AT&T Williams F1

A new feature for the website this season, Historical Reflections will go live before each Grand Prix and will take you down memory lane as we re-visit one of the team's more memorable episodes from the GP in question, as seen from one of our team members that was there.

To open this exclusive series, we talk to Dickie Stanford who was at the Australian Grand Prix in 1996 as one of the mechanics (Dickie is now our Test Team Manager). Dickie reflects on the opening race of the season which saw Jacques Villeneuve make his F1 debut, partnering Damon Hill in the Williams team. It proved an eventful first race which Williams dominated, and which paved the way for Damon's Formula One World Championship victory....  

Pre-season testing had gone very well with the FW18. The car was quick out of the box and we arrived at the season-opener in Melbourne - the first race to be staged at Albert Park - hopeful of getting a good result.

The relationship between Damon [Hill] and Jacques [Villeneuve] was an intriguing one. Jacques was new to F1 in '96 and going into the new season, Damon definitely felt that he was the unofficial number one in the team. As a result, Jacques knew that he had to make an immediate impression on Damon in the first race and I remember a bit of tension between them.

The weekend didn't get off to a good start for any of the teams because there were loads of logistical problems. We expected the organising committee from Adelaide, the previous home of the Australian GP, to move to Melbourne, but that wasn't the case. There were loads of logistical problems and just trying to get equipment and supplies was very stressful.

When the serious business got underway, it was first blood to Jacques. He beat Damon to pole position in his first Grand Prix and I don't think that pleased Damon! They were on the front row together and both sides of our garage knew that we were in for a close battle in the race.

Jacques got away in front and at about half distance Damon came on the radio to say that he was being held up. Patrick [Head] told him to drop back and if he caught Jacques up again, the team would then consider its options.

Damon did just that and, given that Jacques' engine was leaking oil, we were worried that it would blow up and take both of our cars out of the race. Patrick then got on the radio to Jacques, asking him to let Damon through and he had to ask four times before Jacques moved over. By the fourth time, Patrick was reading him the riot act!

Jacques stuck with Damon for a couple of laps, just to make a point, before slowing down to ensure he made it to the end of the race. He finished second and his car had no oil left in its oil tank when it got back to the pits.

A one-two finish was a great way to start the season and we knew then that we had a very competitive car. We knew we'd be racing ourselves for the remainder of the season, with two competitive drivers, and that was a great source of motivation for the guys in the garage.