Williams FW16

Racing car
Car_name = Williams FW16


Category = Formula One
Constructor = Williams
Designer = flagicon|UK Patrick Head (Technical Director) flagicon|UK Adrian Newey (Chief Designer)
Team = Rothmans Williams Renault
Drivers = 0. Damon Hill 2. Ayrton Senna 2. Nigel Mansell 2. David Coulthard
Chassis = Carbon-fibre and honeycomb composite structure
Front suspension = Williams inboard torsion spring, double wishbone, operated by pushboard bellcrank
Rear suspension = Williams inboard coil-spring/double wishbone, operated by pushboard bellcrank
Engine name = Renault RS6, RS6B and RS6C
Capacity =
Configuration = V10 (67°)
Turbo/NA = naturally aspirated
Engine position =
Gearbox name = Williams
Gears = 6-speed
Type = transverse semi-automatic
Differential =
Fuel = Elf
Tyres = Goodyear
Debut = 1994 Brazilian Grand Prix
Races = 16
Wins = 7
Cons_champ = 1 (f1|1994)
Drivers_champ = 0
Poles = 7
Fastest_laps = 5
The Williams FW16 was a Formula One car used by the Williams team for the 1994 Formula One season. It was designed by Adrian Newey around a short wheelbase chassis. The car was designed with the major regulation changes that the FIA had introduced in the off-season, banning the electronic devices that had come to dominate the cars' internal management and re-introducing refuelling into the racing.

The number 0 car was driven by Damon Hill for the entire season. The number 2 car was driven by Ayrton Senna. The car proved to be a tricky proposition in early testing and only Senna's skill made the car competitive in the early part of the season.Fact|date=September 2007 A design flaw was discovered in the car's frontal section before the third race of the seasonFact|date=September 2007, but there was no time to do a major redesign before the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. Senna requested some minor changes to be madeFact|date=September 2007, which was carried out by Newey and Patrick Head for the raceFact|date=September 2007. That weekend, Senna was killed whilst in the lead.

Williams introduced a B-spec car that was developed by Hill, but the Benetton B194 and Michael Schumacher were dominant in the first half of the season. Rookie test driver David Coulthard shared the second car with former champion Nigel Mansell (who also had IndyCar commitments). The engine was a Renault RS6 3.5 V10. Their main sponsor was Rothmans.The FW16 lacked the active suspension and traction control of the previous season's FW15C. Some people theorise, due to the similarities in design between the FW15C and the FW16, that the car was designed with active suspension and traction control in mind, leading to a very twitchy and floaty front end. This can be seen when Senna, pushing to close the gap between himself and Schumacher, spun out of second place during the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Williams FW16B

The car was updated to a 'B' specification for the German Grand Prix. This featured a longer wheelbase, revised front and rear wing and modified sidepods. Hill battled Schumacher for the championship but lost by a single point in the final race in Australia, but Hill's hard work meant that Williams won the constructors' championship that season.

Complete Formula One results

() (results in bold indicate pole position)

External links