AT&T Williams F1

Meet Dickie Stanford, one of Williams' most respected employees. Dickie is our Test Team Manager and is therefore responsible for all test-related activites. 

PERSONAL
Age: 52
Star sign: Capricorn
Start date at Williams F1: 3rd January 1985

Previous jobs in F1: None outside Williams. I worked for Ralt in Formula 2 and Tiga in Formula 3.

Why Williams? Originally, because I wanted to break into Formula One and they were the closest team to where I lived. My first contact with them came when I started to take Ralt's F2 windtunnel model to Williams, just as they were expanding from two to three mechanics on each car. I joined Williams as a mechanic on Nigel Mansell's car.

Hobbies? I'd like to say doing up my 1967 250SL Mercedes, but I haven't touched it for two years. I've stripped it, re-painted it and every panel is new; but I've still got to do the rear suspension.

PROFESSIONAL
Describe your role in the team: I have overall responsibility for the test team, be it at the racetrack or at the factory. A lot of my time is taken up with logistics, particularly at the start of the year, when the test programme is very intense. It's a very wide-ranging job description, but that's one of the attractions for me.

Do you get a lot of job satisfaction? Testing's gone well if we've gone through a test programme and we've got a result. Either it's a 'yes that works', or it's a 'no it doesn't'. That gives me satisfaction. If we have to test the same part at a subsequent test, it delays everything and that can be frustrating.

How has the team changed over the years? The company has grown a lot in the last 10 years, which has been necessary for us to compete with the manufacturer teams. We're more than 500 people now and there have to be more managers in place to organise such a workforce. Having said that, AT&T Williams' race team is still probably the smallest in the pitlane and if you need an immediate answer on something, you can still go straight to Frank or Patrick. That must be unique in Formula One these days.

What's a realistic goal for AT&T Williams in 2008? We're always looking for wins and everything's there for us to do that this year. We're in our second year with Toyota, which is a great advantage, and I really hope we can get on the top step. That would be great.