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[texasmr2]

You know since I started watching or even paying attention to F1 I honestly cannot think of anyone I respect more than Frank Williams. I hope he stay's with the team and in the garage long enough to witness his team once again reach the pennacle of F1, either a WDC or a WCC which we all know is more important to Frank.

[Jenson's Beard]

I can see Williams having a better year next season. I think despite the lack of form recently, improvements are steadily being made in the long-run. I'd like to see them deliver a good car to Rosberg, because he should be scoring points on a regular basis.

[Forti_Corse]

back in those days of williams winning was the time when well funded privateers had a good chance at winning. now its pretty much a manufacturers sport and not many can spend as much as the giants like mercedes and renault. these engine suppliers will just as well fund their own teams than supply to privateers.
williams had success with renault until they parted ways to return as a works team, they had a fighting chance with BMW until they did the same thing, now with toyota they are just getting offcuts from the mainstream team. unless williams can chat to another potential engine supplier thats got no other connections with F1 theyre chances are slim.

pehaps their destiny will fade out like tyrrell....once a legendary name in F1 only to fade into the 90's

[texasmr2]

pehaps their destiny will fade out like tyrrell....once a legendary name in F1 only to fade into the 90's

I hope your wrong.

[AKR]

pehaps their destiny will fade out like tyrrell....once a legendary name in F1 only to fade into the 90's

I hope your wrong.

I hope you're wrong too. (Not you Tex, I agree with you, I hope Forti_Corse is wrong).

Williams, what can I say. I remember those "Canon" sponsored Williams and later those "Rothmans" sponsored cars. Too many memories and although Williams will never be like they used to be, it would be assamed if they were to go. I remember the years when Ferrari were crap and it was McLaren Vs Williams. Yep I always went for the Williams. But with Williams I always had a soft spot. Even back in 1997 when Michael Schumacher could of won his first WDC for Ferrari but lost it to Jacques Villenueve (Williams), I never really got too worked up about it. (Even though I dont like Jacques, I was more happy for his team winning).

But without manufacturer backing it is going to be hard for Williams to return to their winning ways. Williams is powered by Toyota. Toyota has their own team which although look promising, all the money will go to that team and very little to Williams F1. Perhaps if Ford were to return to F1 as an engine supplier, then Williams would be the best tea, to supply an engine to. This is given Williams is the only by far most experienced and richest teams left out of the private teams that it would make sense for Ford to supply Williams. Also if Ford were wanting to re-enter F1, given their current status as a car manufacturer (Given the hard times they are facing right now). It would be cheaper for them to just enter as an engine supplier for Williams, rather than a whole team of their own like Renault, BMW, Toyota. Ferrari and Honda. Now imagine that and how strong they would be. Williams-Ford. Williams has won championships before (And with Ford engines may I say) and Ford has won many championships and races as an engines supplier with many teams. Some of these teams being Williams, McLaren, Benetton, Brabham and Tyrell. Sadly though this idea of Ford coming back to F1 and then powering Williams will probably just never happen. It would be a nice dream however.

[Forti_Corse]

please dont get me wrong i do enjoy williams F1 very much but lets be realistic, the future is bleak......i hope i am wrong also.

and as far as ford goes, they had the edge when the DFV was up and running, it had its last real go at benetton in 1994.

[7UpJordan]

Well it's not too long ago when Williams had Cosworth power in 2006. To be honest I find it a bit of a mystery why they ditched Cosworth for Toyota because whilst the Cosworth engine was powerful and the first F1 engine to break 20Krpm, the FW28 was always breaking down and it wasn't the engine that was the problem.

The Cosworth engine had a nice long haul development plan in place for F1 but it is still there today just sitting around waiting for somebody to put the engine in the back of an F1 car. I predict that any new teams entering for 2009 will use the Cosworth engine.

I think the team will still be around for a good few years yet whilst Frank and Patrick still have the energy, and after a poor 2006 they looked quite comfy last year being the next best team behind BMW once Renault's pace dropped off. Whilst F1 today is in a ridiculously expensive climate and costs are high, you must remember that throwing money at everything doesn't guarantee results. Toyota have only just started getting decent results after years of just chucking money down the drain and if Williams didn't have their aero problems they'd be still on par with Toyota and picking up good results too.

If Williams are to win a Championship again, I predict it will be in 2010. The new regulations will play into their hands nicely.

[MachWebber99]

I think its possible for them to snatch a victory in an incident packed race. But in terms of comming back to a consistant form to challenge Mclaren and Ferrari in the future, thats what im interested to see if they have the tenasity to do so in the future. If over the next say 3-5 years they still havent won a race, or at least moved to at least BMW's level, I think the team could be in some serious trouble.

(Speaking of BMW...do you think a performance nose dive is possible?. Look at Honda a few years back...after Jenson won that race in 2006...he scored more points than anyone else for the remainder of the season. But then the following year the team just...well I dont know what happened there?)

[Forti_Corse]

hondas performance can be compared to that of renault from 06 to 07 just on a smaller scale. i can see honda being true contenders in a few years they just need to work out how modern day F1 works from the old 80's whack on a turbo days

[7UpJordan]

Honda went backwards because they sacked Geoff Willis who was responsible for their good 2006 car. Now he's at Red Bull working with Adrian Newey.

If only Williams had re-signed him because he designed the cars with Patrick Head in the early days, and only left when BAR tempted him away.

[8-ball]

Williams have just stood still since 2006 in terms of car development but I don't see Williams challenging with that Toyota engine so I think the glory days are over for Frank unless he gets a rich investor. Nico's career won't be advancing in the Williams car.

[McLaren Fan]

In my view, Frank Williams and Patrick Head are too arrogant. Times have changed in Formula 1: privateer teams can no longer compete. Accept it. Therefore, they should seek backing from a decent-sized company and stop allowing their great team and legacy to slip down into a black hole.

[7UpJordan]

In my view, Frank Williams and Patrick Head are too arrogant. Times have changed in Formula 1: privateer teams can no longer compete. Accept it. Therefore, they should seek backing from a decent-sized company and stop allowing their great team and legacy to slip down into a black hole.

That's why more than ever we need this budget cap, it's just Mad Max that needs to put his whip down first. We need privateers in F1, I personally think F1 would be quite boring if it became the "manufacturers only" club that sick pig Nick Fry fantasises about. Privateers have just as an important role and every right as the manufacturers to be involved, even people like Dr Theissen have said so.

I would really like to see that Ultimate Motorsport team that was knocking around a few months ago make it into F1.

[McLaren Fan]

In my view, Frank Williams and Patrick Head are too arrogant. Times have changed in Formula 1: privateer teams can no longer compete. Accept it. Therefore, they should seek backing from a decent-sized company and stop allowing their great team and legacy to slip down into a black hole.

That's why more than ever we need this budget cap, it's just Mad Max that needs to put his whip down first. We need privateers in F1, I personally think F1 would be quite boring if it became the "manufacturers only" club that sick pig Nick Fry fantasises about. Privateers have just as an important role and every right as the manufacturers to be involved, even people like Dr Theissen have said so.

I would really like to see that Ultimate Motorsport team that was knocking around a few months ago make it into F1.

Don't get me wrong, privateers have a place in Formula 1. In fact, I'd like to see a lot more of them. Williams, however, have been going backwards for a long time. It was unfortunate that Renault left Formula 1 at the end of 1997. That undoubtedly scuppered the team's plans and cost them a few million pounds in constructors' championship prize money, but the team has had plenty of time to turn things round since then. Even with BMW providing the team with top class engines, the team was still unable to build a chassis that was capable of winning a championship - even with a brilliant wind tunnel. Williams should have considered selling some equity in the team several years ago, long before budget caps were being considered. Ron Dennis brought TAG and Mercedes in 1981 and 1995 respectively which greatly improved the medium-term fortunes of the team and has secured its long-term future.

Edit: I think some people are getting what it means to be a manufacturer and a privateer. For instance, if Williams were bought by Toyota, they would become a manufacturer in all but name at the very least. If, however, some big Russian businessman or a sizeable non-automotive company bought the team, Williams would still be privateers. It's not about the wealth of those backing you that makes you a manufacturer, but being owned by an automotive company.

[7UpJordan]

I think they had a good chance in 2003 before the FIA stuck their noses in and scuppered the chances of just about anyone running Michelins. 2004 was a shocker with that ugly Walrus nose and the car was only back on the pace after they ditched it, then there was bad aero in 2005, then the BMW split up hit home hard and the 2006 car kept breaking down. 2007 was quite a comeback especially when Rosberg was passing BMW's in Brazil and this year they would have been doing so much better if they didn't have the aero problems. Aerodynamics wise Williams haven't really been a force since Newey left. That's why I think next year is their best chance to climb back up once again.