of illegal driver aids in Schumacher’s Benetton. The 1995 season saw Benetton beat Williams in the WCC, but Williams bounced back in 1996 with the very fast and reliable FW18 giving Damon Hill his championship. Jacques Villeneuve then won the 1997 championship,

Williams then began a slow decline. They were reasonably strong in 2014 and 2015 (scoring 2 3rds in the WCC) thanks to Mercedes power, but the unfortunate statistic remains. They have only won one Grand Prix since the end of 2004.

Thanks for reading!