Williams FW14

The Williams FW14 was an F1 car designed by Patrick Head and Adrian Newey for the 1991 and 1992 F1 seasons. The car was born out of necessity, as the 1989 and 1990 seasons had proven competitive for Williams, but they had underachieved in their own and Renault's eyes. Newey started work on the new car soon after joining the team from March in mid-1990. He had designed a series of aerodynamically efficient and very effective cars for March on a limited budget, so with Williams' greater resources and money he was able to fully develop his ideas. The design showed enough promise to tempt Nigel Mansell to shelve his plans to retire from the sport and rejoin Williams from Ferrari. Powered by a 3.5 litre V10 Renault engine, the car was the most technically sophisticated on the grid, featuring a semi automatic gearbox, active suspension, traction control and for a brief period anti-lock brakes. Add to that the superb aerodynamics by Newey that was way ahead of the McLaren MP4/6, Ferrari 643 or Lotus 107, and it made for a potent mix, although at the beginning the disbelievers said the car was too technical for its own good.

Williams FW14

The FW14 made its debut at the 1991 United States Grand Prix. The car was clearly the most technically advanced on the grid, but early teething troubles in 1991 stymied the team's early progress. Nigel Mansell and Riccardo Patrese recorded 7 victories between them, but the drivers' championship was wrapped up by Ayrton Senna in the McLaren who had better reliability. Williams had the faster car throughout the balance of the season and it provided a run of good form in the mid season for both Mansell and Patrese. Mansell in particular however had several retirements due to the then new-for-Williams semi automatic transmission, with most of these retirements occurring while in a position to win races. Patrese was impressive on several occasions, and retired while leading twice. McLaren's superior reliability told in the constructors' championship though, as they narrowly took the championship from Williams.

Williams FW14B

In 1992, after further development work was done to the gearbox and the active suspension, the FW14B was the dominant car and Mansell wrapped up the championship with a then record 9 wins in a season, whilst Patrese scored a further win. Patrese didn't warm to the car as much as the FW14, as he preferred the passive suspension in that chassis. Williams were clear winners of the constructors' championship, but the season ended in acrimony as Mansell left the team after Alain Prost was signed, while Patrese moved to Benetton for his swansong season in 1993.

The FW14 won 17 grands prix, 22 pole positions and 289 points before being replaced with the FW15C for 1993. Given that current F1 regulations ban many of the technologies used by the FW14 and FW15C, these are considered among the most technologically advanced racing cars ever built. [cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/cars_guide/4272031.stm |title=The changing face of F1 |publisher=BBC Sport |date=2005-02-28 |accessdate=2008-01-23]

References

Other dominant F1 cars of different eras

* Ferrari F2002
* Ferrari F2004
* Lotus 79
* McLaren MP4/4
* Mercedes-Benz W196
* Williams FW18