Mark Hazel driving his Williams FW08C, during the Qualifying session for the Murray Walker Memorial Trophy For Masters Historic Formula One race.
The Williams FW08 was a Formula One car designed by Frank Dernie, which debuted at the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix held at the Zolder circuit. An evolution of the FW07 that it replaced, the car was used by Finnish driver Keke Rosberg to win the 1982 World Drivers' Championship. The FW08B was a six-wheeled (four driven wheels at the rear and two undriven wheels at the front) variant that originated from the FW07D (also six-wheeled). It never raced. Patrick Head specifically said that the reason it was banned was because "someone in a FOCA meeting said it would drive up costs and cause chaos during pitstops". The FIA promptly limited the number of wheels for all cars to four, of which only two may be driven. The FW08 was a development of the Williams FW07 but featured a shorter wheelbase and much stiffer chassis to cope with the higher g-loading that the minimum ride height regulations introduced in 1981 demanded. While McLaren and others pioneered the use of carbon fibre chassis, Patrick Head stuck to aluminium honeycomb for the new car. The FW08 suited Keke Rosberg's aggressive driving style and he used it to good effect, winning the 1982 Swiss Grand Prix and scoring several other podium places to snatch the championship. Rosberg was on course to win in Belgium on the car's debut but tyre trouble caused him to drop back in the closing stages of the race. The FW08 was Frank Dernie's favourite car of all those he worked on during his time with the team. The car was updated for the 1983 Formula One season to become the FW08C. Under new regulations all ground effect was out and flat bottom cars were in, meaning nearly all the cars in Formula One had to be heavily modified or replaced and the FW08 was no different. Against the turbo cars of Renault, Brabham and Ferrari, Williams were not expected to do as well as they did.[citation needed] Jacques Laffite rejoined the team, having started his F1 career with Frank Williams Racing Cars back in 1974.
Size: 4602px × 2987px
Location: Silverstone Circuit, Towcester, Northamptonshire, NN12 8TN
Photo credit: © John Gaffen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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