Car Of The Week - Williams FW18

Formula One is the holy grail of car racing. In the world of Motorsport, F1 is one of the most prestigious and sought-after championships. In car racing, the skill and driving ability of the driver along with the reliability and performance of the car are essential keys to success. Motorsport has seen many successful cars over the course of its history to the present day. The 1996 F1 championship-winning Williams FW18 is a car for the history books and has etched its name well in the motorsport hall of fame. We are going to tell you more about this awesome car!

The Williams FW18 was an F1 race car used by the Williams Grand Prix Engineering team (currently known as ROKiT Williams Racing) in the 1996 season. The FW18 was driven by former F1 world champions Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve. The 1996 season turned out to be a very successful season for Williams as they won both the constructors championship and Hill, Villeneuve finishing the driver’s championship first and second respectively. The FW18 had an edge over the rest and was the fastest of the lot. Williams Racing is a British F1 racing team based out of Grove in the UK. Williams Racing was founded in 1977 by Sir Frank Williams and Sir Patrick Head. Till date, Williams has won 9 F1 titles and have had some great drivers the likes of – Damon Hill, Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Jensen Button, Ayrton Senna, Jacques Villeneuve amongst many others who have driven for them.

Many teams in F1 have partnerships with car manufacturers for engines. Williams has enjoyed a very successful engine partnership with French car giant Renault, having won 5 of their 9 F1 titles with them. 1996 season dominating FW18 was also powered by a Renault engine. An interesting fact – The ‘FW’ in Williams Racing cars stands for Frank Williams the owner of the team and is then followed by a number; all Williams Racing cars follow this tradition. The FW18 was based on the 1995 FW17 car. The FW18 was designed by then Technical Director Sir Patrick Head and Chief Designer Adrian Newey. With changes in F1 rules and regulations requiring more driver protection and a lower seating position for the drivers, the Williams team could further enhance the design and performance of the previous FW17 along with the required rule changes. The lower seating position of the driver gave way for a lower center of gravity and aided in improving the handling of the new FW18.

Sir Patrick Head and Adrian Newey worked tirelessly on the design of the FW18 making it more aerodynamic, hence increasing the speed and performance of the car. Wind tunnels were used extensively. The FW18 was powered by a Renault sourced 3.0 L V10 engine producing 750 bhp of max power output at 14500 rpm mated to a 6-speed paddle-shift gearbox. The FW18 underwent extensive testing in pre-season with Damon Hill driving over 9000 km in the car which would go on to win 75% of all races in the 1996 season. To summarize the success of the Williams team with the FW18 – 12 poles, 11 fastest laps, 12 race victories, 21 podiums, the constructor’s championship, and a 1-2 finish for the drivers of the team. Now that’s an amazing CV for any race car!   

The Williams FW18 legacy was continued by the successful FW19, hence giving Williams Racing 2 very good seasons. Yes, technology has progressed by leaps and bounds in present-day F1 but the Williams FW18 still remains one of the best F1 cars ever. Which car do you think in present-day F1 can give the FW18 a run for its money? Let us know!