AT&T Williams F1

With another Canada just around the corner, we take a look back at the 1980 Canadian Grand Prix at which Alan Jones claimed the team's first World Championship. Steve Fowler, one of the team's mechanics at the time and who still works for Williams, was there and takes us down his memory lane...

The build up to Williams' first World Championship was incredible. The team was successful from the outset in 1978 and we just went bam, bam, bam and won both World Championships in 1980. We weren't a big team back then, probably no more than 50 people, so everyone was very involved in every success.


The Canadian Grand Prix was the penultimate race of the 1980 season and Alan [Jones] was racing Nelson Piquet for the Drivers' title. Nelson took pole position and Alan lined up alongside him on the front row, which gave us quite a showdown in the race. I remember having a chat with the Brabham mechanics after qualifying in which they joked that the only way Alan would be able to pass Nelson would be to have him off at the first corner.


Well that's what happened! Alan and Nelson clashed at the first corner, triggering other accidents further back in the field and the race had to be stopped. Nelson was forced to take the re-start in his spare car, while Alan's car was hardly damaged and he was able to win the race, coming home comfortably ahead of Carlos [Reutemann], giving us a one-two.


Alan was a brave driver with a cool head. In qualifying, he would go out early in the session and set a benchmark time. He'd then wait to see if anyone could beat it and if his time was good enough for pole position, you wouldn't see him again. He wasn't one of those drivers who needed to ease himself into it; he could just do it. He thoroughly deserved the Championship.


The emotions in the Montreal pitlane after the race were incredible. Frank [Williams] came around and shook everyone's hand, as did Alan when he got back to the pits after the podium celebrations. I'd always wondered why some athletes cry after winning big races and I found out in Canada. We were all crying because we'd gone out there and achieved what we'd set out to do. It was fantastic.


Frank used to buy the race team dinner whenever we won in those days, and I remember we had a seriously big night after winning the title. Then again, every night in Montreal's a big night, isn't it?