Ecclestone: “F1 wouldn’t have survived” without Frank Williams

Last weekend, the paddock was amazed to learn the disappearance of Frank Williams at the age of 79. The memory of the founder of the iconic Formula 1 team has already been greeted by many players in the championship, including the current titular drivers. George russell and Nicholas latifi. More recently, Bernie Ecclestone also paid tribute to Williams.

Before the Briton took control of the championship portfolio in the 1980s, Ecclestone ran the Brabham team and therefore counted Frank Williams among his rivals. But at the start of his career in the premier class, Williams was not very successful at the head of short-lived teams (De Tomaso, Politoys, Iso) and was chasing sponsors. Ecclestone however remembered a man who never gave up despite the difficulties.

“Frank was a special person, it showed in his willingness to never give up”, the former great figure of the paddock told Reuters. “With Frank it was never really bad. He never complained and did the best he could. That’s why he was so successful. He was a real competitor.”

“He would ask me, ‘Can you lend me 2000 pounds?’ I would accept and he would say, ‘I’ll pay you in 10 days.’ You could be sure Frank would come back 10 days later with 2000 pounds. We were talking about anything and everything and just before leaving he said: “Can you help me? Do you think you can lend me 2,500 pounds? I’ll pay you back in 10 days.” That’s how we worked with Frank. I would have given him my life. “

In 1978, Williams joined Patrick Head to found the team which continues to race today. Together they have conquered 16 World Championships (seven driver titles and nine constructors’ titles) and, according to Ecclestone, have made a significant contribution to the survival of F1.

“Without that kind of person, F1 would not have survived. Ferrari surely would have stopped and it would have ended like this”, he said. “There are not many old-timers left today, those who were in the teams when they started out. You could buy an engine and a gearbox [à cette l’époque] without the need for billions and 1000 people working for you. “