Sir Frank Williams, founder of F1 team Williams Racing passes away at 79

Sir Frank William, the Founder of the famous Williams Racing team passed away on Sunday. He had two previous bouts of pneumonia including one in December 2020 and was admitted to hospital on Friday.

Stefano Domenciali, the F1 head released a statement regarding it. "He was a true giant of our sport that overcame the most difficult of challenges in life and battled every day to win on and off the track. His incredible achievements and personality will be etched on our sport forever. My thoughts are with all the Williams family and their friends at this sad time."

William Racing cars was founded in 1966 by him and was primarily competing in Formula 2 and 3. They made the transition to Formula 1 in 1969 and stepped up the performance of their cars through redefined engines. The initial few years were full of crisis moments and on-track disasters with Williams having to sell a 60% stake to maintain the debt flow. The golden period of Williams Racing came post-1980 with several top racers lining up for Williams. This also included Ayrton Senna who was one of the best F1 racers of all time.

Till date, Williams Racing has won 7 drivers titles and 9 constructors titles. Sir Frank Williams was knighted in 1999 and stepped down from his role as the head of Willaims Racing in 2012.