Williams FW13B
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The Williams FW13 was a
Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
racing car used by the Williams team for the last four races of the
1989 Formula One season The 1989 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 43rd season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It began on 26 March and ended on 5 November. Alain Prost won his third Drivers' Championship, and McLaren won the Constructors' Championship ...
and, when updated as the FW13B, for the whole of the season.


1989

The FW13 was designed by Argentine
Enrique Scalabroni Enrique Hector Scalabroni (born 20 October 1949 in Alta Gracia, Córdoba, Argentina) is an Argentinian race car designer, technical director, and team racing boss. He was employed by Dallara, Williams, Ferrari, Lotus and Peugeot Sport betwee ...
and featured a distinctive oval-shaped air intake, as well as the
Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufacture ...
RS1 3.5-litre V10 engine, Renault's first non-turbo Formula One engine which was rated at approximately . The car was driven by
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Thierry Boutsen Thierry Marc Boutsen (born 13 July 1957) is a Belgian former racing driver who raced for the Arrows, Benetton, Williams, Ligier and Jordan teams in Formula One. He competed in 164 World Championship Grands Prix (163 starts), winning three rac ...
and
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
Riccardo Patrese Riccardo Gabriele Patrese (born 17 April 1954) is an Italian former racing driver, who raced in Formula One from to . He became the first Formula One driver to achieve 200 Grand Prix starts when he appeared at the 1990 British Grand Prix, and ...
. It made its racing début late in the 1989 season - at the
Portuguese Grand Prix The Portuguese Grand Prix (''Grande Prémio de Portugal'') is a motorsports event that was first held in 1951 as a sportscar event, and then intermittently disappearing for many years before being revived again. In 1964 event was held as a spo ...
- due to the team's wish to get any bugs out in testing beforehand which forced the team to use an updated version of their car dubbed the FW12C for the first 12 races of the season, by which time the FW12C had reached its development peak and both Patrese and Boutsen were eagerly awaiting the FW13. Both the drivers and the team agreed the new car was needed to challenge the likes of McLaren with their V10
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engines, Ferrari with their
V12 engine A V12 engine is a twelve-cylinder piston engine where two banks of six cylinders are arranged in a V configuration around a common crankshaft. V12 engines are more common than V10 engines. However, they are less common than V8 engines. The f ...
and innovative
Semi-automatic transmission A semi-automatic transmission is a "theoretical" multiple-speed transmission where part of its operation is automated (typically the actuation of the clutch), but the driver's input would be required to launch the vehicle from a standstill and t ...
, and the leading V8 powered cars, the Benetton-
Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...
s. After teething problems saw the Williams pair out of contention in Portugal, Patrese reverted to the old car in
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while Boutsen continued with the new car. With the bugs finally ironed out, the new car proved very competitive in the final two races of the year, as Patrese and Boutsen finished second and third respectively at Suzuka (though helped by the infamous McLaren collision at the chicane which took out
Alain Prost Alain Marie Pascal Prost (; born 24 February 1955) is a French retired racing driver and Formula One team owner. A four-time Formula One World Drivers' Champion, from 1987 until 2001 he held the record for most Grand Prix victories until Micha ...
and later saw
Ayrton Senna Ayrton Senna da Silva (; 21 March 1960 – 1 May 1994) was a Brazilian racing driver who won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in , , and . Senna is one of three Formula One drivers from Brazil to win the World Championship and ...
disqualified). The Belgian then won the final race of the year in Australia after a brilliant drive in very wet conditions, with Patrese third. These results enabled Williams to leapfrog Ferrari into second in the Constructors' Championship while Patrese had his best ever year by finishing third in the Driver' Championship behind the McLarens.
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television commentator
Murray Walker Graeme Murray Walker (10 October 1923 – 13 March 2021) was an English motorsport commentator and journalist. He provided television commentary of live Formula One coverage for the BBC between 1976 and 1996, and for ITV between 1997 and 20 ...
reported during the Australian GP that the FW13, like its predecessor, was originally designed to use the computer-controlled
active suspension An active suspension is a type of automotive suspension on a vehicle. It uses an onboard system to control the vertical movement of the vehicle's wheels relative to the chassis or vehicle body rather than the passive suspension provided by large sp ...
rather than the conventional suspension used on most cars at the time. However, after the problems encountered in the first half of with the FW12, Williams decided more work was needed on getting the active suspension to work better with the naturally aspirated engines of the time and converted the new car to passive suspension. Walker reported that this was the reason the FW13 had so late in making its race debut as the team worked hard in testing to get the handling of the car right before putting it into competition.


1990

For the 1990 season, the car was updated, becoming the FW13B. It featured revised sidepods and suspension upgrades, as well as Renault's RS2 3.5-litre V10 engine. The FW13B proved fast and reliable, with Patrese and Boutsen winning one race each – Patrese at "home" in
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(the
San Marino Grand Prix The San Marino Grand Prix () was a Formula One championship race which was run at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari in the town of Imola, near the Apennine mountains in Italy, between 1981 and 2006. It was named after nearby S ...
was actually run at the
Imola Circuit The Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, better known as Imola, is a motor racing circuit in the town of Imola, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, east of Bologna. It is one of the few major international circuits to run in an a ...
in Italy), and Boutsen in
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after also claiming pole position. In the latter race, Patrese completed an all-Williams front row, drove the fastest race lap and finished fourth, giving the team plenty to celebrate that weekend. However, the team fell to fourth in the Constructors' Championship, behind Ferrari (with whom
Alain Prost Alain Marie Pascal Prost (; born 24 February 1955) is a French retired racing driver and Formula One team owner. A four-time Formula One World Drivers' Champion, from 1987 until 2001 he held the record for most Grand Prix victories until Micha ...
challenged for the Drivers' Championship) and Benetton (which won the final two races of the season thanks to former Williams driver
Nelson Piquet Nelson Piquet Souto Maior (, born 17 August 1952) is a Brazilian retired racing driver and businessman. Since his retirement, Piquet, a three-time World Champion, has been ranked among the greatest Formula One (F1) drivers in various motorspo ...
). The general feeling around the F1 paddock was that the FW13B was potentially the fastest car on the grid in 1990 and that the only thing holding it back from consistently challenging McLaren, Ferrari and Benetton more often was Williams not having a true number 1 driver, as both Boutsen and Patrese (particularly Boutsen) were seen as journeymen drivers. After French World Champion
Alain Prost Alain Marie Pascal Prost (; born 24 February 1955) is a French retired racing driver and Formula One team owner. A four-time Formula One World Drivers' Champion, from 1987 until 2001 he held the record for most Grand Prix victories until Micha ...
had announced he would be leaving McLaren at the end of 1989, he began talks with both Ferrari and Williams about driving for them in 1990. Frank Williams was hopeful of signing Prost (who ultimately chose Ferrari) and many including outspoken World Champion
James Hunt James Simon Wallis Hunt (29 August 1947 – 15 June 1993) ''Autocourse Grand Prix Archive'', 14 October 2007. Retrieved 4 November 2007. was a British racing driver who won the Formula One World Championship in . After retiring from racing in ...
felt that had Prost driven the FW13B in 1990 instead of either Boutsen or Patrese then the true potential of the car could have been reached. This need for a true number one driver actually led Frank Williams to bring Nigel Mansell back to the team in to replace Boutsen (who signed with
Ligier Ligier (() is a French automobile and minibus maker created by former racing driver and rugby player Guy Ligier (1930–2015), specialized in the manufacturing of microcars. Ligier is best known for its involvement in the Formula 1 World Champ ...
) despite the fact that the Belgian had given Williams three of its four wins in 1989 and 1990. Upon re-signing, Mansell tested the car and requested softer suspension and different wing settings on the FW13B. The car performed far better in his hands than it had with the regular 1990 drivers, leading Patrick Head to realise the team had been too conservative regarding car set up; Boutsen preferred his set-ups to have the anti-roll bars as stiff as possible, to give the car a go-kart feel the Belgian preferred. The 1990 AUTOCOURSE annual published that the Renault V10 produced around 660 BHP at 13,000 RPM, while the class leading Honda V10 used by McLaren produced around 700 BHP at over 13,000 RPM, giving the Williams-Renault a power deficit of around 40 BHP which on power sensitive circuits such as Hockenheim, Spa, Monza and Suzuka would have meant the Williams-Renault combination was giving away at least 0.3 tenths of a second per lap compared to McLaren-Honda on a like for like basis. This partly explains why the FW13 was not a match for the McLarens on fast circuits. The FW13B was replaced for the 1991 season by the successful FW14. File:Paris - Retromobile 2012 - Renault moteur F1 V10 - 001.jpg,
Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufacture ...
RS2
V10 engine A V10 engine is a ten-cylinder piston engine where two banks of five cylinders are arranged in a V configuration around a common crankshaft. V10 engines are much less common than V8 and V12 engines. Several V10 diesel engines have been prod ...
used in


Complete Formula One results

( key) (results shown in bold indicate pole position; results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) * 54 points scored in using FW12C


References

{{Williams Williams Formula One cars