Every driver to win a World Championship with Williams

On the Monday after the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix, it was announced: Carlos Sainz will sign with Williams. Of course, at the moment, the British team are not a contender for titles, let alone podiums, something team principal James Vowles also acknowledges. Williams are a historic team, and their drivers won the world title on seven occasions. GPblog lists you the occasions where a Williams driver was crowned champion in Formula 1.

Titles in the 80s

Williams as team entered the sport in 1977, and as a team they drove their first race at the 1978 Argentine Grand Prix. It did not take much time for a driver competing for the British team to win the title, as Alan Jones was crowned as champion in 1980. The Australian outscored Nelson Piquet by 13 points, and the team's second driver, Carlos Reutemann finished third in the standings.

Alan Jones could not retain his title in 1981, but in 1982, it was Keke Rosberg who became the second driver to win the title with Williams. The father of Nico was the most consistant driver throughout the year, and finished first in the standings, even though he only won a single Grand Prix that year.

The driver defeated in 1980 then went on to win with Williams in 1987. Nelson Piquet won his third title with the British team, using a Honda engine. It was a one-two finish for the Briton's, as Nigel Mansell finished second.

Titles in the 90s

Williams drivers could outperform their three titles in the 80s, as four different drivers finished first in the standings in the 90s. In 1992, Nigel Mansell was finally crowned. The British driver faced no trouble that season, won eight Grands Prix, and finished ahead of Ricciardo Patrese by an astonishing 52 points. A year later, Alain Prost retained the title for Williams, giving him the edge over Ayrton Senna in that regard. The Frenchman defeated his rival that season by 26 points.

In 1996 and 1997, Williams drivers also won back-to-back titles, with Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve. In 1996, Damon Hill managed to beat Jacques Villeneuve, but the British team bet on Villeneuve for the 1997 season, instead of keeping Hill. The Canadian himself earned his title after a fierce battle with Michael Schumacher. The two crashed during the final Grand Prix, that ended the German's race. Schumacher was later disqualified from the entire season because of the incident.

Williams' Constructors' titles

In the 1980s and 1990s, Williams achieved nine constuctors' championships. The team scored the most points in 1980, 1981, 1986, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996 and 1997.