This is an accepted version of this page
128-592: The Williams FW16 is a Formula One car designed by Adrian Newey for the British Williams team. The FW16 competed in the 1994 Formula One season , with Williams winning the Constructor's Championship, and British driver Damon Hill finishing runner-up in the Drivers' Championship. It is notable as the last car to be driven by three-time world champion Ayrton Senna before his fatal accident during
256-486: A rev limiter . The Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) believed that allowing some teams to have such technical freedom would have created a 'two-tier' championship, and thus requested urgent talks with the FIA. But talks broke down and FOTA teams announced, with the exception of Williams and Force India , that 'they had no choice' but to form a breakaway championship series . On 24 June, Formula One's governing body and
384-627: A ban on ground-effect aerodynamics during 1983 . But by then, turbocharged engines, which Renault had pioneered in 1977 , were producing over 520 kW (700 bhp) and were essential to be competitive. By 1986 , a BMW turbocharged engine achieved a flash reading of 5.5 bar (80 psi) pressure, estimated to be over 970 kW (1,300 bhp) in qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix . The next year, power in race trim reached around 820 kW (1,100 bhp), with boost pressure limited to only 4.0 bar. These cars were
512-688: A clause in Prost's contract specifically forbade Williams signing Senna as Prost's team-mate and the Brazilian instead opted to remain at McLaren on a race-by-race basis. However, Prost's clause only covered the 1993 season. Williams quickly established themselves as the team to beat, with Prost winning in South Africa by a margin of almost a lap over Senna's McLaren . The FW15C was so dominant in qualifying that Prost and Hill often qualified 1.5 to 2 seconds in front of Schumacher or Senna. For example, at
640-418: A distinctive anhedral rear wing lower element, the effectiveness of which depended on a low outboard tail section, which was achieved by totally enclosing the driveshafts within wing-section carbon-fibre composite shrouds that doubled as the upper wishbones. This shroud was removable in case it was deemed to be outside the imposed regulations. The car was powered by a 67-degree V10 engine by Renault Sport termed
768-469: A driver's fastest lap in that period (barring infractions) counts. Any timed lap started before the end of that period may be completed and will count toward that driver's placement. The number of cars eliminated in each period is dependent on the total number of cars entered into the championship. Currently, with 20 cars, Q1 runs for 18 minutes, and eliminates the slowest five drivers. During this period, any driver whose best lap takes longer than 107% of
896-482: A guerrilla war with a very long-term aim in view". FOCA threatened to establish a rival series and boycotted a Grand Prix, and FISA withdrew its sanction from races. The result was the 1981 Concorde Agreement , which guaranteed technical stability, as teams were to be given reasonable notice of new regulations. Although FISA asserted its right to the TV revenues, it gave FOCA the administration of those rights. FISA imposed
1024-473: A high-tech arena and the FW15C was at the very forefront, featuring active suspension , anti-lock brakes , traction control , telemetry , drive-by-wire controls, pneumatic engine valve springs , power steering , semi-automatic transmission , a fully-automatic transmission , and also a continuously variable transmission (CVT), although the latter was only used in testing. As a result, Alain Prost described
1152-404: A management buyout to become Brawn GP , with Ross Brawn and Nick Fry running and owning the majority of the organisation. Brawn GP laid off hundreds of employees, but won the year's world championships. BMW F1 was bought out by the original founder of the team, Peter Sauber . The Lotus F1 Team was another, formerly manufacturer-owned team that reverted to "privateer" ownership, together with
1280-584: A narrower nose, sleeker airbox and engine cover and carefully sculpted sidepods. Another new feature was the larger rear wing used at high-downforce circuits which featured an extra element ahead and above the main wing (similar to the 'winglets' seen in Grand Prix racing in 1983 and 1984 ). The car was available in August 1992, but given the success and improved reliability of the FW14B, prudence dictated that
1408-468: A new Concorde Agreement committing them to the sport until 2025, including a $ 145 million budget cap for car development to support equal competition and sustainable development. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the sport to adapt to budgetary and logistical limitations. A significant overhaul of the technical regulations intended to be introduced in the 2021 season was pushed back to 2022, with constructors instead using their 2020 chassis for two seasons and
SECTION 10
#17327806230801536-530: A number of Grand Prix racing organisations made suggestions for a new championship to replace the European Championship, but due to the suspension of racing during the conflict, the new International Formula for cars did not become formalised until 1946, to become effective in 1947. The new World Championship was instituted to commence in 1950 . The first world championship race, the 1950 British Grand Prix , took place at Silverstone Circuit in
1664-404: A partnership with Lego , with the first new sets releasing in 2025. The regulations governing Formula One are set to be revised for the 2026 season, with big changes planned to help encourage closer and more competitive racing. Changes include: In November 2024, General Motors reached an agreement to enter Formula 1 in 2026 with its Cadillac brand. A Formula One Grand Prix event spans
1792-470: A press release stating it had been informed it was not entered for the 2010 season, and an FIA press release said the FOTA representatives had walked out of the meeting. On 1 August, it was announced FIA and FOTA had signed a new Concorde Agreement, bringing an end to the crisis and securing the sport's future until 2012. To compensate for the loss of manufacturer teams, four new teams were accepted entry into
1920-516: A reason to impose rule changes that otherwise, under the Concorde Agreement, would have had to be agreed upon by all the teams—most notably the changes introduced for 1998 . This so-called 'narrow track' era resulted in cars with smaller rear tyres, a narrower track overall, and the introduction of grooved tyres to reduce mechanical grip. The objective was to reduce cornering speeds and produce racing similar to rainy conditions by enforcing
2048-519: A relatively overweight package. The original FW15 was an active car from the start which enabled a much tidier package closer to the minimum weight limit. However, the success of the FW14B meant that the FW15 was not needed in 1992. The FW15B was a 1992 FW15 hastily converted to the 1993 regulations featuring narrower front suspension, narrower rear tyres, raised nose and wing endplates, and narrower wings to enable early season testing for 1993. Building on
2176-494: A reputation for almost bullet-proof reliability but Williams did suffer three engine failures during races in 1993, although on each occasion the sister car won the race. The French Grand Prix was a PR dream for Renault, with a French driver leading home the team's only 1–2 finish of the year, while Hill's victory at the Belgian race was Renault's 50th Formula One win. The FW15C used a semi-automatic transmission very similar to
2304-461: A revised nose profile with the wings positioned slightly higher, new aerodynamic end plates which were slightly taller, a revised wheelbase and a re-shaped cockpit surround. Other cockpit changes were designed to accommodate Senna's desire to be made more comfortable in the car and included changes to the steering column design to adjust the steering wheel position in line with Senna's personal preference. This included welding an additional extension onto
2432-434: A season (13, since beaten by Max Verstappen ), and most Drivers' Championships (seven, tied with Lewis Hamilton as of 2021). Schumacher's championship streak ended on 25 September 2005, when Renault driver Fernando Alonso became Formula One's youngest champion at that time (until Lewis Hamilton in 2008 and followed by Sebastian Vettel in 2010 ). During 2006, Renault and Alonso won both titles again. Schumacher retired at
2560-413: A series of races, known as Grands Prix . Grands Prix take place in multiple countries and continents on either purpose-built circuits or closed roads. A point-system is used at Grands Prix to determine two annual World Championships: one for the drivers , and one for the constructors (the teams). Each driver must hold a valid Super Licence , the highest class of racing licence the FIA issues, and
2688-442: A smaller contact patch between tyre and track. According to the FIA, this was to reduce cornering speeds in the interest of safety. Results were mixed, as the lack of mechanical grip resulted in the more ingenious designers clawing back the deficit with aerodynamic grip. This resulted in pushing more force onto the tyres through wings and aerodynamic devices, which in turn resulted in less overtaking, as these devices tended to make
SECTION 20
#17327806230802816-569: A terrible run of fortune but was still in with a mathematical chance of the title as the teams met in Portugal , but Prost's second place was enough to secure his fourth World Drivers' Championship, prompting the Frenchman to announce his retirement at the end of the year. In the last two races in Japan and Australia respectively, Prost followed Senna home, which meant Hill dropped to third behind
2944-427: A token system limiting which parts could be modified introduced. The start of the 2020 season was delayed by several months, and both it and 2021 seasons were subject to several postponements, cancellations, and rescheduling of races due to shifting restrictions on international travel. Many races took place behind closed doors and with only essential personnel present to maintain social distancing . In 2022,
3072-550: A very small window. Having had active suspension for two years, when we then lost it we had more trouble re-adapting to passive suspension than other people who hadn't been on it for very long". "We've had a few problems", said Newey after the Pacific Grand Prix. "Mainly, it is a grip problem in the slow corners. In medium- and high-speed ones, it is pretty good." Paddy Lowe, who had left Williams for McLaren in 1994, said in 2014, "Aerodynamic experimentation in those days
3200-403: A weekend. It typically begins with two free practice sessions on Friday, and one free practice session on Saturday. Additional drivers (commonly known as third drivers ) are allowed to run on Fridays, but only two cars may be used per team, requiring a race driver to give up their seat. A qualifying session is held after the last free practice session. This session determines the starting order for
3328-399: A world championship race. It entered the 1961 British Grand Prix , the only front-engined car to compete that year. During 1962 , Lotus introduced a car with an aluminium-sheet monocoque chassis instead of the traditional space-frame design. This proved to be the greatest technological breakthrough since the introduction of mid-engined cars. In 1968 , sponsorship was introduced to
3456-500: Is allocated one set of the softest tyres for use in Q3. The cars that qualify for Q3 must return them after Q3; the cars that do not qualify for Q3 can use them during the race. As of 2022, all drivers are given a free choice of tyre to use at the start of the Grand Prix, whereas in previous years only the drivers that did not participate in Q3 had free tyre choice for the start of the race. Any penalties that affect grid position are applied at
3584-461: Is also alleged that in a conversation about the FW16 between Prost and Senna in early 1994, Prost had said that the FW15C had not consistently been as easy to drive as others had assumed in 1993, exhibiting odd behaviour at times. Being more nervous than the preceding FW14B when driven at the limit this manifested itself in slight rear-end instability under braking, most notable on high-speed circuits when
3712-456: Is down to the lack of electronic change. Also, the car has its own characteristics which I'm not fully confident in yet. It makes you a lot more tense and that stresses you." Patrick Head subsequently removed a section of the chassis to give Senna more space. However, the new passive Williams FW16 had its shortcomings. The car was springy and unstable, with aerodynamic deficiencies which the revolutionary rear suspension could not mask. Even after
3840-415: Is that the front wing is too sensitive to the ride height," said Patrick Head in 1994. "If you were in a corner and went over a bump, the car could pick up a lot more front downforce than the rear. So if you were balanced at that point, with the car neutral, you'd lose the rear very quickly." The first comprehensive set of modifications to widen this driveability window was introduced at Imola. These included
3968-505: Is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one of the world's premier forms of racing since its inaugural running in 1950 . The word formula in the name refers to the set of rules all participants' cars must follow. A Formula One season consists of
Williams FW16 - Misplaced Pages Continue
4096-434: The 1955 Le Mans disaster . The first major technological development in the sport was Bugatti 's introduction of mid-engined cars. Jack Brabham , the world champion in 1959 , 1960 , and 1966 , soon proved the mid-engine's superiority over all other engine positions. By 1961 all teams had switched to mid-engined cars. The Ferguson P99 , a four-wheel drive design, was the last front-engined Formula One car to enter
4224-457: The 2002 Austrian Grand Prix . Other changes included the qualifying format, the point-scoring system, the technical regulations, and rules specifying how long engines and tyres must last. A 'tyre war' between suppliers Michelin and Bridgestone saw lap times fall, although, at the 2005 United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis, seven out of ten teams did not race when their Michelin tyres were deemed unsafe for use, leading to Bridgestone becoming
4352-403: The 2014 Japanese Grand Prix , where Jules Bianchi collided with a recovery vehicle after aquaplaning off the circuit, dying nine months later from his injuries. Since 1994, three track marshals have died, one at the 2000 Italian Grand Prix , one at the 2001 Australian Grand Prix and one at the 2013 Canadian Grand Prix . Since Senna's and Ratzenberger's deaths, the FIA has used safety as
4480-425: The 2017 and 2018 seasons featured a title battle between Mercedes and Ferrari. Mercedes ultimately won the titles with multiple races to spare and continued to dominate in the next two years, eventually winning seven consecutive Drivers' Championships from 2014 to 2020 and eight consecutive Constructors' titles from 2014 to 2021. During this eight-year period between 2014 and 2021, a Mercedes driver won 111 of
4608-603: The Alfa Romeo name, Sauber introduced a title partnership with the online casino Stake.com , resulting in the team's new identity as Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber . Sauber will hold Stake's sponsorship name until the end of 2025, after which it will become the Audi works team for the 2026 season onwards. Scuderia AlphaTauri , Red Bull's junior team, dropped its name and took on sponsors from Hugo Boss and Cash App, becoming Visa Cash App RB, or VCARB for 2024. Formula One announced
4736-676: The Brazilian Grand Prix , Prost out-qualified his teammate by a whole second at Interlagos , who was again a second ahead of the eventual winner Senna. In the race Prost retired midway through, a victim of someone else's accident, and Senna managed to get past Hill to win, with the Englishman registering his first podium and points in F1 in second. The third race of the season at Donington Park saw Senna's most dominant performance, with Hill taking second with Prost inheriting third from
4864-500: The Grand Prix Manufacturers Association (GPMA), the manufacturers negotiated a larger share of Formula One's commercial profit and a greater say in the running of the sport. In 2008 and 2009, Honda , BMW , and Toyota all withdrew from Formula One racing within a year, blaming the economic recession . This resulted in the end of manufacturer dominance of the sport. The Honda F1 team went through
4992-710: The Imperial Tobacco 's Gold Leaf livery at the 1968 Spanish Grand Prix . Aerodynamic downforce slowly gained importance in car design with the appearance of aerofoils during the 1968 season. The wings were introduced by Lotus's owner Colin Chapman who installed modest front wings and a rear spoiler on his Lotus 49 B at the 1968 Monaco Grand Prix . In the late 1970s, Lotus introduced ground-effect aerodynamics, previously used on Jim Hall 's Chaparral 2J in 1970, that provided enormous downforce and greatly increased cornering speeds. The aerodynamic forces pressing
5120-531: The Jaguar Racing team, new manufacturer-owned teams entered Formula One for the first time since Alfa Romeo's and Renault's departures in 1985. By 2006, the manufacturer teams—Renault, BMW , Toyota , Honda, and Ferrari—dominated the championship, taking five of the first six places in the Constructors' Championship. The exception was McLaren, which at the time was part-owned by Mercedes-Benz. Through
5248-480: The Jordan - Hart of Rubens Barrichello late on after the Brazilian lost fuel pressure resulting in his retirement. The Frenchman's race was hampered by intermittent gearbox problems in addition to seven pit stops to change tyres in the changeable conditions. With three races gone Senna lay 12 points ahead of Prost, but it was already becoming clear that even Senna in his prime would struggle to keep ahead of Prost and
Williams FW16 - Misplaced Pages Continue
5376-484: The RS6 specification, delivering approximately 830 hp. Its power was transmitted by means of a revised and lightened version of the six-speed transverse sequential gearbox used the previous year. The FW16 featured power-assisted steering , hydraulically driven , and reacting to input from electronic sensors , a system that drew heavily from the knowledge gained from the team's active suspension technology. It lacked
5504-866: The Spanish Grand Prix ; the FIA-mandated modifications to the airbox at the Canadian Grand Prix ; and shorter sidepods at the German Grand Prix . This heavily revised B-spec car was labelled the FW16B from the German race onwards and was much improved from the original car. It was developed by Hill, but the Benetton B194 and Michael Schumacher were dominant in the first half of the season. The car configuration included
5632-505: The World Manufacturers' Championship ( 1925 – 1930 ) and European Drivers' Championship ( 1931 – 1939 ). The formula is a set of rules that all participants' cars must follow. Formula One was a formula agreed upon in 1946 to officially become effective in 1947 . The first Grand Prix in accordance with the new regulations was the 1946 Turin Grand Prix , anticipating the formula's official start. Before World War II ,
5760-429: The fully-automatic gear change system of the preceding year and was restricted to a semi-automatic transmission . In accordance with the new 1994 regulations, the FW16 did not have adjustable anti-roll bar controls accessible by the driver from the cockpit, which were present in FW15C and earlier Williams F1 cars. The early season performance of the FW16 indicated that it had shortcomings. The window of setup in which
5888-406: The "auto-up" button is pressed, which could be at any time on the circuit, it will do automatic changes until the next time drivers call for a gear change with the levers. The software is so programmed that it recognises when a driver calls for a gear change before the automatic system is ready to do so and immediately hands back control to the manual system. By 1993, Formula One had become very much
6016-409: The 'sprint shootout'; such a system made its debut at the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix and is set to be used throughout all sprint sessions in place of the traditional second free practice session. Sprint qualifying sessions are run much shorter than traditional qualifying, and each session required teams to fit new tyres - mediums for SQ1 and SQ2, and softs for SQ3 - otherwise they cannot participate in
6144-530: The 160 races, with Hamilton winning 81 of these and taking six Drivers' Championships during this period to equal Schumacher's record of seven titles. In 2021 , the Honda-powered Red Bull team began to seriously challenge Mercedes, with Verstappen beating Hamilton to the Drivers' Championship after a season-long battle that saw the pair exchange the championship lead multiple times. This era has seen an increase in car manufacturer presence in
6272-538: The 2010 season ahead of a much anticipated 'cost-cap'. Entrants included a reborn Team Lotus —led by a Malaysian consortium including Tony Fernandes , the boss of Air Asia ; Hispania Racing —the first Spanish Formula One team; and Virgin Racing — Richard Branson 's entry into the series following a successful partnership with Brawn the year before. They were also joined by the US F1 Team , which planned to run out of
6400-561: The 2010 season, Mercedes-Benz reentered the sport as a manufacturer after it purchased Brawn GP and split with McLaren after 15 seasons with the team. During the 2009 season, Formula One was gripped by the FIA–FOTA dispute . FIA President Max Mosley proposed numerous cost-cutting measures for the next season, including an optional budget cap for the teams; teams electing to take the budget cap would be granted greater technical freedom, adjustable front and rear wings, and an engine not subject to
6528-404: The Brazilian in the final Championship standings. The primary criticism of the FW15C was an inconsistent handling manner arising from occasions when the computer systems wrongly interpreted the information they were receiving from their sensors, or due to air being present in the hydraulics of the active system. Slight changes to the weight distribution of this latest Williams produced a car that
SECTION 50
#17327806230806656-505: The British Grand Prix, leading to the so-called "Weikershof Protocol", by which the ban was postponed to the start of 1994. An all new driver line-up was featured. Triple world champion Alain Prost had signed with Williams for the 1993 season, having spent the previous year out of motorsport competition on a sabbatical. Reigning Champion Nigel Mansell departed Formula One, over a dispute with Frank Williams about money and
6784-446: The F1 governing body announced a major rule and car design change intended to promote closer racing through the use of ground effects , new aerodynamics, larger wheels with low-profile tyres, and redesigned nose and wing regulations. Red Bull emerged as the dominant force after the rule shakeup. The 2022 and 2023 Constructors' and Drivers' Championships were won by Red Bull and Verstappen, with multiple races to spare. In 2023
6912-481: The FIA opened applications for new teams to enter Formula 1 in the then near future. Of the teams that applied, only Andretti were approved by the FIA, with them then being rejected by Formula One Management , though they have launched an appeal. In early 2024, the Formula One landscape underwent a significant change in the sphere of team sponsorships and collaborations. Having competed for five seasons under
7040-416: The FW14B, but with changes to the hydraulic activation system. A press button starting device by means of which the clutch comes under automatic control attracted the drivers' unreserved approval during a succession of tests, but they did not use it in races, preferring the notional, psychological reassurance of controlling the clutch pedal at the start. The transmission also featured an automatic system . If
7168-463: The FW15D in 1994 and Newey favouring the FW16. In addition, at a television program on the 20th anniversary of Imola 1994, Gerhard Berger recalled a conversation he had with Senna at the race in which Senna said: "We are now finally aware of the problem with this car and in two or three weeks from now the problems should be solved." The FW16 indeed became more competitive after this timeframe. Following
7296-477: The FW16. Adrian Newey said, "To be honest we made a bloody awful cock-up. The rear-end grip problem was purely a setup problem. We were learning about springs and dampers all over again after concentrating on active suspension for two years, whereas most people had been away for just one. We also had a rather silly aerodynamic problem—basically, the front wing was too low—but that was raised for Imola, by which time we were looking in pretty good shape." Newey said to
7424-480: The German Auto, Motor & Sport magazine in 2015 that, "[The 1994 Nogaro test] ... confirmed that the car's side pods were too long, which meant that the aero was split from the diffuser when the nose of the car dipped and the side-pods got too close to the track." Furthermore, Newey has stated that he and Senna were at odds regarding the development of the car, Senna suggesting that they further develop and use
7552-456: The Imola changes the car was again incrementally updated and labelled as FW16B by the German Grand Prix . This version featured a longer wheelbase, revised front and rear wing, shortened sidepods, and the compulsory opened rear on the airbox and cowling in accordance with FIA regulations following the accidents at Imola. The shortened sidepods arose due to a necessity to use larger bargeboards after
7680-598: The San Marino Grand Prix. The car was designed around the major regulation changes that the FIA had introduced in the off-season, banning the various electronic devices that had been used by the front running cars during the preceding two seasons. The FW16 was a passive evolution of the FW15C that had preceded it. It featured revised bodywork, including a low profile engine cover; taller sidepods; enclosed driveshaft ; and an anhedral rear wing lower element, which
7808-650: The UK in the 1960s and 1970s. Promoters held non-championship Formula One events for many years. Due to the increasing cost of competition, the last of these was held in 1983. This era featured teams managed by road-car manufacturers, such as Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Maserati . The first seasons featured prewar cars like Alfa Romeo's 158 , which were front-engined , with narrow tyres and 1.5-litre supercharged or 4.5-litre naturally aspirated engines. The 1952 and 1953 seasons were run to Formula Two regulations, for smaller, less powerful cars, due to concerns over
SECTION 60
#17327806230807936-524: The United Kingdom on 13 May 1950. Giuseppe Farina , competing for Alfa Romeo , won the first Drivers' World Championship, narrowly defeating his teammate Juan Manuel Fangio . Fangio won the championship in 1951 , 1954 , 1955 , 1956 , and 1957 . This set the record for the most World Championships won by a single driver, a record that stood for 46 years until Michael Schumacher won his sixth championship in 2003. A Constructors' Championship
8064-557: The United States as the only non-European-based team in the sport. Financial issues befell the squad before they even made the grid. Despite the entry of these new teams, the proposed cost-cap was repealed and these teams—which did not have the budgets of the midfield and top-order teams—ran around at the back of the field until they collapsed; HRT in 2012, Caterham (formerly Lotus) in 2014 and Manor (formerly Virgin, then Marussia), having survived falling into administration in 2014, at
8192-511: The Williams in the early season, and some of his complaints would fit that theory." Senna commented on the FW16 during early season testing, saying "I am uncomfortable in the car, it all feels wrong. We changed the seat and the wheel, but even so, I was already asking for more room. ... Going back to when we raced at Estoril last September (on testing the passive Williams at the same track 4 months later), it feels much more difficult. Some of that
8320-406: The average annual cost of running a team—designing, building, and maintaining cars, pay, transport—at approximately £220,000,000 (or $ 265,000,000), Formula One's financial and political battles are widely reported. The Formula One Group is owned by Liberty Media , which acquired it in 2017 from private-equity firm CVC Capital Partners for £6.4 billion ($ 8 billion). Formula One originated from
8448-815: The ban on driver aids was in name only, as they "proved difficult to police effectively". The teams signed a second Concorde Agreement in 1992 and a third in 1997. On the track, the McLaren and Williams teams dominated the 1980s and 1990s. Brabham was also competitive during the early 1980s, winning two Drivers' Championships with Nelson Piquet . Powered by Porsche , Honda , and Mercedes-Benz , McLaren won 16 championships (seven constructors' and nine drivers') in that period, while Williams used engines from Ford , Honda, and Renault to also win 16 titles (nine constructors' and seven drivers'). The rivalry between racers Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost became F1's central focus during 1988 and continued until Prost retired at
8576-636: The buy-out of the Renault team by Genii Capital investors. But a link with its previous owners still survived, with its car continuing to be powered by a Renault engine until 2014. McLaren also announced that it was to reacquire the shares in its team from Mercedes-Benz (McLaren's partnership with Mercedes was reported to have started to sour with the McLaren Mercedes SLR road car project and tough F1 championships, which included McLaren being found guilty of spying on Ferrari ). Hence, during
8704-516: The car as, "a little Airbus ". CVTs have the potential to dramatically increase average engine power over a lap, providing a significant advantage over competing teams. They would have also required the engine to run at a constant speed for a longer period of time, posing design challenges. CVTs were explicitly banned from Formula 1 in 1994, just two weeks after successful tests of the CVT in 1993. While anti-lock brakes and traction control made driving
8832-414: The car best when it had even handling characteristics. Alain Prost was quoted as saying: "I think that an active suspension car with traction control needs to be thrown around quite a lot, whereas I like to drive a little more quietly, perhaps using the throttle more sensitively, which perhaps is not needed quite so much in an active car". In the wet the car also exhibited a tendency to momentarily lock
8960-404: The car on the limit easier, an added complication arose from occasions when the computer systems wrongly interpreted the information they were receiving from their sensors , the active suspension being particularly prone to this from time to time. With so many computer systems onboard the car required three laptop computers to be connected to it every time it was fired up: one each for the engine,
9088-446: The car that won both the Drivers' and Constructors' Championships in the last season before the FIA banned electronic driver aids , the FW15C (along with its racing predecessor FW14B ) was, in 2005, considered to be one of the most technologically sophisticated Formula One cars of all time, incorporating anti-lock brakes , traction control , active suspension , and a semi-automatic and fully-automatic gearbox . The original FW15
9216-442: The car was competitive was very narrow, with many external factors which would otherwise be unrelated to the mechanics of the car (weather, track conditions, etc.), having unusually large influences on the overall performance. The early problems led to a raft of aerodynamic changes in the first half of the season, the first coming for the ill-fated San Marino GP at Imola. The front wing was a significant area of development. "The problem
9344-474: The car was operating in a low downforce trim, attributed to small changes in weight distribution from the year before. Other reasons given were that the FW15C, and by extension, the FW16, were simply evolutions of the FW14 and FW14B, which had been designed to suit the driving style of Nigel Mansell. The major aerodynamic difference between the three cars was the anhedral rear wing and downward sloping rear bodywork of
9472-403: The cars to the track were up to five times the car's weight. As a result, extremely stiff springs were needed to maintain a constant ride height , leaving the suspension virtually solid. This meant that the drivers depended entirely on the tyres for any small amount of cushioning of the car and driver from irregularities of the road surface. Beginning in the 1970s, Bernie Ecclestone rearranged
9600-456: The dearth of Formula One cars. When a new Formula One formula for engines limited to 2.5 litres was reinstated for the 1954 world championship, Mercedes-Benz introduced its W196 , which featured things never seen on Formula One cars before, such as desmodromic valves , fuel injection , and enclosed streamlined bodywork. Mercedes drivers won the championship for the next two years, before the team withdrew from all motorsport competitions due to
9728-484: The early part of the season. The car had a number of problems that were not properly remedied: a design flaw was discovered in the car's frontal section and there were attempts to correct this in time for the ill-fated third race, at the San Marino Grand Prix . Various other alterations were made by Newey and Patrick Head to alleviate the car's handling problems, such as the addition of bargeboards at
9856-409: The end of 1993 . Senna died at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix after crashing into a wall on the exit of the notorious curve Tamburello . The FIA worked to improve the sport's safety standards since that weekend, during which Roland Ratzenberger also died in an accident during Saturday qualifying. No driver died of injuries sustained on the track at the wheel of a Formula One car for 20 years until
9984-541: The end of 2006 after 16 years in Formula One, but came out of retirement for the 2010 season, racing for the newly formed Mercedes works team, following the rebrand of Brawn GP . During this period, FIA frequently changed the championship rules with the intention of improving the on-track action and cutting costs. Team orders , legal since the championship started during 1950, were banned during 2002, after several incidents in which teams openly manipulated race results, generating negative publicity, most famously by Ferrari at
10112-439: The end of 2016. A major rule shakeup in 2014 saw the 2.4-litre naturally aspirated V8 engines replaced by 1.6-litre turbocharged hybrid power units. This prompted Honda to return to the sport in 2015 as the championship's fourth power unit manufacturer. Mercedes emerged as the dominant force after the rule shakeup, with Lewis Hamilton winning the championship closely followed by his main rival and teammate, Nico Rosberg , with
10240-490: The end of qualifying. Grid penalties can be applied for driving infractions in the previous or current Grand Prix, or for changing a gearbox or engine component. If a car fails scrutineering, the driver will be excluded from qualifying but will be allowed to start the race from the back of the grid at the race stewards' discretion. 2021 saw the trialling of a 'sprint qualifying' race on the Saturday of three race weekends, with
10368-400: The engine for another 300 revs, and raise the active suspension for when the driver needed extra speed while overtaking. This system could be seen being used by Hill and Prost numerous times in 1993 while attempting passing manoeuvres. So great was the level of technology on the cars that FIA decided to ban several of what they considered to be "driver aids" with immediate effect following
10496-435: The fact that the car's aerodynamics were an evolution of a platform designed around the active suspension. The aerodynamics were therefore designed to work with active suspension and did not have the latitude required in a passive car. Newey said, "The 1994 car was not a good car at all at the start of the year. It was very difficult to drive. We developed the aerodynamics using active suspension and we developed them [to work] in
10624-466: The fastest getting first place on the grid, referred to as pole position . From 1996 to 2002, the format was a one-hour shootout. This approach lasted until the end of 2002 before the rules were changed again because the teams were not running in the early part of the session to take advantage of better track conditions later on. Grids were generally limited to 26 cars – if the race had more entries, qualification would also decide which drivers would start
10752-511: The fastest time in Q1 will not be allowed to start the race without permission from the stewards. Otherwise, all drivers proceed to the race albeit in the worst starting positions. This rule does not affect drivers in Q2 or Q3. In Q2, the 15 remaining drivers have 15 minutes to set one of the ten fastest times and proceed to the next period. Finally, Q3 lasts 12 minutes and sees the remaining ten drivers decide
10880-489: The first ten grid positions. At the beginning of the 2016 Formula 1 season, the FIA introduced a new qualifying format, whereby drivers were knocked out every 90 seconds after a certain amount of time had passed in each session. The aim was to mix up grid positions for the race, but due to unpopularity, the FIA reverted to the above qualifying format for the Chinese GP, after running the format for only two races. Each car
11008-597: The front wing endplate diffusers were banned. This version of the car proved to be very fast and competitive. Hill battled Schumacher for the championship but lost by a single point in the final race in Australia , Nigel Mansell won that race, securing the Constructors' Championship for Williams. The FW16C was a test car fitted with a 3-litre engine per the 1995 F1 regulations. It was used between 20 and 22 December in 1994 at Paul Ricard by Damon Hill , Jean-Christophe Boullion , and Emmanuel Collard . The team's main sponsor
11136-475: The gap between himself and Schumacher, spun out of second place during the Brazilian Grand Prix , and by the identical spins in practice by Hill and Senna at Aida, with Senna commenting on the Aida practice spin: "I can't explain it. I was actually in one of my best positions at that corner when it went. It looked silly and stupid but better it happens today than tomorrow." The narrow driveability window stemmed from
11264-477: The hugely successful FW14B which took Nigel Mansell and Williams to both titles in 1992, the car was the first all-new car to be produced by Patrick Head and Adrian Newey in collaboration (Head had designed many of Williams's previous cars, while Newey had designed cars for the March and Leyton House Racing teams). With Newey's aerodynamic input the FW15 was a significant improvement on its predecessor, with
11392-432: The initial Imola modifications, the car maintained its tendency of dynamically changing its handling balance (understeer or oversteer) for any given setup. A short account of a driver briefing which Ayrton Senna gave to Adrian Newey and his race engineer in 1994, David Brown, at Imola describing this characteristic was shown in the 2010 film Senna . In this exchange, Senna describes the car as being "worse" than before. It
11520-475: The intention of testing the new approach to qualifying. The traditional qualifying would determine the starting order for the sprint, and the result of the sprint would then determine the start order for the Grand Prix. The system returned for the 2022 season, now titled the 'sprint'. From 2023, sprint races no longer impacted the start order for the main race, which would be determined by traditional qualifying. Sprints would have their own qualifying session, titled
11648-565: The management of Formula One's commercial rights; he is widely credited with transforming the sport into the multibillion-dollar business it now is. When Ecclestone bought the Brabham team during 1971, he gained a seat on the Formula One Constructors' Association , and in 1978, he became its president. Previously, the circuit owners controlled the income of the teams and negotiated with each individually; Ecclestone persuaded
11776-509: The most powerful open-wheel circuit racing cars ever. To reduce engine power output and thus speeds, the FIA limited fuel tank capacity in 1984 , and boost pressures in 1988 , before banning turbocharged engines completely in 1989 . The development of electronic driver aids began in the 1980s. Lotus began to develop a system of active suspension , which first appeared during 1983 on the Lotus 92 . By 1987, this system had been perfected and
11904-405: The new car did not make its debut until the following year's season-opener in South Africa . As a result of the huge difference in build of their two drivers (Alain Prost was nearly half a foot shorter than Damon Hill), Williams eventually opted to build two slightly different FW15C tubs, so as to accommodate Hill's size 12 feet, as he had repeatedly complained of cramp in the tight confines around
12032-460: The other cars he had driven before. 1993 was the final year that Williams had a major sponsorship from Canon , who had sponsored the team since 1985 and cigarette brand Camel since 1991. Williams used 'Camel' logos, except at the British , French , German and European Grands Prix, which was replaced with either a Camel emblem or "Williams" text. Japanese video game company Sega joined as
12160-423: The pedals. The FW15C had 12% better aerodynamics (downforce/drag) and an engine with 30 additional horsepower than the FW14B. Newey said in an interview in 1994 that the aerodynamics on the FW14B were messy due to the switch to active suspension from passive suspension, and that the FW15C was an aerodynamically cleaned up version of the aero on the FW14B. In addition, the FW15C featured an ABS braking system which
12288-401: The pit crews time to clear themselves and their equipment from the grid for the race start. Williams FW15C The Williams FW15C is a Formula One car designed by Adrian Newey and built by Williams Grand Prix Engineering for use in the 1993 Formula One World Championship . It was powered by a Renault V10 engine and driven by Frenchman Alain Prost and Briton Damon Hill . As
12416-426: The race on Sunday. Each driver may use no more than thirteen sets of dry-weather tyres, four sets of intermediate tyres, and three sets of wet-weather tyres during a race weekend. For much of the sport's history, qualifying sessions differed little from practice sessions; drivers would have one or more sessions in which to set their fastest time, with the grid order determined by each driver's best single lap, with
12544-461: The race. During the early 1990s, the number of entries was so high that the worst-performing teams had to enter a pre-qualifying session, with the fastest cars allowed through to the main qualifying session. The qualifying format began to change in the early 2000s, with the FIA experimenting with limiting the number of laps, determining the aggregate time over two sessions, and allowing each driver only one qualifying lap. The current qualifying system
12672-662: The races must be held on grade one tracks , the highest grade rating the FIA issues for tracks. Formula One cars are the world's fastest regulated road-course racing cars , owing to very high cornering speeds achieved by generating large amounts of aerodynamic downforce , much of which is generated by front and rear wings. The cars depend on electronics, aerodynamics , suspension , and tyres . Traction control , launch control , and automatic shifting , and other electronic driving aids were first banned in 1994 . They were briefly reintroduced in 2001 , and have more recently been banned since 2004 and 2008 , respectively. With
12800-424: The rear wheels during downchanges. This however was alleviated with the fitting of a power throttle system at Imola ensuring that the revs could be perfectly matched when the clutch was engaged. Prost also later said that although he was amazed at the general quality and technology of the car, the FW15C was not his favorite car to drive and work with, as it was such a different car to drive and work with than any of
12928-423: The right to use number 1 and reigning champion Alain Prost had left the sport. The number 2 car was driven by Ayrton Senna . Williams test driver David Coulthard filled in for most of the season but Williams also brought back Nigel Mansell , who had won the drivers' title for them in 1992, when his Indycar commitments allowed. Although it was fast, the car proved to be a tricky proposition in early testing and in
13056-459: The session. The race begins with a warm-up lap, after which the cars assemble on the starting grid in the order they qualified. This lap is often referred to as the formation lap, as the cars lap in formation with no overtaking (although a driver who makes a mistake may regain lost ground). The warm-up lap allows drivers to check the condition of the track and their car, gives the tyres a chance to warm up to increase traction and grip, and also gives
13184-541: The signing of Prost, to race in the American CART series for 1993, while Riccardo Patrese moved to Benetton-Ford. Patrese signed with Benetton in the belief that Prost and Mansell would be the Williams drivers in 1993 and did not know he could have stayed with the Grove -based team following Mansell's departure. Mika Häkkinen was considered for the vacancy left behind before the team decided to promote Damon Hill ,
13312-406: The sole tyre supplier to Formula One for the 2007 season by default. On 20 December 2007 Bridgestone signed a contract that officially made it the exclusive tyre supplier for the next three seasons. During 2006, Max Mosley outlined a 'green' future for Formula One, in which efficient use of energy would be an important factor. Starting in 2000, with Ford's purchase of Stewart Grand Prix to form
13440-433: The sport . Team Gunston became the first team to run cigarette sponsorship on its Brabham cars, which privately entered in orange, brown and gold colours of Gunston cigarettes in the 1968 South African Grand Prix on 1 January 1968. Five months later, the first works team , Lotus, initially using the British racing green , followed this example when it entered its cars painted in the red, gold, and white colours of
13568-663: The sport. After Honda's return as an engine manufacturer in 2015, Renault came back as a team in 2016 after buying back the Lotus F1 team. In 2018, Aston Martin and Alfa Romeo became Red Bull and Sauber's title sponsors, respectively. Sauber was rebranded as Alfa Romeo Racing for the 2019 season, while Racing Point part-owner Lawrence Stroll bought a stake in Aston Martin to rebrand the Racing Point team as Aston Martin for 2021. In August 2020, all ten F1 teams signed
13696-449: The steering column. The car was shown to have severe shortcomings at its debut. The FW16 lacked the active suspension and traction control of the previous season's FW15C , yet was an evolution of a chassis that had been designed for and depended on these systems. It suffered from a very narrow driveability setup window that made it difficult to drive until the modifications to become the FW16B. This could be seen when Senna, pushing to close
13824-408: The superior Williams-Renault, and so it proved with the team going on a run of nine wins in the next ten races. Dominant displays from Prost at Imola and Spain lifted him above Senna in the standings, but Senna regained the lead with his sixth and final win at Monaco before Prost's Canada win gave him back the lead. By now Hill was starting to consistently challenge his teammate. The Englishman
13952-536: The team winning 16 out of the 19 races that season. The team continued this form in the next two seasons, again winning 16 races in 2015 before taking a record 19 wins in 2016 , with Hamilton claiming the title in the former year and Rosberg winning it in the latter by five points. The 2016 season also saw a new team, Haas , join the grid, while Max Verstappen became the youngest-ever race winner at age 18 in Spain . After revised aerodynamic regulations were introduced,
14080-515: The team's major sponsor. Some of the Sega related decals including a Sonic 's foot on the pedal, shifting and race winning trophies on the rear wing. In early 1994, two FW15C chassis were modified to run without electronic driving aids, which were banned for 1994. The FW15D was an interim car with passive suspension, and no traction control. The cars were tested by Senna and Hill in January 1994, but
14208-548: The team's test driver for the past two years, who had made two starts for Brabham in 1992. Williams retained this driver pairing in all 16 races in 1993. With McLaren having lost its supply of Honda engines after the Japanese company pulled out of the sport at the end of 1992, triple World Champion Ayrton Senna , who had previously had a test with Williams in 1983, had repeatedly tried to get Frank Williams to sign him and even went so far as to offer his services for free, but
14336-507: The teams reached an agreement to prevent a breakaway series. It was agreed teams must cut spending to the level of the early 1990s within two years; exact figures were not specified, and Max Mosley agreed he would not stand for reelection to the FIA presidency in October. Following further disagreements, after Mosley suggested he would stand for reelection, FOTA made it clear that breakaway plans were still being pursued. On 8 July, FOTA issued
14464-600: The teams to "hunt as a pack" through FOCA. He offered Formula One to circuit owners as a package they could take or leave. In return for the package, almost all that was required was to surrender trackside advertising. The formation of the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA) in 1979 set off the FISA–FOCA war , during which FISA and its president Jean-Marie Balestre argued repeatedly with FOCA over television revenues and technical regulations. The Guardian said that Ecclestone and Max Mosley "used [FOCA] to wage
14592-672: The technological advances of the 1990s, the cost of competing in Formula One increased dramatically, thus increasing financial burdens. This, combined with the dominance of four teams (largely funded by big car manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz), caused the poorer independent teams to struggle not only to remain competitive but to stay in business. This effectively forced several teams to withdraw. Michael Schumacher and Ferrari won five consecutive Drivers' Championships (2000–2004) and six consecutive Constructors' Championships (1999–2004). Schumacher set many new records, including those for Grand Prix wins (91, since beaten by Lewis Hamilton ), wins in
14720-407: The telemetry, and the suspension. The FW15C also featured a push-to-pass system (left yellow button on the steering wheel), which would use the active suspension to lower the car at the rear and eliminate the drag from the diffuser, effectively increasing speed through a lack of downforce . Williams was able to use the electronics, so they could sync up a flawless link that would simultaneously set
14848-478: The track as well. Drivers from McLaren , Williams , Renault (formerly Benetton ), and Ferrari , dubbed the "Big Four", won every World Championship from 1984 to 2008 . The teams won every Constructors' Championship from 1979 to 2008 , as well as placing themselves as the top four teams in the Constructors' Championship in every season between 1989 and 1997 , and winning every race but one (the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix ) between 1988 and 1997 . Due to
14976-425: The wake behind the car turbulent or 'dirty'. This prevented other cars from following closely due to their dependence on 'clean' air to make the car stick to the track. The grooved tyres also had the unfortunate side effect of initially being of a harder compound to be able to hold the grooved tread blocks, which resulted in spectacular accidents in times of aerodynamic grip failure, as the harder compound could not grip
15104-583: The win. In Hungary Hill finally got his first win, a task made easier after Prost stalled on the warm-up lap and had to start from the rear of the grid. Prost fought his way up to fourth before a rear wing failure ended his bid for a points finish, but a retirement for Senna meant there was no ground lost. Hill made up for lost time completing a hat trick of wins in Belgium and Italy . Hill and Prost's 1-3 finishes, respectively, at Spa secured Williams their sixth Constructors' Championship. Senna experienced
15232-453: Was Rothmans , replacing Camel , which was sponsored from 1991 to 1993. Williams used 'Rothmans' logos, except at British, German and French Grands Prix, which was replaced with either "Racing" or barcode with a generic tri-coloured rectangle that associated with the brand. ( key ) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap) Formula One Formula One , commonly known as Formula 1 or F1 ,
15360-402: Was a new car designed in 1992 to incorporate the active suspension changes developed by Frank Dernie and implemented on the previous season's FW14B . The FW14B had initially been designed as a passive car (FW14) and had been pushed into being active. This meant it had various new active components implemented on the car which had not been in the original design brief. It was therefore considered
15488-532: Was added in the 1958 season . Stirling Moss , despite being regarded as one of the greatest Formula One drivers in the 1950s and 1960s, never won the Formula One championship. Between 1955 and 1961, Moss finished second in the championship four times and third the other three times. Fangio won 24 of the 52 races he entered—still the record for the highest Formula One winning percentage by an individual driver. National championships existed in South Africa and
15616-525: Was adopted in the 2006 season. Known as "knock-out" qualifying, it is split into three periods, known as Q1, Q2, and Q3. In each period, drivers run qualifying laps to attempt to advance to the next period, with the slowest drivers being "knocked out" of qualification (but not necessarily the race) at the end of the period and their grid positions set within the rearmost five based on their best lap times. Drivers are allowed as many laps as they wish within each period. After each period, all times are reset, and only
15744-545: Was driven to victory by Ayrton Senna in the Monaco Grand Prix that year. In the early 1990s, other teams followed suit and semi-automatic gearboxes and traction control were a natural progression. The FIA, due to complaints that technology was determining races' outcomes more than driver skill, banned many such aids for the 1994 season. This resulted in cars that previously depended on electronic aids becoming very "twitchy" and difficult to drive. Observers felt
15872-576: Was in touch with Prost nose to tail virtually throughout the French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours , and seemed to be set fair for his debut win in the British Grand Prix before a rare engine failure 18 laps from the end left the home crowd disappointed. In Germany , Hill came even closer after a stop-go penalty held Prost up, but this time the Englishman's rear tyre suffered a puncture on the penultimate lap, with Prost again claiming
16000-523: Was not available on the FW14B and featured a 210L fuel tank, compared to the 230L tank in the FW14B. Renault went into their fifth year with Williams and again proved to be the class of the field, with their RS5 67° V10 engine producing at least 760–780 bhp (570–580 kW), at least 80–100 hp (60–75 kW) more than Benetton and McLaren 's Ford V8 , and with less of a penalty in terms of extra fuel carried than Ferrari 's powerful but thirsty 041 3.5 litre V12 . Renault had acquired
16128-621: Was not sophisticated enough to understand the ride height sensitivity of aero. In the wind tunnel now we run ride height sweeps, steer sweeps, roll sweeps, and yaw sweeps, plus a load more. Back then, if a typical model was running different front and rear ride heights in a straight line, you were at the leading edge of sophistication." "That would mean the impact of introducing a much wider range of ride heights on circuit [through not having active suspension] would be greater than people were perhaps able to deal with. I'm making this up really to fit what we observed. Certainly, Ayrton really struggled with
16256-502: Was previously hinted at on the FW15C. In addition to these changes, the FW16 featured an innovative rear suspension wishbone design, an improved version of the Renault Sport Formula One engine ( RS6 ), and a fuel valve to enable the ability for mid-race refuelling (a rule reintroduced for 1994). As with the previous season, the number 0 car was driven by Damon Hill for the entire year. Only the defending champion had
16384-419: Was slightly more responsive than its immediate predecessor, if rather more nervous when driven on the limit. In particular this trait manifested itself in slight rear-end instability under braking, most notable on high speed circuits such as Hockenheim when the car was operating in a low downforce trim. It was a trait that particularly caused problems for the smoother driving style of Alain Prost who could set up
#79920