The Legendary Sir Frank Williams has died at the tender age of only 79.

AMKC

Not really that old.

He was dedicated to his team through the good times and the bad and only recently let go of his lifes work and his dream.

May he Rest In Peace.

Larbre34

That thread title is very w@nky, but however...

RIP to Sir Frank, a legend of F1 and a most admirable man to have rebuilt his life and his work after such a horrific accident all those years ago.

It was clear enough in recent years that the loss of his wife and his gradual stepping back from the F1 Team were aging him and really its no surprise to me that following the final break of the Williams family and their long time collaborators from Williams GPR, that retirement was never going to be a long term gig for FW.

Well done Frank for the singular achievement of bringing an independent team to the pinnacle and keeping them there for so long.

skipper_G

Sad news indeed RIP Sir Frank

Charlie-Bravo

Sad news. What a legend. He gave the sport so much for which I am grateful for. Rest in peace Sir Frank.

elperello

RIP Frank.

One of the greats.

flazio

https://www.instagram.com/p/CW0uvo-FlYf/?utm_medium=copy_link

Lovely from Massa.

eviltimeban

Sad news. A shame Williams couldn't still be fighting at the front like Frank would've wanted. Maybe they'll get back there some day.

RIP.

Larbre34

Maybe. But it won't be Williams anymore.

In fact, like Jordan et al., they should get on and change the name before they do something that tarnishes the legacy.

flazio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118237646#Comment_118237646

Thankfully they never changed the McLaren name after Bruce left.

eviltimeban

I think, like McLaren, the Williams name will stay. For an investor, it's a very strong brand, one of the strongest in F1 you could argue.

Williams Porsche or Williams Audi sure, but I see the Williams name staying. They'd be mad to get rid of it, and it would cause an backlash and that would be bad for PR for whoever is taking it over.

I know Tyrell, Benetton, Sauber, Lotus, Renault, Jordan etc are all gone. But not sure they have the same cache as Williams do / did.

MrCostington

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118238943#Comment_118238943

RIP Sir Frank.

It seems it the name will live on, as Dorilton Capital basically said so when they acquired the team. The cars are still named FWnn as well. To be honest I was really worried what would happen to the team when it was sold to investment bankers, but so far they seem to want to move up the grid, putting good people in place etc.

Here is Peter Windsor's thoughts on Frank (he worked for Williams for many years)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HY0Rgcsrp8c

Sunny Dayz

Was sorry to hear of his passing. Motorsport was his life and the Williams team has been synonymous with F1 as long as I've been watching it.

We watched the Frank Williams documentary last night, it was released in 2017, I found it quite interesting.

recyclebin

Hope the Williams name lives long in F1. They are the second most successful constructor of all time. Frank left a great legacy!

AMKC

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118238943#Comment_118238943

Renault are not gone they are just using there Alpine brand instead. Without Renault Williams might not have some if the drivers and Constructors titles that they won so I disagree with you on them not having a strong pedigree in F1. Yes the Hybrid has not been Renaults strongest and they had there falling out with Red Bull but without Renault would Red Bull be 4 times drivers and Constructors winners I doubt it. So Renault have a great legacy in F1 and will come good again hopefully whitin the next 5 to 10 years.

quokula

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118241278#Comment_118241278

Engines were far more equal prior to the introduction of the hybrids - Renault, Mercedes, Ferrari, Toyota, Honda and BMW all won races during the V8 era. There’s every chance RB would have won with a different engine - they did beat the Renault works team after all.

But that’s off topic. Frank Williams was a huge personality in the paddock and will be sorely missed, though obviously he had already withdrawn from the public eye in recent years.

The last of the truly great garagistas from F1’s golden era. I don’t think the sport will ever be the same as it was when you had guys like Frank Williams going from taking other team’s used tyres because they couldn’t afford their own, through to winning championships on by bringing together a great group of people bursting with innovative ideas.

There was a documentary called Williams that came out 5 or so years ago with extensive interviews with Clare Williams and others close to him that gave a picture of the kind of guy he was and how he coped with his accident and got on with things, it’s well worth seeking out.