Williams FW08

Williams FW08

Williams Racing Team
Notable drivers	Derek Daly Keke Rosberg Jacques Laffite Jonathan Palmer
Debut	1982 Belgian Grand Prix
First win	1982 Swiss Grand Prix
Last win	1983 Monaco Grand Prix
Last event	1983 European Grand Prix
Races Wins Poles F/Laps 27 2 2 0
Constructors' Championships	0
Drivers' Championships	1 (1982 – Keke Rosberg)

The Williams FW08 was a

.

Overview

The FW08 was a development of the Williams FW07 but featured a shorter wheelbase and much stiffer chassis to cope with the higher g-loading that the minimum ride height regulations introduced in 1981 demanded. While McLaren and others pioneered the use of carbon fibre chassis, Patrick Head stuck to aluminium honeycomb for the new car.^[3] The FW08 suited Keke Rosberg's aggressive driving style and he used it to good effect, winning the 1982 Swiss Grand Prix and scoring several other podium places to snatch the championship. Rosberg was on course to win in Belgium on the car's debut but tyre trouble caused him to drop back in the closing stages of the race.^[4] The FW08 was Frank Dernie's favourite car of all those he worked on during his time with the team.^[5]

During wind tunnel testing at Imperial College, Frank Dernie recorded that the FW08 had a

of a remarkable 8:1 - eight parts downforce to just one part drag, giving the FW08 supreme aerodynamic efficiency and giving Keke Rosberg a chance to compete with the far more powerful turbo Renault and Ferrari during the 1982 season (the turbo runners of 1982 were producing at least 570 BHP at over 11,000 RPM in race trim, compared to the 515 BHP of the best Cosworth runners). During 1982 Keke Rosberg often qualified and raced without front wings as the downforce generated by the underbody Venturi tunnels was so huge that a front wing was not required. Removing the front wing meant better penetration through the air, thus giving the FW08 straightline speed which was regularly the best of a Cosworth DFV equipped runner and allowing Rosberg the opportunity of taking on the far more powerful turbos thanks to a combination of his driving skill and the lower weight of the FW08 compared to the heavy bulky turbo runners of 1982.

The FW08B^[6] was a six-wheeled (four driven wheels at the rear and two undriven wheels at the front) variant that originated from the FW07D (also six-wheeled). It never raced. Patrick Head specifically said that the reason it was banned was because "someone in a FOCA meeting said it would drive up costs and cause chaos during pitstops". The FIA promptly limited the number of wheels for all cars to four, of which only two may be driven.^[7]

The FW08 was updated for the

The FW08C also has the distinction of being the first Formula One car ever driven by

The FW08C was retired after the

Early in 1983, Rosberg drove his FW08C to victory in the Race of Champions at Brands Hatch. To date this is the last non-championship Formula One race to have been held.

In 1985 two FW08C were entered by PMC Motorsport in some races of the

.

Complete Formula One results

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	Tyres	Driver	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Pts.	WCC
1982	TAG Williams Racing Team	FW08	NA	G		RSA	BRA	USW	SMR	BEL	MON	DET	CAN	NED	GBR	FRA	GER	AUT	SUI	ITA	CPL	58*	4th
					Keke Rosberg					2	Ret	4	Ret	3	Ret	5	3	2	1	8	5
					Derek Daly					Ret	6	5	7	5	5	7	Ret	Ret	9	Ret	6
1983	TAG Williams Racing Team	FW08C	NA	G		BRA	USW	FRA	SMR	MON	BEL	DET	CAN	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	EUR	RSA		38*	4th
					Keke Rosberg	DSQ	Ret	5	4	1	5	2	4	11	10	8	Ret	11	Ret
					Jacques Laffite	4	4	6	7	Ret	6	5	Ret	12	6	Ret	Ret	DNQ	DNQ
					Jonathan Palmer														13

* 14 points in

References

Sources

• Hamilton, Maurice, ed. (1982).
  ISBN 0-905138-32-5
  .
• Hamilton, Maurice, ed. (1983).
  ISBN 0-905138-32-5
  .

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