The tragedy at the heart of Williams' 1990s peak
At the height of its mid-1990s success, Williams was laid low by an unforeseen tragedy which changed the face of Formula 1 forever - and robbed it of one of its most fascinating characters. DAMIEN SMITH recalls how the best of times were soured by the worst of times...
Williams was awesome in the middle chunk of the 1990s, winning five constructors' world championships in six seasons - a run back then only McLaren could rival - as Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve joined Nigel Mansell and Alain Prost among its illustrious roster of champion drivers.
But it's the glaring omission from that roll-call that will forever cast a shadow deep and long over the team's most successful era. No amount of race wins and titles could possibly sooth the pain that would engulf Williams following the death of Ayrton Senna.
Share Or Save This Story
The short-term pain that hides a very real Williams improvement
How a Shanghai to Sheffield journey paved the way for China’s F1 hero
The secrets of F1 turbocharging explained
Why Alpine’s rigorous training camp yields telling insights into its juniors
How a carryover Alpine blighted by politics gave Ocon an improbable F1 win
Why Ocon retains the approach forced on him by his “crazy journey”
The "fashion evolution" that transformed F1 drivers' helmet designs
The status factor that made Ferrari impossible for Hamilton to turn down
Alonso hit with penalty for Sainz clash in China F1 sprint
Norris had no reason to apologise for China F1 sprint showing, says McLaren
Supercars New Zealand: Heimgartner splashes to Taupo opener victory
Hamilton: Norris would have been better off conceding in Turn 1
The short-term pain that hides a very real Williams improvement
How a Shanghai to Sheffield journey paved the way for China’s F1 hero
Why F1 2026 worst case fears could be key to new rules success
How the F1 driver market situation sits for each team with 2025 openings
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
