Formula 1 Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Wikipedia-logo
This article has been copied directly from Wikipedia. It must be rewritten by the F1 Wiki style guidelines or it may be deleted.

Please discuss on the article's talk page.

The Williams FW09 was a Formula One car designed by Patrick Head, Frank Dernie and Neil Oatley. It was the first Williams chassis to be powered by a turbocharged Honda V6 engine, for which Frank Williams negotiated a deal towards the end of 1982 and the beginning of 1983.

Honda was already supplying the small Spiritteam for 1983, but was enthusiastic about supplying Williams, who not only had the reigning World Champion Keke Rosberg as lead driver, but were one of the leading constructors in Formula One who had previously won both the Drivers' and Constructors titles on two occasions, a résumé that neither Spirit nor their young Swedish driver Stefan Johansson could match. Williams had agreed to help develop the engine under Grand Prix race conditions. Spirit folded shortly afterwards.[1]


Overview[]

1983[]

The chassis was built from aluminium with |carbon fibre used at stress points and was based on the reasonably successful 1983 Williams FW08C. The engine cover had to be redesigned as the car was powered by a smaller, but more powerful (850 bhp (634 kW; 862 PS)) V6 engine rather than the 530 bhp (395 kW; 537 PS) Cosworth V8 engine that powered the FW08C. The front of the car was also redesigned giving the car cleaner aerodynamics.[2] The FW09 was introduced at the South African Grand Prix, the last race of the 1983 season, which was nothing more than a shakedown exercise. Rosberg showed the potential of both car and engine by qualifying sixth and finishing in fifth place while team mate Jacques Laffite started 10th (after failing to qualify the old car at the previous European Grand Prix at Brands Hatch), but spun off under braking for Crowthorne Corner at the end of the long main straight on lap two, his car ending up in the tyre barrier and out of the race.[3]

1984[]

The car was then raced in the 1984 season by Rosberg and team mate Laffite. Both drivers found extra power of the engine to their liking, but not the chassis which suffered from the sudden bursts of power that the Honda gave, upsetting the balance of the car- and the engine power delivery was so abrupt that parts of the 1.5L Honda block were actually found to have twisted during the race. Furthermore, the car body was found to produce a lot of drag at high speeds.[4] The problems with the 1984 chassis were noted by broadcaster Clive James, opining in FOCA's season review video that "Rosberg had managed to make the Williams look driveable, which everyone including Frank Williams knew it really wasn't".[5]

Keke Rosberg Williams FW09 1984 Dallas F1

Keke Rosberg won the 1984 Dallas Grand Prix in a Williams FW09

Reliability was also a problem, with Laffite only recording five finishes during the whole season, but the basic speed was there with the Honda powered FW09 consistently among the fastest cars through the speeds traps on many tracks despite the car itself producing high drag. Indeed, both drivers recorded a top speed of 310 km/h (193 mph) in qualifying and the race at the 1984 South African Grand Prix (although it wasn't as fast as the Brabham-BMWs which recorded 325 km/h (202 mph) in qualifying).  Rosberg had a more successful year than Laffite, managing to tame the car's unpredictable handling by winning the attrition-filled Dallas Grand Prix for his and the team's first win since the 1983 Monaco Grand Prix, and giving Honda its first Formula One Grand Prix win since John Surtees won the 1967 Italian Grand Prix at Monza and its first win with a turbo engine.[6]

Race Victories[]

Year Event Driver Notes
1984 1984 Dallas Grand Prix Finland Keke Rosberg

Complete Formula One Results[]

Complete Formula One Results
Car Tyre Driver 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Pts. Pos.
1983 Flag of Brazil (1968–1992) Flag of the United States Flag of France Flag of San Marino Flag of Monaco Flag of Belgium Flag of the United States Flag of Canada Flag of the United Kingdom Flag of Germany Flag of Austria Flag of the Netherlands Flag of Italy Flag of Europe Flag of South Africa 1928-1994
FW09 G Finland Rosberg 5th 2 11th
France Laffite Ret
1984 Flag of Brazil (1968–1992) Flag of South Africa 1928-1994 Flag of Belgium Flag of San Marino Flag of France Flag of Monaco Flag of Canada Flag of the United States Flag of the United States Flag of the United Kingdom Flag of Germany Flag of Austria Flag of the Netherlands Flag of Italy Flag of Europe Flag of Portugal
FW09 G Finland Rosberg 2nd Ret 4th Ret 6th 4th Ret Ret 1st 25.5 6th
France Laffite Ret Ret Ret Ret 8th 8th Ret 5th 4th
FW09B Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 14th
Finland Rosberg Ret Ret Ret 8th Ret Ret Ret

Reference[]

  1. "Spirit Racing". https://www.f1technical.net/f1db/teams/103. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  2. Delaney, Michael (11 May 2017). "WILLIAMS : 40 YEARS OF F1 IN 11 CARS". https://f1i.com/magazine/267771-williams-40-years-f1-11-cars.html. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  3. "Keke Rosberg". 7 July 2014. https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/december-1983/36/keke-rosberg. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  4. "Williams FW09". 14 June 2018. https://www.wi77iams.com/williams-fw09/. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  5. 'Two Till The End' (1984) – VHS – EAN: 5017559030650 – Publisher: Duke Video – Studio: Formula One Constructors Association
  6. "Williams FW09 (1984) pictures". https://www.racefans.net/pictures/cars/williams/williams-fw09-1984-pictures/. Retrieved 5 December 2019.


v·d·e Nominate this page for Featured Article
V T E Williams F1
Drivers
2. United States Logan Sargeant · 23. Thailand Alexander Albon
Personnel
Frank Williams · Patrick Head · Pat Symonds · Mike Coughlan
World Champions
Australia Alan Jones (1980) · Finland Keke Rosberg (1982) · Brazil Nelson Piquet (1987) · United Kingdom Nigel Mansell (1992) ·
France Alain Prost (1993) · United Kingdom Damon Hill (1996) · Canada Jacques Villeneuve (1997)
Cars
March 761 · FW06 · FW07 · FW07B · FW07C · FW07D · FW08 · FW08C · FW09 · FW09B · FW10 · FW10B · FW11 · FW11B · FW12 · FW12C · FW13 · FW13B · FW14 · FW14B · FW15C · FW16 · FW16B · FW17 · FW17B · FW18 · FW19 · FW20 · FW21 · FW22 · FW23 · FW24 · FW25 · FW26 · FW27 · FW28 · FW29 · FW30 · FW31 · FW32 · FW33 · FW34 · FW35 · FW36 · FW37 · FW38 · FW40 · FW41 · FW42 · FW43 · FW43B · FW44
V T E 1983 Formula One Season
Teams Williams • Tyrrell • Brabham • McLaren • ATS • Lotus • Renault • RAM • Alfa Romeo • Ligier • Ferrari • Arrows • Osella • Theodore • Toleman • Spirit
Engines Alfa Romeo • BMW • Ferrari • Ford • Hart • Honda • Renault • TAG
Drivers alphabetically Acheson • Alboreto • De Angelis • Arnoux • Baldi • Boesel • Boutsen • Cecotto • De Cesaris • Cheever • Fabi • Ghinzani • Giacomelli • Guerrero • Jarier • Johansson • Jones • Laffite • Lauda • Mansell • Palmer • Patrese • Piquet • Prost • Rosberg • Salazar • Schlesser • Serra • Sullivan • Surer • Tambay • Villeneuve • Warwick • Watson • Winkelhock
Drivers by number Rosberg • 2 Laffite • 42 Palmer • 3 Alboreto • 4 Sullivan • 5 Piquet • 6 Patrese • 7 Watson • 8 Lauda • 9 Winkelhock • 11 De Angelis • 12 Mansell • 15 Prost • 16 Cheever • 17 Salazar • 17 Villeneuve • 17 Acheson • 18 Schlesser • 22 De Cesaris • 23 Baldi • 25 Jarier • 26 Boesel • 27 Tambay • 28 Arnoux • 29 Surer • 30 Serra • 30 Jones • 30 Boutsen • 31 Fabi • 32 Ghinzani • 33 Guerrero • 34 Cecotto • 35 Warwick • 36 Giacomelli • 40 Johansson
Cars Ferrari 126C2B • Ferrari 126C3 • Renault RE30C • Renault RE40 • Brabham BT52 • Brabham BT52B • Williams FW08C • Williams FW09 • McLaren MP4/1C • McLaren MP4/1E • Alfa Romeo 183T • Tyrrell 011B • Tyrrell 012 • Lotus 92 • Lotus 93T • Lotus 94T • Toleman TG183 • Arrows A6 • Theodore N183 • Ligier JS21 • Spirit 201 • ATS D6 • Osella FA1D • Osella FA1E • RAM 01
Tyres Goodyear • Michelin • Pirelli
Races Brazil • U.S. West • France • San Marino • Monaco • Belgium • Detroit • Canada • Britain • Germany • Austria • Netherlands • Italy • Europe • South Africa
Non-championship races Race of Champions
See also 1982 Formula One Season • 1984 Formula One Season • Category
V T E 1984 Formula One Season
Teams Brabham • Tyrrell • Williams • McLaren • RAM • Lotus • ATS • Renault • Arrows • Toleman • Spirit • Alfa Romeo • Osella • Ligier • Ferrari
Engines Alfa Romeo • BMW • Ferrari • Ford • Hart • Honda • Renault • TAG
Drivers Piquet • 2 T. Fabi • 2 C. Fabi • 2 Winkelhock • 3 Brundle • 3 Johansson • 4 Bellof • 4 Thackwell • 5 Laffite • 6 Rosberg • 7 Prost • 8 Lauda • 9 Alliot • 10 Palmer • 10 Thackwell • 11 De Angelis • 12 Mansell • 14 Winkelhock • 14/31 Berger • 15 Tambay • 16 Warwick • 33 Streiff • 17 Surer • 18 Boutsen • 19 Senna • 19/20 Johansson • 20 Cecotto • 20 Martini • 21 Baldi • 21 Rothengatter • 22 Patrese • 23 Cheever • 24 Ghinzani • 30 Gartner • 25 Hesnault • 26 De Cesaris • 27 Alboreto • 28 Arnoux
Cars McLaren MP4/2 • Ferrari 126C4 • Lotus 95T • Brabham BT53 • Renault RE50 • Williams FW09 • Toleman TG183B • Toleman TG184 • Alfa Romeo 184T • Ligier JS23 • Arrows A6 • Arrows A7 • Osella FA1F • Osella FA1E • ATS D7 • Spirit 101B • Spirit 101C • RAM 01 • RAM 02 • Tyrrell 012
Tyres Goodyear • Michelin • Pirelli
Races Brazil • South Africa • Belgium • San Marino • France • Monaco • Canada • Detroit • Dallas • Britain • Germany • Austria • Netherlands • Italy • Europe • Portugal
See also 1983 Formula One Season • 1985 Formula One Season • Category
Advertisement