Williams Racing Cars

Williams FW08

More compact than its predecessor the Williams FW08 featured a shorter wheelbase and chassis making it stiffer and more aerodynamically efficient. The FW08 took Keke Rosberg to his only Formula 1 World Championship.

27

1

2

1982

Debut

2

Poles

0

Fastest Laps

96*

Total Points

An evolution of the Williams FW07, the Frank Dernie designed FW08 debuted five races into the 1982 season at the Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder.

Incredibly, during the course of the season, the Williams team won just one Grand Prix but that one win was enough to take Keke Rosberg to the World Drivers Title.

This was due, in part, to the fatal accident which befell Gilles Villeneuve at Zolder and the career ending accident that struck his teammate Didier Pironi seven races later, and the heinous reliability of the super-quick Renault team.

The FW08B, a variant of the FW08, featured a six-wheels (different to the Tyrrell P34 in that the additional pair of wheels was at the rear rather than the front), but despite the aerodynamic and grip advantage the extra wheels afforded, the project was shelved when the FIA outlawed six-wheelers for the 1983 season.

For the 1983 Formula 1 season, flat bottomed cars were mandatory, and so the FW08 was adapted to accommodate.

Turbo engines were becoming increasingly reliable which heralded the end for the comparatively underpowered Cosworth DFV engine so widely used amongst Formula 1 constructors for so many years, Williams being no exception.

Rosberg was able to score a solitary win at Monaco, which helped the team to fourth place in the World Constructors Championship.

The Williams FW08 is remarkable as being the first Formula 1 car to be driven by Ayrton Senna at a mid-season test at Donington Park, where he outpaced both Williams’ contracted drivers.

Williams FW08 Specs

Designed by:Patrick Head & Frank Dernie
Year(s) active:1982, 1983
Official entrant:TAG WIlliams Racing Team
Drivers:Derek Daly, Keke Rosberg, Jacques Laffite, Jonathan Palmer
Engine:Ford Cosworth DFV 3-litre normally aspirated V8
Tyres:Goodyear
Fuel:Mobil
Brakes:Lockheed vented discs, Ferodo pads
Transmission:Hewland FGA 400 5-speed manual
Preceded by:Williams FW07
Succeeded by:Williams FW09

Williams FW08 Results

1982

RSA BRA USW SMR BEL MON USE CAN NED GBR FRA GER AUT SUI ITA USLV
ROSBERG 2 DNF 4 DNF 3 DNF 5 3 2 8 5
DALY DNF 6 5 7 5 5 7 DNF DNF 9 DNF 6

1983

BRA USW FRA SMR MON BEL USE CAN GBR GER AUT NED ITA EUR RSA
ROSBERG DSQ DNF 5 4 5 2 4 11 10 8 DNF 11 DNF
LAFFITE 4 4 6 7 DNF 6 5 DNF 12 6 DNF DNF DNQ DNQ
PALMER 13

1982

RSA BRA USW SMR BEL MON USE CAN NED GBR FRA GER AUT SUI ITA USLV
ROSBERG 2 DNF 4 DNF 3 DNF 5 3 2 8 5
DALY DNF 6 5 7 5 5 7 DNF DNF 9 DNF 6

1983

BRA USW FRA SMR MON BEL USE CAN GBR GER AUT NED ITA EUR RSA
ROSBERG DSQ DNF 5 4 5 2 4 11 10 8 DNF 11 DNF
LAFFITE 4 4 6 7 DNF 6 5 DNF 12 6 DNF DNF DNQ DNQ
PALMER 13
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Ford Cosworth DFV 3-litre normally aspirated V8
Tyres