Europe 1 with AFP 4:40 p.m., November 28, 2021, modified at 4:41 p.m., November 28, 2021
Briton Frank Williams, founder of the famous Formula 1 team that bears his name, has died at the age of 79, the team announced on Sunday.
Sir Frank had been quadriplegic since a car accident in March 1986 and had spent the last decades of his life in a wheelchair.
Briton Frank Williams, founder of the famous Formula 1 team that bears his name, has died at the age of 79, the team announced on Twitter on Sunday.
The team created by Frank Williams in the 1970s won sixteen world titles between 1980 and 1997, nine among manufacturers and seven among drivers, notably Alain Prost and Nigel Mansell.
Sir Frank had been quadriplegic since a car accident in March 1986 and had spent the last decades of his life in a wheelchair.
It was in 1975 that he entered F1 single-seaters for the first time under his own name.
The first victory came at Silverstone in 1979 and the first world title the following year with Australian Alan Jones.
F1 loses "a giant"
Father of three children, this technology and strategy enthusiast had handed over control of the team to his daughter Claire in 2013. In the grip of sporting and financial difficulties, the team had been sold to an American investment fund, Dorilton Capital, in 2020. F1 boss Stefano Domenicali said F1 has lost "a giant".
"He has overcome the toughest challenges in life and fought every day to win on and off the track. We have lost a much loved and respected member of the F1 family," he said. he reacted.