Editing Williams Racing (section)

====1994 season====
[[File:Williams FW16.jpg|thumb|[[Williams FW16]]B used in the second half of the 1994 season when [[Rothmans International|Rothmans]] debuted as the team's primary backer]]
During the {{F1|1994}} season, Williams used FW16 (developed during the pre-season) and FW16B (with shorter sidepods and optimised for the revised floor regulations which were introduced during the season).

After Canon left the team Williams signed a contract with tobacco company [[Rothmans International]] for {{F1|1994}}, and their namesake brand became its primary sponsor from 1994 to {{F1|1997}}.<ref>{{cite web|last=Manishin|first=Glenn|title=After Tamburello|url=http://f1-grandprix.com/?page_id=1796|work=F1-Grandprix.com|access-date=13 June 2006}}</ref>

Despite Prost's continued unwillingness to have his former McLaren teammate run with him, pressure from various sources including the team's new sponsor led Williams to agree to terms with Ayrton Senna for 1994. The veto power in Prost's contract was only in effect for the 1993 season, and since Williams was now free to do as it desired and that Senna was again a free agent, the team decided it would bring in the multi-time former champion. To appease Prost, who decided to retire from racing permanently after Senna's signing, Williams agreed to pay him his full salary for the second half of the contract.

Given this was the same team that had won the previous two World Championships with vastly superior cars, Senna was a natural and presumptive pre-season title favourite, with second-year driver [[Damon Hill]] intended to play the supporting role. Between them, Prost, Senna, and Hill had won every race in 1993 but one, which was taken by Benetton's [[Michael Schumacher]].

As with 1993, Williams's cars were issued numbers 0 and 2, following Prost's victory in the 1993 championship and subsequent retirement.  Hill retained the number 0, while Senna's car was issued number 2.

Pre-season testing showed the [[Williams FW16|FW16]] had speed but was difficult to drive. The [[Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile]] (FIA) had banned electronic driver's aids, such as [[active suspension]], [[traction control system|traction control]] and [[anti-lock braking system|ABS]], to make the sport more "human". It was these technological advancements that the Williams chassis of the previous years had been built around. With their removal in 1994, Williams had not been a good-handling car, as observed by other F1 drivers, having been seen to be very loose at the rear. Senna himself had made numerous comments that the [[Williams FW16]] had quirks that needed to be ironed out. It was obvious that the FW16, after the regulation changes banning active suspension and traction control, exhibited none of the superiority of the [[Williams FW15C|FW15C]] and [[Williams FW14]]B cars that had preceded it. The surprise of testing was [[Benetton Formula|Benetton]]-[[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] which was less powerful but more nimble than the Williams.

The first four rounds were won by [[Michael Schumacher]] in the [[Benetton Formula|Benetton]]-[[Ford Motor Company|Ford]]. Senna took pole in the first two races but failed to finish either of them. In the third race, the [[1994 San Marino Grand Prix]] in Imola, Senna again took pole position, but was involved in [[death of Ayrton Senna|a fatal crash]] at the second corner after completing six laps.<ref>{{cite news|title=1994: Formula One's 'blackest day'|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/witness/may/1/newsid_2951000/2951011.stm|work=BBC News |access-date=13 July 2006|date=1 May 1994}}</ref> The repercussions of Senna's fatal accident were severe for the team itself, as the Italian prosecutors tried to charge the team and [[Frank Williams (Formula One)|Frank Williams]] with manslaughter, an episode which was not over until 2005.<ref>{{cite news|title=Top designers acquitted on Senna|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/4587195.stm|work=BBC News |date=27 May 2005|access-date=13 July 2007}}</ref> At the next race in [[1994 Monaco Grand Prix|Monaco]], [[Damon Hill]] was the only Williams on the grid, as a mark of respect to Senna,<ref>[http://www.williamsf1.com/racing/about/our-history 'WilliamsF1.com > Seasons > 1994] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150509134229/http://www.williamsf1.com/racing/about/our-history |date=9 May 2015 }}. Retrieved 14 July 2006.</ref> and retired on the first lap. After Senna's death, every Williams F1 car carried a Senna 's' on its livery in his honour and to symbolise the team's ongoing support of the [[Instituto Ayrton Senna]] until the permanent removal starting in 2022, with then Williams CEO [[Jost Capito]] stating it was time to "move on".<ref>{{Cite web|date=15 February 2022|title=Why 'Senna S' is absent from Williams' latest F1 car|url=https://www.crash.net/f1/news/996488/1/why-senna-s-absent-williams-latest-f1-car|access-date=25 February 2022|website=Crash|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last1=Cleeren|first1=Filip|last2=Noble|first2=Jonathan|date=15 February 2022|title=Williams explains decision to remove Senna S logo from 2022 F1 car|url=https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/williams-explains-decision-to-remove-senna-s-logo-from-2022-f1-car/8196680/|access-date=25 February 2022|website=www.motorsport.com|language=en}}</ref>

At the next race in [[1994 Spanish Grand Prix|Spain]], Williams brought in test driver [[David Coulthard]] as Hill's new teammate. Hill took the team's first victory of the season, by almost half a minute over [[Michael Schumacher|Schumacher's]] [[Benetton Formula|Benetton]], while Coulthard would retire due to an electrical problem. In [[1994 Canadian Grand Prix|Montreal]], both Williams cars finished in the points for the first time that season, with Hill finishing second and Coulthard finishing fifth. In France, Nigel Mansell replaced Coulthard (in the first of four appearances), at the behest of Renault. At Silverstone, Damon Hill accomplished what had eluded his father, twice Formula One World Champion [[Graham Hill]], by winning the [[1994 British Grand Prix|British Grand Prix]]. Hill closed the points gap with Schumacher, who was disqualified from first at [[1994 Belgian Grand Prix|Spa]] after the Stewards found floorboard irregularities on his Benetton. He was banned for the next two races, and Hill capitalised on this with wins in [[1994 Italian Grand Prix|Italy]] and a Williams 1–2 in [[1994 Portuguese Grand Prix|Portugal]].

With three races left, 1992 champion [[Nigel Mansell]] returned from CART (where the season had concluded) to replace Coulthard for the remainder of the season. Mansell would get approximately £900,000 ''per race'', while Hill was paid £300,000 for the entire season, though Hill remained as lead driver.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hamilton|first=Maurice|title=Frank Williams|year=1998|publisher=Macmillan|page=244|isbn=0-333-71716-3}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://atlasf1.autosport.com/99/fra/preview/horton.html|title=Reflections on a Racing Rivalry|first=Roger|last=Horton|work=Atlas Autosport|publisher=Kaizar|access-date=1 October 2010}}</ref>

Schumacher came back after his suspension for the [[1994 European Grand Prix|European Grand Prix]], which he won by about 25 seconds, to take a lead of 5 points into the penultimate round in [[1994 Japanese Grand Prix|Japan]]. The race in Japan was held in torrential rain, with Hill managing to win the restarted race by three seconds on aggregate over Schumacher who finished second. Going into the final round at [[1994 Australian Grand Prix|Adelaide]], Schumacher led Hill by a single point. Mansell took pole for Williams but had a poor start which let Hill and Schumacher through to fight for the lead and the 1994 title. Midway through the race, Schumacher's perceived need for a low downforce setup cost him, as he lost control and clipped the outside wall at the 5th corner (out of sight of Hill). As Schumacher recovered, Hill came around the corner and attempted to overtake into the next corner. Schumacher turned in and the resulting contact (Schumacher in the wall and Hill retiring with bent suspension) meant that Schumacher was the champion. This collision has been controversial with some, such as Williams's [[Patrick Head]], have suggesting that this was a deliberate attempt by Schumacher to take Hill out of the race.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20071013164119/http://motoring.iafrica.com/formulaone/561093.htm 'Ruthless' Schumi blasted]. Retrieved 2 August 2006.</ref> Others, such as then BBC commentator Murray Walker, defended Schumacher, calling the accident a "racing incident". Meanwhile, Nigel Mansell won the last Grand Prix of his career here, driving the second Williams car.

Williams would end the season as Constructors' Champion for the third consecutive year, scoring 118 points, while Hill finished second in the Drivers' Championship with 91 points.