Frank Williams Racing Cars

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Not to be confused with Williams Grand Prix Engineering, formed by Frank Williams and Patrick Head in 1977 and known today as WilliamsF1.

Frank Williams Racing Cars was a British Formula One team and constructor.

Early years

Frank Williams had been a motor-racing enthusiast since a young age, and after a career in saloon cars and Formula Three, backed by Williams' shrewd instincts as a dealer in racing cars and spares, he realised he'd reached his peak as a driver and started entering other drivers, in particular his friend and sometime flatmate Piers Courage. After Williams backed Courage in a successful 1968 Formula Two season, he purchased a Brabham Formula One car for Courage in 1969. This allegedly angered Jack Brabham, as the car had been sold to Williams with the expectation that it would be used in the Tasman Series and then converted to Formula 5000. Courage in fact had a great year, including second place at the 1969 Monaco and US Grands Prix.

Their efforts attracted the interest of Argentine sports car manufacturer De Tomaso, who built a Formula One chassis (designed by Gian Paolo Dallara) for the 1970 season. However, the car was initially uncompetitive, failing to finish the first four races of the year. In the fifth, the Dutch Grand Prix, the De Tomaso 505/38 flipped and caught fire, killing Courage. The death of his friend seriously upset Frank Williams; the subsequent distance the team principal placed...
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