The Williams FW26 is 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 Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

designed and built by

Williams F1 Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, currently racing in Formula One as Williams Racing, is a British Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded by former team owner Frank Williams and automotive engineer Patrick Head ...

for the 2004 Formula One season. The design team was led by Patrick Head,

Gavin Fisher Gavin Fisher (born 30 August 1964) was formerly Chief Designer of the Williams Formula One team. He studied mechanical engineering at University of Hertfordshire, which was famous for its aeronautical engineers, graduating with a first class h ...

, and

Antonia Terzi Antonia Terzi (29 April 1971 – 26 October 2021) was an Italian aerodynamicist who worked for the Ferrari and Williams Formula One teams. Education Terzi held a Master's degree in Materials Engineering from University of Modena and Reggio Emi ...

. It was driven by Ralf Schumacher, Juan Pablo Montoya and Antonio Pizzonia and proved to be one of the most attention-grabbing cars of the season. The FW26 was powered by a BMW 3.0 V10 engine.

Design

Head supervised the car with the aim of being on the pace immediately, whilst his design team came up with a revolutionary aerodynamics package. The car featured a radical front section, nicknamed the ' Walrus nose'. It featured a short, stubby nosecone connected to the front wing by sloping vertical spars which allowed more airflow to the underside of the car. In an effort to maximise the airflow, the front suspension was designed around the

twin keel Twin keels or bilge keels are two keels that emerge at an angle from the hull of a sailboat (and some ships), at or near the bilge. The angle allows the boat to have a shallower draft while still allowing for minimum leeway while sailing. The ...

principle, pioneered by Sauber and also used by

McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formu ...

and

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

. Launch control and fully-automatic gearboxes were also banned for , which had been used by the team for the previous three seasons, since the 2001 Spanish Grand Prix.

Season summary

The FW26 proved fast in pre-season testing and Montoya was tipped as a title favourite, but during the season proper the car proved difficult to set up and was inconsistent, with Montoya and Schumacher both struggling to maximise the car's potential. The car was genuinely outpaced by the Renaults and BARs of that time, as well as the Byrne/Brawn-designed Ferrari F2004, which dominated much of the season. This meant the team was largely in the upper midpack among the competition this year, but not in contention for the title. Williams FW 26

The mid-season was especially barren. The cars were disqualified from second and fifth-place finishes in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

for running brakes that infringed the technical regulations, and Schumacher suffered a heavy crash at

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

, sidelining him for three months, while Montoya was disqualified for the second race in a row. Schumacher's replacements,

Marc Gené Marc Gené i Guerrero (born 29 March 1974) is a Spanish professional racing driver. He is best known as a tester for Williams and Ferrari in Formula One, Minardi Formula One driver and factory driver for Peugeot's Le Mans team, with which ...

and

Antônio Pizzonia Antônio Reginaldo Pizzonia Júnior (born 11 September 1980) is a Brazilian professional racing driver who has raced in Formula One and the Champ Car World Series. Born in Manaus, he started his car racing career in the Formula Vauxhall Junior ...

could do little with the car and it was left to Montoya to defend Williams's honour. The team redesigned the front end of the car in time for the

Hungarian Grand Prix The Hungarian Grand Prix ( hu, Magyar Nagydíj) is a motor racing event held annually in Mogyoród. Since 1986, the race has been a round of the FIA Formula One World Championship. History Origins The first Hungarian Grand Prix was held on 2 ...

and fitted the car with a more conventional nosecone. It was with this configuration that Montoya set the then-all-time fastest F1 lap in pre-qualifying at Monza, almost 163 mph average. This does not stand as a lap record as it was not set during the race. He rounded off the season with a win in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, whilst the returning Schumacher put in strong drives in Japan and China. Following Montoya's win in Brazil, Williams would not score another win until eight years later, at the

2012 Spanish Grand Prix The 2012 Spanish Grand Prix (formally the Formula 1 Gran Premio de España Santander 2012) was a Formula One motor race held on 13 May 2012, at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmeló, Spain, attended by 82,000 people. It was the fifth round of t ...

, which was won by

Pastor Maldonado Pastor Rafael Maldonado Motta (; born 9 March 1985) is a Venezuelan professional racing driver, who competed in Formula One for the Williams (2011–2013) and Lotus (2014–2015) teams and as a Pirelli test driver until 2017. Before entering ...

in the FW34. The FW26 was the last Williams Formula One car that was designed under the supervision of longtime Williams technical director Patrick Head.

Complete Formula One results

( key) (results in bold indicate pole position)

Gallery

File:Juan Pablo Montoya 2004 Belgium.jpg, Juan Pablo Montoya 2004 Belgian Grand Prix Qualifying, 28 August 2004 (FW26B; with new, improved front wing) File:BMW-Williams Regent Street.jpg, FW26 during demonstration run at Regent Street, London, 6 July 2004 File:Williams FW26.jpg, FW26 during demonstration run at Regent Street, London, 6 July 2004

References

External links

{{F1 cars 2004 Williams Formula One cars