1979 Williams-Ford FW07 - chassis 01 - the first ever pole for Williams and the Dutch Grand Prix winner
Chassis 01 is the car that truly propelled Williams Grand Prix Engineering on their journey to becoming the second most successful Grand Prix team in the history of the sport, second only to Scuderia Ferrari.
Debuting at Jarama in 1979 with Alan Jones, chassis 01 really found its speed at the British Grand Prix where Jones put the car on pole by a whopping 0.6 seconds, Williams’ first ever pole. Leading the race by 20 seconds, a water pump failure robbed Jones of Williams’ first ever win, thankfully Clay Regazzoni coming through to win in the sister car. Jones would finally get the win that he and chassis 01 deserved at the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort – after an incredible battle with Gilles Villeneuve’s Ferrari, eventually ending when the Canadian’s deflating tyre flew off the rim, pitching him into a heart-stopping 360 degree spin inches from Jones. Podiums at Monza and Montréal capped off what should have been a championship-winning campaign for chassis 01 and Jones had it not been for the slow start to the season.
Today chassis 01 remains one of the most original ground-effect Grand Prix cars, and comes complete with a beautiful book produced Jonathan Williams. It is also race-ready, having recently benefitted from a bare-tub rebuild and Geoff Richardson engine refresh, in preparation for Monaco Historique. An important piece of Grand Prix history with impeccable provenance.
1979 History for FW07-01
| DATE | EVENT | RACE/TEST | DRIVER | QUALIFYING | RACE |
| 12th April | Ontario | Test | Alan Jones | ||
| 18th April | Brands Hatch | Test | Alan Jones | ||
| 27th April | Jarama | Race | Alan Jones | 13 | DNF |
| 2nd May | Zolder | Test | Alan Jones | ||
| 11-13th May | Zolder | Race | Alan Jones | 4 | DNF |
| 24-27th May | Monaco | Race | Alan Jones | ||
| 19-21st June | Silverstone | Test | Alan Jones | ||
| 29-01st July | Dijon | Race | Alan Jones | ||
| 4-5th July | Osterreichring | Test | Alan Jones | ||
| 12-14th July | Silverstone | Race | Alan Jones | POLE | DNF |
| 10-12th August | Osterreichring | Race | Clay Regazzoni | 6 | 5 |
| 14-16th August | Monza | Test | Alan Jones | ||
| 24-26th August | Zandvoort | Race | Alan Jones | 2 | WIN |
| 7-9th September | Monza | Race | Clay Regazzoni | 6 | 3 |
| 12-13th September | Watkins Glen | Test | Alan Jones | ||
| 17th September | Donington | Test | Alan Jones | ||
| 28-30th September | Montreal | Race | Clay Regazzoni | 3 | 3 |
| 4-7th October | Watkins Glen | Race | Clay Regazzoni | 5 | DNF |
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