The Williams FW19 was the car with which the Williams team competed in the 1997 Formula One World Championship. It was driven by Jacques Villeneuve, in his second year with the team, and Heinz-Harald Frentzen, who moved from Sauber to replace the dropped champion, Damon Hill. Williams also employed test drivers Jean-Christophe Boullion and Juan Pablo Montoya.
To this date, the FW19 remains the last Williams car to win either championship. It was also the last Renault-powered Formula One car to win a world championship title until the Renault R25 in .
Design
The car was a logical development of the extremely successful FW18, which had comfortably won both titles in . It was also the last Williams chassis to receive input from designer Adrian Newey, who left the team to join McLaren before the season began. His work was finished by Geoff Willis. The FW19 was the last Williams to run a works Renault engine before the French marque's temporary withdrawal. It also benefited from design input from Patrick Head. The new car was designed to be lighter and stiffer than the FW18. The car was the last Williams to use the highly successful naturally aspirated Renault RS9 V10 engine along with the in-house Williams gearbox. The car used Elf fuel, Castrol oil, Penske shock absorbers and AP Racing carbon disc brakes.
Villeneuve later said that the FW19 was his favourite Formula One car, but that it was difficult to drive and get the maximum out of. He added that it felt like driving on ice for much of the time. Frentzen also found the car difficult to drive, and struggled setting it up to his liking all season.
1997 season
The car had the tough challenge of picking up the baton from 1996's FW18, which had walked away with both titles in the hands of Damon Hill, now departed for Arrows, and the retained Jacques Villeneuve.
The season began in the way 1996 left off for Williams, with Villeneuve taking pole and Frentzen joining him on the front row for the opening race in Australia. Villeneuve was in trouble right from the start, however, and a bad start pulled him back into the field and he was taken out by Johnny Herbert in the Sauber. This left Frentzen in the lead, but he was jumped by David Coulthard's McLaren in the second pitstops. He was still on for second place, however, but his brakes failed three laps from the end and it was a no score for Williams.
Villeneuve took pole again in Brazil, with Frentzen down in a disappointing 8th. Villeneuve held the lead for the entire race apart from three laps during the second round of pitstops and held on to take his and Williams's first win of the season. Frentzen, however, had a far more exciting race, dropping to 13th at the start, being passed by Hill, Ralf Schumacher in the Jordan, Rubens Barrichello's Stewart, Coulthard and Herbert. He repassed Barrichello and Herbert in the early laps, but remained in 11th after the first stops. The second stops were better for him, and he passed Ralf Schumacher, Hill and Coulthard, emerging in 8th. He was passed late on by Giancarlo Fisichella in the Jordan and demoted to 9th, so once again scored no points. This result left Villeneuve equal top of the championship with Coulthard and Williams equal second with Benetton and behind McLaren.
An early safety car was triggered in Argentina due to the collision between Coulthard and Ferrari's Michael Schumacher. This was good for the Williams team, who had started 1–2, with Villeneuve on pole for the third consecutive time. It didn't last very long for Frentzen, though, as his clutch broke after only five laps, meaning he had still scored no points for the season. Villeneuve was able to hold on to the lead for the vast majority of the race, with only five laps during the pitstops led by the Ferrari of Eddie Irvine. The Canadian's second win of the season left him and the team clear at the top of the championship table, despite Frentzen being yet to score.
The Grove based team locked out the front row yet again in San Marino, and Villeneuve retained his 100% pole position record for 1997. Frentzen was jumped by Michael Schumacher at the start, and the Williams cars ran 1st and 3rd until the first round of pitstops, when Villeneuve was already suffering from gearbox problems. Frentzen jumped his compatriot Schumacher and took the lead while Villeneuve dropped to 3rd with his problems. He finally retired on lap 41. Frentzen was under pressure from Schumacher to the very end, but held on to take his first ever F1 victory. Villeneuve held on to his championship lead, as did the team, and Frentzen moved up to equal third — he, Gerhard Berger of Benetton, Mika Häkkinen of McLaren, Irvine and Coulthard all had 10 points.