Despite having by far the best car of 1994, the loss of Senna and especially Damon Hill’s defeat at the end of the season, when he lost the title in the final race by just one point to Schumacher’s Benetton, still stings for the Williams team. For 1995, the team's headquarters was moved to Grove, and the decision was made to pursue a completely new project, breaking away from the previous cars that had dominated the top series since 1991, when Adrian Newey took over as chief designer with the FW14 project. Thus, the new FW17 was born, still under the technical direction of Patrick Head.
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| WILLIAMS FW17, David Coulthard Buenos Aires, Argentinian GP 1995 |
The well-established engineering duo of Adrian Newey, car designer, and Eghbal Hamidy, chief aerodynamic engineer, completely redesigned the chassis from scratch to replace the previous one, which still traced its lineage back to the early 1990s cars equipped with electronic driver aids. Most notably, the front aerodynamics were entirely revised, giving the car a new raised nose in the style of Benetton. The lines of the new FW17 were very harmonious, as was customary for Newey-designed cars. In addition to the newly raised nose, an absolute first for the Grove-based team's cars, the side pods were also completely redesigned: slightly higher and more forward than those on the FW16. At the rear, the car featured the usual clean lines typical of Newey’s designs.
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| WILLIAMS FW17, Damon Hill Imola, San Marino GP 1995 |
For 1995, Williams’ technical partner remained Renault, supplying the latest evolution of their engine. However the engine, now the 3-liter V10 RS7 producing over 700 hp at more than 15,500 rpm, was also supplied to rival Benetton. The reduction in engine displacement, mandated by the federation to lower power output, actually worked in Renault's favor, as the new RS7 was not only smaller and more fuel-efficient than the previous 3.5-liter RS6, but also lighter. This allowed Newey to revise the weight distribution. The suspension system of the new FW17 was also completely revamped, abandoning the previous setup, which dated back to the FW14 project and was designed to work with electronic driver aids. At the rear, Newey introduced an entirely new push-rod suspension system with torsion bar springs.
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| WILLIAMS FW17, David Coulthard Montecarlo, Monaco GP 1995 |
As lead driver, vice-world champion Damon Hill was confirmed, alongside young Scottish driver David Coulthard, who had already been called up in 1994 to replace Senna after the tragic events at Imola. Despite the soundness of Newey’s design and the speed shown in testing by the new FW17, several factors hindered the team's performance: at times clumsy mistakes by both drivers, Hill’s psychological state which wasn't adequate to challenge Schumacher’s dominance, and the team’s strategic error of not establishing a clear driver hierarchy, with Coulthard often ahead of Hill. Perhaps for these reasons, or more likely in preparation for the 1996 season, a new car, the FW17B, was introduced five races before the end of the season. Its main differences were aerodynamic and appeared to serve as a transition to the car for the following season.
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| WILLIAMS FW17B, Damon Hill Adelaide, Australian GP 1995 |
Despite everything, the FW17 was an excellent car which, in terms of performance and technology, maintained the clear superiority inherited from previous Williams models. It performed well on circuits with a mix of fast and technical sections, although it suffered from reliability issues, particularly with the gearbox. With four victories by Hill and one by Coulthard, along with several other podium finishes, Frank Williams’ team earned 112 points over the season and finished second in the Constructors' Championship, failing to reclaim the title Williams had held consecutively since 1992.
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