Sir Frank Williams celebrates his 50 years in F1 at Silverstone, but the legendary team principal will have a more pressing matter on his mind this weekend.
Sir Frank will be once again on active duty in his team’s garage for the British Grand Prix, supporting the Grove-based outfit at its home race during perhaps the most difficult time in the squad’s over four-decade history.
The flawed design of the team’s FW42 coupled with operational issues at the start of the season led to the departure of technical director Paddy Lowe and weak results on the track.
But Williams has rekindled the spirit of its tenacious founders – Sir Frank and Patrick Head – to dig in and slowly pull itself out of the doldrums.
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Williams FW42 to pay tribute to Sir Frank at Silverstone
Williams will hold several celebratory events at Silverstone to mark Sir Frank’s lengthy presence in Grand Prix racing, but the man himself will be more interested with the action in the garage and on the track.
“I wouldn’t say it’s important for Dad to be the longest serving team boss in Formula One,” said Jaime Williams, Sir Frank’s second son.
“He isn’t a man who dwells on his achievements. He will be thinking about what happens next, about the next grand prix. Dad’s strength is his perseverance.
“The things that he has managed to achieve in the face of adversity are extraordinary.
“It takes a special person to be able to keep going regardless of the things that life has thrown at him over the years. He kept going and he achieved great things because he did.”
©WRi2