It was the worst year in Williams’ long history, with the FW42 rarely competing anywhere near the points-scoring positions. Here are all the facts and statistics from the team’s 2019 season.
Williams’ season got off to a bad start, as they missed the first days of testing due to their car not being ready and Paddy Lowe subsequently left the team. The FW42 was a car which was never going to challenge anywhere near the front – nor anywhere near the points, except in unusual circumstances. Williams finished last in the Constructors’ Championship for a second consecutive year, but their single point – scored by Robert Kubica at the German Grand Prix – made this the 42nd consecutive season which the team have scored a point. But with just one point, this is the team’s worst full season on record.
There was a lot of change at Williams this year – including a new title sponsor and two new drivers. George Russell proved to be a potential star of the future, out-qualifying Kubica at every round, but never had the car to fight against anyone other than his team-mate. The exception to this was in Hungary, when Russell recorded the team’s best qualifying result of the year with sixteenth – and almost an unlikely Q2 appearance.
A shortage of parts saw Williams struggle to develop over the course of 2019. Kubica will depart the team for 2020, with Nicholas Latifi taking his place. The team and their young driver line up will be hoping that points are more regularly on offer next season.
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RACE STATISTICS
- Championship Position: 10th
- Total Points: 1
- Points Scoring Races: 1
- Double Points Finishes: 0
- Best finish: 10th (Germany)
- Number of DNFs: 4
- Laps Led: 0
- Laps Complete: 2361 (6th)
- % of Laps Complete: 93.54%
- Distance Covered: 11886.141km
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QUALIFYING STATISTICS
- Both cars in Q3: 0
- Q3 Appearances: 0
- Q2 Exits: 0
- Q1 Exits: 42
- Best Qualifying Position: 16th
- Worst Qualifying Position: 20th
- Average Gap to Ultimate Pace: 4.51%
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A STATISTIC FROM EVERY GRAND PRIX
Australia: At the 2019 Australian Grand Prix, Williams left Albert Park without a point for the second consecutive year. The team also recorded their first ever double Q1 exit in Australia.
Bahrain: At the 2019 Bahrain Grand Prix, Williams recorded their second consecutive Q1 knockout in Bahrain, locking out the back row of the grid for the first time at the event.
China: Robert Kubica’s seventeenth place at the 2019 Chinese Grand Prix was Williams’ 21st seventeenth place finish. It made them the team to have had the most 17th place finishes in F1 history, overtaking Marussia’s former record tally of twenty.
Azerbaijan: The 2019 Azerbaijan Grand Prix marked the first time Williams have seen their cars eliminated in Q1 in Baku.
Spain: At the 2019 Spanish Grand Prix, the Williams drivers were the only two to not finish on the lead lap. It’s the third consecutive year that the team have failed to score at the track.
Monaco: For the first time in 2019, a Williams driver did not finish last in the Monaco Grand Prix. Both George Russell and Robert Kubica finished ahead of Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi.
Canada: For the first time at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve since 2013, in the 2019 Canadian Grand Prix, both Williams drivers finished the race without either scoring a point.
France: Williams finished last of the nineteen cars running at the end of the 2019 French Grand Prix. The last time both of their cars finished a race at Circuit Paul Ricard was in 1987, when they scored a 1-2 result.
Austria: Williams became the second team to have recorded four consecutive eighteenth place finishes. The only other team to have done it are Virgin, who recorded their fourth consecutive eighteenth place finish at the 2010 Belgian Grand Prix. Meanwhile, Robert Kubica finished last of the twenty cars, making this race the first ever in which a Williams car has finished in 20th place. Felipe Massa was classified in 20th at the 2016 Austrian Grand Prix, but didn’t finish the race.
Britain: For the ninth time in their 37 appearances at Silverstone, Williams left the 2019 British Grand Prix without either car finishing in the top ten.
Germany: Williams scored their only point of the season with Robert Kubica’s tenth place at the 2019 German Grand Prix. It was the first time Williams have scored a point since the 2018 Italian Grand Prix. With Valtteri Bottas retiring for Mercedes, Williams became the only team yet to record a DNF in 2019.
Hungary: At the 2019 Hungarian Grand Prix, Robert Kubica finished nineteenth, meaning that fifteenth is now the only position between first and nineteenth that a Williams car has not finished in.
Belgium: Williams finished fifteenth and seventeenth in the 2019 Belgian Grand Prix. That’s exactly the same result as they scored in the 2013 race at Spa.
Italy: With both Williams drivers eliminated in Q1, the 2019 Italian Grand Prix was the first time the team hasn’t appeared in Q3 at Monza since 2013.
Singapore: After crashing with Romain Grosjean, George Russell became Williams’ first retiree of the 2019 season. It was the first time a Williams car has retired from a race since both Lance Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin failed to finish the 2018 German Grand Prix.
Russia: George Russell and Robert Kubica failed to finish the 2019 Russian Grand Prix, making this the first Sochi race where neither Williams driver has crossed the finish line. It was the team’s first double DNF since the 2018 German Grand Prix.
Japan: For the first time at the Japanese Grand Prix, both Williams drivers were eliminated in the first part of qualifying.
Mexico: For a second consecutive year, Williams failed to score at the 2019 Mexico Grand Prix. Aside from 2018 and 2019, 1988 – when both cars retired – is the only other time that Williams have failed to score at the event.
United States: Robert Kubica qualified last for the 2019 United States Grand Prix. It means that in every season since F1 first visited the Circuit of the Americas in 2012, a different team has qualified at the back of the grid.
Brazil: In 2019, Williams recorded their first double Q1 exit at the Brazilian Grand Prix since 2008. With their double Q1 exit, they became only the second team to reach 150 Q1 exits. Only Sauber/Alfa Romeo have had more Q1 exits, recording 155 Q1 eliminations since 2006.
Abu Dhabi: With both George Russell and Robert Kubica eliminated in Q1, Williams recorded double Q1 exits at every round of the 2019 season. They’re the first team to be eliminated in Q1 at every round of the season since Manor in 2015.
