I was lent this book and at first I did not have huge expectations, mainly because I know a lot of the team's history and thought that I was not going to learn much new. Also I am always a little suspicious of journalists who write biographies, usually too caught up in the headlines to give true insight.
I'm pleased to say I was wrong, Hamilton writes some very interesting things about the team, and also interview segments from people involved. Each chapter has a story element and then interview quotes from the people who were there.
So things that stood out for me:
- The remarkable Patrick Head and Frank Williams partnership, one concentrating on the engineering the other the sponsor deals.
- The determined nature of Williams to keep going despite his tragic road accident.
- Great insight on why Mansell and then laterly Hill were dropped. The bit about Breen (Hill's lawyer) walking into Williams office and trying to call the shots made me feel the he was justified in dropping him.
- Good coverage of the early team years, racing was different back then - entry costs may have been much lower but it was a struggle to survive and find funding.
- Active suspension was outlawed because Ferrari put pressure on the governing body when they could not get their version working. Probably not a bad thing for the sport though.
- The stormy relationship with BMW was interesting, huge politics involved. Part of this may have been Williams going off the boil slightly and never really finding someone of the calibre of Newey to design the car.
- The first use of wind tunnels involved renting time at a University in London. At least twice in the book does a wind tunnel upgrade mean the team suffers while the new facility is getting up to running.
- Good references to people who could talk about the Williams they knew in private, not quite the cold character the press portrays - mainly because he limits their exposure to him.
