Williams F-1 racing team is owned by Frank Williams. Frank, a former driver himself, started a number of F-1 teams before the team he owns today, which bears his name. The Williams team was founded in 1977. Several of the next years were very difficult, but in 1980, Alan Jones won the world title, in a Williams. Things started looking up for the team. Williams won the Constructors Championship in 1980, 1981, 1986, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996 and 1997. They won the Driver championship in 1980 (Alan Jones), 1982 (Keke Rosberg), 1987 (Nelson Piquet), 1992 (Nigel Mansel), 1993 (Alain Prost), 1996 (Damon Hill), and 1997 (Jacques Villeneuve).
Patrick Head, Williams Technical Director started working for Frank in 1976, at Wolf-Williams. In 1977, he became a partner with Frank in the current Williams team.
One of the most frequently asked question about Frank Williams is, "Why is he in a wheelchair?" One day in 1986, leaving a test session at the Le Castellet track in the south of France, Frank lost control of his rental car in a rush to the airport, and crashed. Peter Windsor, passenger in the car, saved Franks life, but Frank was left totally paralyzed from the neck down. This did not keep him from the sport he loves. He is very much involved in the decisions at Williams, and flies to every race. His poker face expression can often be seen peering into the computer monitors. Frank has built the team into one of the most successful F-1 teams racing today.
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