Courage’s grizzly death in a car bearing his name left Williams devastated. He was educated at St Joseph’s College, a private boarding school in Dumfries where he became obsessed with cars following a ride in a Jaguar XK150.Ī travelling salesman by day, Williams fulfilled his racing ambitions at the weekend and, aged just 24, he launched his own team, Frank Williams Racing Cars.įour years later, they were competing in Formula Two, and with flatmate and closest friend Piers Courage behind the wheel, Williams graduated to F1 in 1969 using a second-hand Brabham.īut tragedy struck at the 1970 Dutch Grand Prix.Ĭourage ran off the track, one of his front wheels hit his helmet, and his car burst into flames. He would remain in his role as Williams team principal for a further 34 years before F1′s greatest family team was sold to an American investment group in August.įrancis Owen Garbett Williams was born in South Shields on Apto an RAF officer and a headmistress. Williams’ life is all the more extraordinary by the horrific car crash he suffered in France that left him with injuries so devastating doctors considered turning off his life-support machine.īut his wife Virginia ordered that her husband be kept alive and his sheer determination and courage - characteristics that personified his career - enabled him to continue with the love of his life, albeit from the confines of a wheelchair.
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Williams driver George Russell remembered Williams as a “genuinely wonderful human being.” “After being admitted into hospital on Friday, Sir Frank passed away peacefully this morning surrounded by his family," Williams Racing said in a statement on Sunday.
Williams took his motor racing team from an empty carpet warehouse to the summit of Formula One, overseeing 114 victories, a combined 16 drivers’ and constructors’ world championships, while becoming the longest-serving team boss in the sport’s history. LONDON (AP) - Sir Frank Williams, the founder and former team principal of Williams Racing, has died.