On January 5, 2004, at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia, Spain, one of the most iconic Formula 1 cars of the early 2000s was unveiled, despite its decidedly poor performance: the Williams-BMW FW26. The new single-seater of the British team based in Grove, Oxfordshire, was also the last Williams to be designed under the technical direction of Patrick Head, long-time partner of Frank Williams and co-founder of the team. The engineers behind the FW26 were the same as the previous season: Gavin Fisher as Chief Designer, Brian O’Roarke as Chief Composite Engineer, Mark Tatham continuing as Chief Mechanical Engineer, and the Italian Antonia Terzi, who was entrusted with the entire aerodynamic department, also covering the roles previously held in 2003 by Jason Sommerville and Nick Alcock.
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| WILLIAMS FW26, Juan-Pablo Montoya Silverstone, British GP 2004 |
It was precisely Terzi’s ideas that gave rise to the main feature of the new FW26, the infamous “walrus nose.” The nosecone of the Williams FW26 was wide, short, and fairly flat, in stark contrast to the general design philosophy of slender, downward-sloping noses. Supporting the front wing were two large, diverging extensions on either side of the nose that projected forward and downward toward the wing, resembling a walrus’s tusks. This unique aerodynamic configuration at the front was designed to channel as much air as possible under the stubby nose and toward the car’s floor, air that would then feed the rear diffuser, an essential component in generating greater downforce. The front suspension also underwent radical changes. The 2003 FW25 had a more traditional central keel as the anchor point for the lower suspension arms. By contrast, the FW26 featured a twin-keel design, with the forward arms of the lower wishbones attached to two supports integrated into the lower, more advanced section of the chassis. These long supports, arranged in an inverted V shape, allowed a wider outward spread and created a kind of central tunnel through which air could flow more freely under the nose. Moreover, the entire front section sprouted small winglets and flow diverters.
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| WILLIAMS FW26, Juan-Pablo Montoya Melbourne, Australian GP 2004 |
That was the theory, but practice turned out to be brutal for those in Grove who had bet heavily on the FW26. While the team believed they had improved the car’s aerodynamics, problems emerged immediately. To pass the mandatory crash tests imposed by the FIA, the team had to reinforce the front section, a solution that upset the balance of the car, leaving it with a nose that was ultimately too heavy. Despite good initial impressions, Colombian Juan-Pablo Montoya and German Ralf Schumacher, the 2004 race drivers alongside test drivers Marc Gené and Antonio Pizzonia, soon discovered that the car was far from competitive, struggling even to hold off smaller teams like BAR and Renault.
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| WILLIAMS FW26, Juan-Pablo Montoya Magny-Cours, French GP 2004 |
This forced a long period of reflection at Grove, which led to the decision to take a step back. After 12 Grands Prix (with only two podium finishes), the team arrived in Hungary with a heavily modified car, abandoning the initial concept. The FW26 “B” version adopted a more traditional nose, regaining some competitiveness at the end of the season. At his final race with the team before moving to McLaren, Montoya managed to win the last Grand Prix of the year in Brazil. Despite being powered by the latest version (P84) of BMW’s 90° V10 engine, developed under the technical leadership of Heinz Paschen in collaboration with Oral Engineering, which delivered well over 900 hp at 19,000 rpm (with the sound meter registering 935 hp at the Canadian GP), the FW26 achieved very poor results overall.
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| WILLIAMS FW26B, Ralf Schumacher Interlagos, Brazilian GP 2004 |
During the ninth race of the season, the United States Grand Prix at the Indianapolis road course, Ralf Schumacher suffered a serious accident that sidelined him for three months. His place was taken by Spaniard Marc Gené for two races and by Brazilian Antonio Pizzonia for another four. Thanks to Montoya’s decent performances toward the end of the season, Williams-BMW finished the championship with 88 points, securing fourth place in the Constructors’ standings, while Montoya, with 58 points, claimed fifth in the Drivers’ Championship. Looking back, Williams realized it had made the mistake of breaking too radically from the previous model, the FW25 of 2003, which had fought for the titles right until the end of the season, a major regret for a team that, starting in 2004, began a slow but relentless decline, never again returning to the top ranks of Formula 1. Consider that the 2004 Brazilian GP was the team’s last victory until the 2012 Spanish GP, when Pastor Maldonado triumphed, a win that still remains the last for the Grove outfit.
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