Sir Frank Williams, the founder and former team principal of Williams Racing, dies at the age of 79

Sir Frank Williams, founder and former team principal of Williams Racing, has died at the age of 79.

The team won the F1 drivers’ title seven times and the constructors’ championship on nine occasions under Williams’ stewardship.

A statement from Williams Racing read: ‘It is with great sadness that on behalf of the Williams family, the team can confirm the death of Sir Frank Williams CBE, founder and former team principal of Williams Racing, at the age of 79.

‘After being admitted into hospital on Friday, Sir Frank passed away peacefully this morning surrounded by his family.’ 

Sir Frank Williams, founder and former team principal of Williams Racing, has died at 79

The team won the F1 drivers’ title seven times and the constructors’ championship on nine occasions under Williams’ stewardship

The team statement continued: ‘Today we pay tribute to our much-loved and inspirational figurehead. Frank will be sorely missed.

‘We request that all friends and colleagues respect the Williams family’s wishes for privacy at this time. 

‘For those wishing to pay tribute, we ask that donations are made in place of gifts to the Spinal Injuries Association, alternatively we would welcome flowers to be placed at the entrance of the team’s headquarters in Grove, Oxfordshire.

‘Details of the memorial service will follow in due course.’

Williams took his motor racing team from an empty carpet warehouse to the summit of Formula One, overseeing 114 victories, a combined 16 drivers’ and constructors’ world championships, while becoming the longest-serving team boss in the sport’s history.

Williams’ story is made all the more extraordinary by the horrific car crash he suffered in France in 1986 which left him with injuries so devastating doctors considered turning off his life-support machine. 

But his wife Virginia ordered that her husband be kept alive and his sheer determination and courage – characteristics which personified his career – enabled him to continue with the love of his life, albeit from the confines of a wheelchair. 

Following a test at the Paul Ricard circuit in March 1986, Williams set off on a 98-mile dash to Nice Airport in a rented Ford Sierra. Travelling through the windy roads at speed, Williams lost control and the car ended up on its roof following a 2.5-metre drop into a field.

Williams’ passenger, the team’s marketing manager Peter Windsor, escaped with minor injuries. But Williams suffered a spinal fracture which would leave him in the wheelchair for the rest of his life.

‘I was late for a plane which I didn’t need to be late for because I got the French time mixed up with the English time,’ explained Williams several years later.

‘The roads were very bumpy, the hire car was not the world’s best, and suddenly I was off the road upside down and with a broken neck.

‘It was very unfair on my family, particularly my wife, because of how my circumstances changed. In hindsight, it was a careless and a selfish thing to have done. Life went on, and I was able to continue, but it has been a handicap in the true sense of the word.’   

He would remain in his role as Williams team principal for a further 34 years before F1’s greatest family team was sold to an American investment group in August for £136million.

Williams driver George Russell paid his own tribute on Twitter.

He wrote: ‘Today, we say goodbye to the man who defined our team. Sir Frank was such a genuinely wonderful human being and I’ll always remember the laughs we shared. 

‘He was more than a boss, he was a mentor and a friend to everybody who joined the Williams Racing family and so many others.’