From Didcot to Grove
Frank Williams had run racing teams since the late 1960s, but Williams Grand Prix Engineering, the team that still carries his name, was founded in 1977 by Williams and the engineer Patrick Head. It started in a small factory in Didcot and first raced at the 1977 Spanish Grand Prix. As the team grew it moved to a large purpose-built headquarters at Grove, just north of Wantage, which remains its home.
The championship years
Between 1980 and 1997 Williams won the Formula One constructors’ championship nine times (1980, 1981, 1986, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996 and 1997) and took seven drivers’ titles, with Alan Jones, Keke Rosberg, Nelson Piquet, Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve. By the time of its sale the team had won 114 Grands Prix. Frank Williams was paralysed in a road accident in France in 1986 but continued to lead the team for more than thirty years.
Later years
A spin-off, Williams Advanced Engineering, was set up at Grove to apply Formula One technology to other industries, and was sold in 2022. In August 2020 the family sold the team to the investment firm Dorilton Capital, and Frank and his daughter Claire, who had been deputy team principal, stepped down after the Italian Grand Prix that September. Sir Frank Williams died in 2021.
Williams and the Wantage area
The team is one of the largest employers in the Wantage and Grove area and part of the wider ‘motorsport valley’ of Oxfordshire and neighbouring counties. Williams Heritage keeps a collection of historic cars at Grove, used for events and a conference centre.
What to see
- Williams headquarters, Grove: the factory is not open to casual visitors; the heritage collection is seen at booked events and conferences.
- Vale and Downland Museum, Wantage: has shown Williams material, including a Williams-Renault car driven by Damon Hill, on display from 2012 to 2025.