Car · Williams · 1979–1980

Williams FW07

Williams took the 79's idea and out-built its inventor. The FW07 turned a team that had never won a race into a two-time constructors' champion in three seasons and set the pattern for Williams for the next twenty years: someone else's concept, executed better.

Seasons: 1979–1980
Entries: 10
Wins: 0
Poles: 0
Fastest laps: 0
Constructors' titles: 2
Drivers' titles: 1

Why it mattered

The idea. The Lotus 79 concept, engineered properly and made stiff enough to hold its skirts on the ground

New on this car. Dernie's work on keeping the skirts sealed at all times, worth a claimed 30 per cent in downforce

What it did. 43 races, 15 wins, 8 poles. Jones's 1980 drivers' title; constructors' championships in 1980 and 1981.

Designers: Patrick Head, Neil Oatley, Frank Dernie
Supersedes: —
Design life: 1979–1982
Confidence: high

Specification

Chassis: Aluminium monocoque
Front suspension: Lower wishbones and inboard springs
Rear suspension: Lower wishbones and inboard springs
Brakes: disc
Gearbox: 1979: Hewland FGB 5-speed manual ; 1980-1982: Hewland FGA 400 5-speed manual
Gears: —
Tyres: Goodyear (1979–1982) ; Michelin (1981)
Fuel: Mobil

Engine: Ford-Cosworth DFV
Configuration: V8
Capacity: 2,993 cc
Aspiration: naturally aspirated
Power: —
Power note: 500-510 bhp at 11,400 rpm with the Judd-prepared DFVs from 1980
Weight: 579 kg
Wheelbase: —
Track, front: —
Track, rear: —

A blank is a figure nobody published for this car. Where several teams quote the same number in a season it is usually the rule they were all built to rather than a measurement, so it is kept with the regulation limits instead of here.

0 wins can be traced to this chassis; its article publishes 15. Neither is wrong. A win counts here only where the entry list says which car the driver was in, and a team running two designs in a season does not always say. The unresolved seasons are listed below.

Seasons that cannot be attributed 1

Seasons that cannot be attributed
Season	Also entered by this constructor
1979	williams-fw06

In these seasons the team ran more than one design and no source says which car raced which round, so the results are left unattributed rather than guessed.

Every entry 10 entries

Every entry
Season	Grand Prix	Driver	Grid	Result	Out
1980	United States Grand Prix	Rupert Keegan	15	9	Finished
1980	United States Grand Prix	Geoff Lees	—	DNQ	DNQ
1980	Canadian Grand Prix	Rupert Keegan	—	DNQ	DNQ
1980	Canadian Grand Prix	Kevin Cogan	—	DNQ	DNQ
1980	Italian Grand Prix	Rupert Keegan	21	11	Finished
1980	Dutch Grand Prix	Rupert Keegan	—	DNQ	DNQ
1980	Austrian Grand Prix	Rupert Keegan	20	15	Finished
1980	German Grand Prix	Rupert Keegan	—	DNQ	DNQ
1980	British Grand Prix	Rupert Keegan	18	11	Finished
1980	British Grand Prix	Desiré Wilson	—	DNQ	DNQ

Where this comes from

Constructor: Williams
Predecessor: FW06
Successor: FW08
Races (published): 43
Wins (published): 15
Poles (published): 8
Confidence: reference
Specification source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williams_FW07
Register source: https://github.com/f1db/f1db