Williams FW14

FW14

By the 1991 season, Adrian Newey , who had moved to Williams from Leyton House, and chief designer Patrick Head had developed a completely new FW14, unlike their direct competitors, McLaren and Ferrari (the latter prepared modified versions of previous models). Williams decided to use a raised nose in the design, but the front wing remained straight, with a slight bend in the place of its attachment. At maximum speed, the car generated downforce of 1.7 tons, half of which was in the front and rear wing, and the rest was produced by a diffuser in the rear of the bottom. The maximum recorded lateral acceleration is 4g. At the wheel of the FW14 in 1991 , Nigel Mansell won five races, and his partner, Riccardo Patrese , two more.

Despite 7 victories in the season, the team lost McLaren first place in the Cup of designers , and Mansell lost the championship title to Ayrton Senna . FW14 became the fastest car in the peloton only in the middle of the season, at the start and points were lost, which were not enough to fight for the titles in 1991.

FW14B

The following year, an upgraded version of the FW14B appeared. Williams FW14B had effective aerodynamics: on the sides of the front wing of the FW14B extended deflectors were used; directing the air flow past the front wheels, they thereby reduced the resistance when driving at high speeds. The front of the machine was raised, due to this, more air entered the bottom area and additional downforce was produced. In 1992, Williams used semi-automatic gearboxes. The use of gearboxes of this type in the design of the FW14B indirectly contributed to improving the aerodynamics of the monocoque: thanks to the location of the switches on the steering wheel, the place of the gear lever traditionally located on the floor was freed up.

Williams became the only championship team to use an electronically-controlled active suspension in all Grand Prix of the season, a device that ensured the constancy of the distance between the track of the race track and the bottom of the car. Competitors could not successfully implement such a technical solution, Ferrari used an active suspension only for the two final Grand Prix season, and in McLaren - only during training sessions preceding the Italian Grand Prix . In addition, Williams equipped the FW14 with an electronic traction control system that allowed it to start and accelerate more efficiently when exiting slow corners.

Until the middle of the season, the Renault RS3B V10 engine was installed on the FW14B, after the Hungarian Grand Prix in Williams they began to use the upgraded version, the Renault RS4. The ten-cylinder Renault RS4 engine had a camber angle reduced from 72 ° to 67 ° and, compared to the previous version of the motor, spun 1000 rpm more.

Thanks to all the technologies, the car had an overwhelming advantage over rivals. In qualifying, Mansell and Patrese won 2-3, and sometimes 5 seconds in a circle. FW14B is considered one of the most technologically advanced cars in the history of Formula 1. He allowed Mansell to become the World Champion, and the team to win the Cup of designers with a huge advantage.