Information about Williams

The Williams Team is one of the senior members among the 10 teams in F1 and also boasts one of the most successful records, dominating the sport in the nineties with nine constructors' titles notched up in total. They have also suffered tragedy over the years. They made their debut in 1975 and won their first GP – at Silverstone, in 1979, taking both titles the following year with driver Alan Jones. In 1986 team owner Frank Williams was seriously injured in a car accident, confining him to a wheelchair permanently. Their next victorious year came in 1992 when Nigel Mansell dominated the year to take both titles. Following his departure to the Indycar series, Alain Prost emulated him the following year and also announcing his retirement. Victory was looking likely the following year for another hugely talented driver in their stable but tragedy struck at Imola with the death of Ayrton Senna, as Williams went on to win the Constructors' Championship. In 1996 and 1997 they again won both titles with Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve respectively, which was to be their last as they played second fiddle in the Ferrari era, losing the Constructors' Championship in a final race showdown in 2003. They later sank to fourth and fifth in the constructors' title during 2004 and 2005. They were beset with the refusal of Jenson Button to honour a contract with them for 2005 and withdrawing of engine maker BMW for the 2006 season. As a result they suffered another miserable season using a Cosworth engine that racked up 20 retirements during the course of the season and achieve a best finish of sixth (twice) with Mark Webber. The new arrival of promising rookie Nico Rosberg was a breath of fresh air however. The team did better in 2007 with Alexander Wurz replacing Webber, and a far more reliable engine supplied by Toyota, racking up 33 points and finishing a more familiar fourth. Rosberg went on to prove he is a young driver to watch finishing 4th in Brazil, and scoring points on sixth other occassions to finish 9th overall. They’re expected to be competitive in 2008.

Base: Grove, UK
Drivers: Nico Rosberg (GER) and Kazuki Nakajima (JAP) (test driver: N Karthikeyan, N. Hulkenberg).

Nico Rosberg: is one of F1's most promising new drivers and son of former driver Keke Rosberg. He made a stunning appearance in 2002 winning the Formula ADAC championship and earning a test driver place at Williams at the age of 17. He Raced with his dad’s Team Rosberg in the Formula 3 series in 2003 and 2004 earning four victories. The following year he won the inaugural GP2 which replaced the Formula 3 series, and signed for Williams for 2006. In his debut he surprised everyone by clocking the fastest lap in the season opener and then went on to qualify third at then next GP in Malaysia, but an unreliable car and unlucky accidents confined him to 14th overall. He got to prove his worth in 2007 as a young driver to watch, finishing 4th in Brazil, and scoring points on sixth other occassions to finish 9th overall.

Statistics
Date of birth: 27 June 1985
First Grand Prix win: none
Number of Grand Prix driven: 34
Grand Prix wins: none (highest finish 4th x 1)
Pole positions: none (highest 3rd x 2)
Podiums: 0
Career points: 24

Kazuki Nakajima: started his driving career in the Toyota Young Driver programme and raced for three years in both the Japanese and Euro Formula Three series, finishing runner up once before racing in the GP2 series in 2007 and being named rookie of the year. He also tests for Williams and raced in Brazil, before being offered a permanent seat for 2008.

Statistics
Date of birth: 15 February 1985
First Grand Prix win: none
Number of Grand Prix driven: 1
Grand Prix wins: none (highest finish 10th x 1)
Pole positions: none (highest 19th x 4)
Podiums: 0
Career points: 0

Technical details and statistics:
Chassis: FW30
Engine: Toyota RVX-07
Tyres: Bridgestone
First season: 1975
World championships: 9
Highest race finish (number of times): 1 (113)
Pole position: 125
Official web-site: http://www.williamsf1.com

note: Statistics up to the end of 2007 season