Frank Williams started out like so many racers, with little more than his desire to go racing. Over nearly half a century, however, he built that desire into a multiple World Championship-winning entity that employs several hundred people, and to honor those accomplishments, in 1999 he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth. It all began once he abandoned his own driving career and began entering cars for other, better-funded drivers. By 1969 he tackled F1 with an ex-works Brabham for Piers Courage, and by 1977 had teamed with Patrick Head to form Williams Grand Prix Engineering, intending to build cars with the Williams badge. His drivers have since won seven World Championships, while the team collected nine constructors crowns. He s done much of this while confined to a wheelchair after a 1986 car crash in France that left him a quadriplegic, but has continued to direct his operation effectively despite his disability.
Sir Frank Williams Photo: Williams Archive
From a very young age you were interested in cars and Automobilia. Is it true that a ride to school in a Jaguar XK150S cemented your enthusiasm?
