In 2013 Williams scored a measly five points finishing the season ninth in the constructors beating only perennial backmarkers Marussia and Caterham, fast forward 12 months and the Grove outfit amassed 320 points and ended the season third ahead of grandees such as Ferrari and McLaren.
The Williams FW36 with the Mercedes power unit bolted on to the back was a good race car, with two good race drivers in the cockpits, coupled to a team which included F1 heavy hitters Pat Symonds and Rob Smedley, along with their iconic Martini sponsorship. All these ingredients conspired to deliver a potent force in the 2014 edition of Formula 1.
It should not be forgotten that Williams have race and championship winning pedigree, having won 114 races in their history, only bettered by McLaren and Ferrari. They also have nine constructors’ world titles – second to Ferrari and one more than McLaren.
But time is not a friend of pedigree, Lotus (the real one), Tyrrell and Brabham were teams steeped F1 success yet disappeared without a trace.
Williams at one stage looked to be heading that way, but things have turned around. Sir Frank handed over most of his duties to daughter Claire Williams and the team has been transformed and inspired.
Valtteri Bottas is a superstar in the making, while Felipe Massa is a rejuvenated soul and together they were a formidable pairing who only missed out on victories due to the incredible superiority of the Silver Arrows.
On most occasions they were best of the rest and often taking the fight, especially in qualifying, to the Mercedes pair, but this is not why we have chosen them as the team of the year.
The remarkable turnaround from one season to the next is almost unheard of in modern F1 – hence the accolade.
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