The Williams FW34 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 designed 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

2012 Formula One season The 2012 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 66th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 63rd FIA Formula One World Championship, a motor racing series for Formula One cars, recognised by the Fédération Internatio ...

Design

Following their worst season in their thirty-year history—in which they finished ninth in the World Constructors' Championship with just five points—the team underwent a technical review, employing former McLaren designer

Mike Coughlan Michael Coughlan (born 17 February 1959) is a British motor racing engineer and designer. He was Chief Designer for the McLaren Formula One team from to , where he was suspended for his part in the spygate scandal between McLaren and Ferrari ...

(having served his suspension for his role in the

2007 Formula One espionage controversy The 2007 Formula One espionage controversy, also known as Spygate and Stepneygate, was a set of accusations among Formula One racing teams that confidential technical information had been passed between them. It involved the McLaren, Ferrari an ...

) as Chief Designer, and promoting Jason Somerville to Head of Aerodynamics. The FW34 used the Renault RS27-2012 engine; the team had previously used Renault engines between

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...

and

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

. The car, which was launched on the 7 February 2012, was driven 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 ...

and

Bruno Senna Bruno Senna Lalli (, born 15 October 1983) is a Brazilian professional racing driver. He is the nephew of the late Ayrton Senna, three-time Formula One world champion. He is also the first man to win a race in every WEC class, and was the 2017 W ...

Racing history

At the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Maldonado drove the FW34 to pole position and converted it to victory the next day. As well as being Maldonado's maiden Formula One win, it was also the first for Williams since the 2004 Brazilian Grand Prix, which was won by

Juan Pablo Montoya Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán (; born September 20, 1975) is a Colombian racing driver. He won the International F3000 championship in 1998, the CART FedEx Championship Series in 1999 in his debut year in the series, and the IMSA WeatherTech ...

in the FW26, and still currently the last as of July 2023.

Gallery

File:2012 Australian Grand Prix 08.jpg, Bruno Senna 2012 Australian Grand Prix Practice, 16 March 2012 File:Bruno Senna 2012 Malaysia Qualify.jpg, Bruno Senna 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix Qualifying, 24 March 2012 File:Pastor Maldonado 2012 Malaysia FP1.jpg, Pastor Maldonado 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix Practice, 23 March 2012 File:Bruno Senna 2012 Australian Grand Prix.jpg, Bruno Senna spinning at the start of the 2012 Australian Grand Prix

Complete Formula One results

( key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) Driver failed to finish the race, but was classified as they had completed greater than 90% of the race distance.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams Fw34 Williams Formula One cars