For the 1987 season, the Williams team already had the excellent FW11 from 1986 ready, which had proven by far to be the best car in the championship, easily winning the Constructors’ title. Technical Director Patrick Head and Aerodynamics Chief Frank Dernie only needed to make minor updates to bring the new Williams FW11B to life.
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| WILLIAMS FW11B, Nelson Piquet Hungaroring, Hungarian GP 1987 |
The new car was an evolution of the FW11, improved in terms of engine cooling, an issue that had caused some retirements, by designing larger vents to help dissipate heat from the radiators. At the same time, to increase front-end grip, they used a front wing with larger endplates, while at the rear they tried to enhance the diffuser with a new design and a groove under the sidepods. The carbon monocoque chassis, the push-rod front suspension and pull-rod rear suspension remained unchanged, as did the aesthetics and overall dimensions of the car, although the wheelbase was slightly increased from 2794 mm in '86 to 2845 mm in '87. As for the engine, Honda exclusively supplied the Grove team with the new RA167E 1.5L V6 twin-turbo, an evolution of the previous RA166E which was still being used in 1987 by Lotus. The new Japanese V6 consumed less fuel while still delivering high power output, despite new technical regulations limiting turbo boost to 4 bar and reducing the maximum fuel allowance to 180 liters.
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| WILLIAMS FW11B, Nigel Mansell Monza, Italian GP 1987 |
The driver lineup was confirmed with Englishman Nigel Mansell, injured during the final race of the season and replaced by Riccardo Patrese, and Brazilian Nelson Piquet. Piquet was tasked during the season with testing and developing a new active suspension system created by Frank Dernie, Paddy Lowe, and Steve Wise, and mounted on a 1984 FW09. Mansell, on the other hand, openly expressed his distrust of active suspension, having tested a similar system with Lotus in 1983, which had left him disillusioned. The Williams active suspension, renamed "Williams Reactive Ride" due to Lotus holding the copyright on the name “Active Suspension,” was lighter and less complex than that used by Lotus, and above all absorbed far less power from the Honda engine.
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| WILLIAMS FW11B, Nelson Piquet Silverstone, British GP 1987 |
After extensive testing, an FW11B was fitted with the system and Piquet carried out a race simulation at Imola, completing the 59 laps of the Grand Prix three minutes faster than Mansell's actual race-winning time. It was therefore believed that the car could be superior to the FW11B with conventional suspension, and it made its debut at Monza in the hands of Piquet only. During the 1987 season, the FW11B claimed 9 victories, 6 by Mansell and 3 by Piquet, who, thanks to consistent results (7 second places and 1 third), won the World Championship with 73 valid points out of the 76 he scored. Mansell finished runner-up with 12 fewer points. Williams also secured its fourth Constructors’ Championship with 137 points. The FW11 remains one of the best Formula 1 cars in history, competing in 32 Grands Prix over the two seasons it raced, achieving 18 victories, 16 pole positions, 278 points, and 2 Constructors’ titles. However, the FW11 was also the last Williams car to be powered by the superb Honda V6 Turbo engine.
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| WILLIAMS FW11C, Riccardo Patrese Estoril, private tests |
The Japanese engine supplier was unhappy with the preferential treatment given to the Englishman Mansell over the more competitive Piquet. Mid-season, the Brazilian driver decided to switch teams for 1988, moving to Lotus, and at the end of the 1987 season, Honda decided to terminate its engine supply contract with Williams in favor of McLaren. As a result, Head set up a temporary car, named FW11C, which was used by Patrese at the end of the season at the Estoril circuit to test the Judd V8 engine that would power the future FW12 in 1988.
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