Williams FW06
The Williams FW06 was the emergency vehicle by Williams Grand Prix Engineering in the Formula 1 1978 season and the start of the Formula 1 season 1979.
Development history and technology
When Williams began with the development of the FW06 in the winter of 1977 /78 Lotus had already been initiated with the Type 78 and its ground effect the future of the racing car development in Formula 1. In Williams, however, Patrick Head was still conservative ways of designing the vehicle. The Karossiere had a conventional wedge shape and the suspensions were removed from the FW05, which was originally the Hesketh 308, adopted and adapted. The engine was the DFL V8 engine by Cosworth also in this formula -1 model.
Racing history
In 1978 Frank Williams only a 1-car team in Formula 1. As a driver of Australian Alan Jones has been committed, which was driven at Shadow in 1977 and had won in Austria its first Formula 1 Grand Prix.
His racing debut in the FW06 in January 1978 at the Grand Prix of Argentina in Buenos Aires. After a 14th place in qualifying Jones fell in the 36th round by a defect in the fuel system. The first finish line there were 14 days later with the 11th place in the Grand Prix of Brazil.
A big problem was the tires this year. Goodyear upgraded only a few teams with tires for the qualifying session. Williams was not among them. As Alan Jones had to compete in qualifying with race tires, he could usually only qualify for the back half of the grid. In the race, however, all teams possessed the same tires qualities. With great driving operation succeeded Alan Jones make up for this shortcoming over again.
At the third race of the season, the Grand Prix of South Africa, Jones show with fourth place at the beginning of the season, the potential of driver and vehicle. At the race in Long Beach Jones was meanwhile even in second place, before forcing him engine misfire in a slow driver way.
The French Grand Prix in July 1978 ended in fifth Jones and the Grand Prix of Germany in sixth. The best finish of the year and the best result of the FW06 in the Formula 1 World Championship scoring Jones at the U.S. Grand Prix when he 312T3 In second place was 20 seconds behind Carlos Reutemann in the Ferrari. The World Cup ended Jones twelfth; in the competition of designers Williams tenth.
As the successor model, which was FW07, finished in the spring of 1979, drove Jones and the join the team gekommeneClay Regazzoni the FW06 in the first four races of the season in 1979. Jones showed it to the third place finish at the U.S. Grand Prix West once again the power of driver and race car.
Aurora AFX Formula 1 series
Mid-1979 were sold to privateers who used the cars in the Aurora AFX F1 series, the three chassis.