Frank Williams (pictured here in 1980) makes his first foray into team ownership in 1967 but spends far too long searching for funding and scrambling around at the wrong end of the grid

In 1977, Williams teams up with engineer Patrick Head (top) to establish Williams Grand Prix Engineering and they pick Australian Alan Jones as driver

Williams's first victory arrives courtesy of Jones's Swiss team-mate Clay Regazzoni in 1979 at Silverstone and in 1980 Jones wins five Grands Prix on his way to the title

Finn Keke Rosberg is a reliable replacement for the retired Jones as he captures the 1982 crown with only a single race victory - but Williams miss out on a third straight constructors' title

Team boss Williams (left) is paralysed in a car crash in 1986 but continues to lead the team and they go from strength to strength thanks to their alliance with engine supplier Honda

Williams team-mates Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet engage in a thrilling battle for the 1987 title - and Piquet claims it when Mansell misses the last two races because of a back injury

Mansell delays retirement to accept a big pay packet at Williams in 1991. Despite five wins, he loses out on the title to Ayrton Senna (seen here being given a lift by Mansell at the British GP)

England's Mansell dominates the 1992 season to finally get his hands on an elusive world title before promptly quitting F1 for IndyCars in the US after a fall-out with the team

France provides a recipe for success for Williams in 1993 as Alain Prost returns from a sabbatical to win a fourth world title as Williams's partnership with engine supplier Renault continues its winning form

Tragedy strikes the team in 1994 when three-time world champion Ayrton Senna is killed in a high-speed crash at Imola sending shockwaves through the sport

Damon Hill finally betters nemesis Michael Schumacher to capture the 1996 title ahead of impressive rookie team-mate Jacques Villeneuve and follows his late father Graham in winning the F1 crown

The flamboyant Villeneuve keeps the success coming for Williams as he takes the 1997 title after surviving a cynical attempt by title rival Schumacher to take him off in the final race

A change in livery in 1998 signals a period of rebuilding as designer Adrian Newey joins McLaren and engine supplier Renault quits F1

After three seasons without a win, Ralf Schumacher claims victory at the 2001 San Marino GP as the team's new partnership with BMW engines begins to pay dividends

In 2003, charismatic Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya ends the team's 20-year wait for a victory around the streets of Monte Carlo

Williams fight for both titles in 2003 but Montoya finishes third in the drivers' battle - 11 points behind champion Michael Schumacher - while Williams lose the constructors' crown to Ferrari at the final race

Another new era dawns in 2006 as the team's partnership with BMW ends and new GP2 champion Nico Rosberg - son of Keke - arrives

Rosberg leads a Grand Prix for the first time in 2008 and goes on to take second - a career best - at the floodlit Singapore race

Sir Frank Williams - pictured here with technical director Sam Michael - vows to continue running an independent team in Formula One despite the effects of the global economic crisis