Slightly used but a race-winning car. 6-speed Williams/Hewland transverse gearbox, Renault RS2 3.5L V10, and all the other original equipment. It comes in the original colors from the 1990 season too. But there is so much more to the car than just random facts. This Williams car represented an important milestone for the team and foreshadowed a period of dominance in the Nineties.
With Honda power, Williams emerged as a dominant force in Formula One for several seasons. Those were the waning days of the original turbo era and the two companies were a mighty combination. However, the team lost Honda power to McLaren in 1988 and struggled with customer Judd engines. The good news is that they joined forces with Renault in 1989 and began to win races again.
For the last four races of 1989, the team ran the FW13 and scored double podiums, including a win, for the last two races of the season. It looked like a winner. Yet in 1990, the team scored the same number of wins (2) as the year before. Some might see this as not advancing but this car was laying the groundwork for the FW14, which would usher in another Championship-winning era.
The story behind this car is told by Chris Harris in a video created by Collecting Cars. It’s a fascinating one too, especially for die-hard Williams fans like me. I remember watching this car (FW13B-08) take pole and win the 1990 Hungarian Grand Prix with Thierry Boutsen at the wheel. He held off his good friend Ayrton Senna for the win in a flag to flag victory. It was gratifying to see him get the win for Williams, given how dominant McLaren and Ferrari were that season. Williams was only forth in the Constructors Championship that year, but that’s not where the story ends for this car.
In 1990, the team signed Nigel Mansell to drive for them. This would be a reunion that would produce wins, championships, and drama in 1991-1992. More significantly though, Adrian Newey came over from Leyton House-March to be their new designer. He would have an even greater impact, designing cars that would bring World Drivers Championships to Mansell, Prost, Hill, and Villenuve along with five Constructors titles. As Chris Harris and Jonathan Williams mention at the end of the video, a final test of the FW13B at Paul Ricard with Nigel Mansell demonstrated that the team was on to something with that car.
I remember reading an article in a magazine (National Speed Sport News?) about that test. It was claimed that Mansell got in the car and went significantly faster than Boutsen did earlier in the year. Now, weather conditions were not the same and the car had been refined since Boutsen’s test but there was more potential to the car than realized. It could have been even better with a top driver and improved chassis setup. Williams was definitely heading in the right direction, Mansell and Newey would take them to the top in less than two years.
So now you can own a piece of history if you are so inclined. What’s fascinating is that chassis comes with it’s own book including race setups and the like. Photos, drawing, and other details are included; which is another amazing aspect of this. While I doubt many of us will be in the market for a slightly-used Formula One car, we can all admire what was created by the team and achieved by the drivers.
A worthwhile watch for sure!
