Editing Williams Racing (section)

===BMW engines (2000–2005)===
{{main|BMW in Formula One}}
[[File:BMW Williams logo.png|thumb|Team logo during partnership with [[BMW]]]]
In 1998, the team signed a long-term agreement with German manufacturer [[BMW]] to supply engines and expertise for a period of 6 years. As part of the deal, BMW expected at least one driver to be German, which led to the team's signing of Ralf Schumacher for the subsequent season. In 1999, the team had a Williams car with a BMW engine testing at circuits, in preparation for a debut in the {{F1|2000}} season.

There were major sponsorship changes for 2000–2005, as Rothmans International had been purchased in 1999 by [[British American Tobacco]] (BAT), which owned [[British American Racing]] and chose not to renew Rothmans's contract with Williams. BMW paid for Williams cars to be entirely in blue and white – unlike the standard motorsport livery scheme, dominated by the colours of the team or major sponsors with the logos of minor sponsors in their own colour schemes. Williams's second major sponsor became [[Compaq]], and following Compaq's acquisition the team debuted [[Hewlett-Packard]] (HP) sponsorship at the [[2002 British Grand Prix]]. In a cross-promotion of this technological partnership, a worldwide television commercial featured drivers [[Ralf Schumacher]] and [[Juan Pablo Montoya]] seemingly driving their BMW Williams cars around a track by radio control from a grandstand.<ref>[http://www.visit4info.com/details.cfm?adid=9340 ''Hewlett-Packard Corporate- HP Technology and BMW Williams F1 Team'']. Retrieved 19 July 2006.</ref>

The new "clean" image allowed Williams to sign a cigarette anti-craving brand, [[Niquitin]],<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070927173837/http://gsk.com/ControllerServlet?appId=4&pageId=402&newsid=158 ''GlaxoSmithKline'']. Retrieved 19 July 2006.</ref> and [[Anheuser-Busch]], alternating with the [[Budweiser]] beer brand<ref>[http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/anheuser-busch-inc-budweiser-sponsors-bmw-williamsf1-team-154336085.html ''Anheuser-Busch, Inc.: Budweiser sponsors BMW WilliamsF1 Team'']. Retrieved 19 July 2006.</ref> and [[SeaWorld]] Adventure Parks,<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20060322062113/http://www.anheuser-busch.com/news/SW_BMW_GrandPrix063005.htm ''SeaWorld Adventure Parks To Be Featured With BMW WilliamsF1 Team'']. Retrieved 19 July 2006.</ref> in compliance with trademark disputes or alcohol bans.

====2000 season====
To replace Zanardi, Britain's [[Jenson Button]] made his series debut. The first season of Williams's partnership with BMW did not yield a single victory, but they managed to get on the podium three times, with [[Ralf Schumacher]] responsible for all three. Williams finished third in the Constructors' Championship, with 36 points, one more than the prior year. [[Ralf Schumacher]] finished fifth in the Drivers' Championship, while Button, in his debut season, finished in eighth. Button made scrappy mistakes in early races (Monaco, Europe), but overall made an impressive debut in Melbourne, and continued to impress, notably at Silverstone, Spa, and Suzuka.

====2001 season====
[[File:Ralf Schumacher 2001 Canada.jpg|thumb|left|Williams returned to the winner's rostrum in {{F1|2001}} with four Grands Prix victories including one for [[Ralf Schumacher]] in [[2001 Canadian Grand Prix|Montreal]].]]
In {{F1|2001}}, the arrangement between Williams and Ganassi came to an end, and thus Williams was able to bring [[Juan Pablo Montoya]] back to drive full-time for the team. He was returning after two successful years in CART, where he succeeded Zanardi as champion for 1999 and won ten races total; he also had become the first CART driver since the infamous 1996 split of American open-wheel racing to win the Indianapolis 500, doing so in 2000.

Since Montoya was returning to Williams, this left Jenson Button as the odd man out. He would move over to [[Benetton Formula|Benetton]], which was still running rebadged Renault engines, for what was the team's final season under that name.

The [[Williams FW23|FW23]] won four races, three by [[Ralf Schumacher]] at [[2001 San Marino Grand Prix|Imola]], [[2001 Canadian Grand Prix|Montreal]], and his home Grand Prix in [[2001 German Grand Prix|Germany]]. His teammate, Montoya, was victorious at [[2001 Italian Grand Prix|Monza]], and would have won a few more races if not for the FW23's unreliability and pit crew blunders. The car proved to be quicker than the Ferrari and McLaren counterparts in several races, but Williams's 2001 campaign only yielded third place in the Constructors' Championship.

====2002 season====
Williams maintained their driver line-up for the {{F1|2002}} season. The team only won one race, which was at [[2002 Malaysian Grand Prix|Malaysia]], one of only 2 races not won by Ferrari in a year dominated by the [[Ferrari F2002|Ferraris]] of [[Michael Schumacher]] and [[Rubens Barrichello]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Benson|first=Andrew|title=Schumacher paints F1 red|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/2282980.stm|work=BBC Sport|date=13 October 2002|access-date=13 July 2008}}</ref>  Despite Montoya qualifying on pole for 7 races, he ended up having a winless season. Williams did improve on their Constructors' Championship position, finishing in second. Montoya finished third in the Drivers' Championship, eight points ahead of Ralf Schumacher, who finished fourth.

In qualifying for the {{F1 GP|2002|Italian}} at the {{convert|5.793|km|3|abbr=on}} [[Autodromo Nazionale Monza|Monza]] circuit, Montoya lapped his [[Williams FW24]] in 1:20.264 for an average speed of {{convert|161.449|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}, breaking the speed record of {{convert|160.938|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} set by [[Keke Rosberg]] in a [[Honda F1|Honda]] turbo-powered [[Williams FW10]] at [[Silverstone Circuit|Silverstone]] for the [[1985 British Grand Prix]].

====2003 season====
[[File:Ralf Schumacher Indianapolis 2003.jpg|thumb|Schumacher in the [[Williams FW25|FW25]] at the [[2003 United States Grand Prix]] where he qualified fifth before retiring after 21 race laps]]
{{F1|2003}} would see Williams come closest to winning its first title since 1997. During pre-season, Frank Williams was very confident that the [[Williams FW25|FW25]] would challenge for the title.<ref>{{cite news|title=Williams launch new car|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/2712997.stm|work=BBC Sport|date=31 January 2003|access-date=13 July 2008}}</ref> The team won four races, with Montoya winning at [[2003 Monaco Grand Prix|Monaco]] and [[2003 German Grand Prix|Germany]], while Ralf Schumacher won at the [[2003 European Grand Prix|Nürburgring]] and the following race at [[2003 French Grand Prix|Magny-Cours]]. Montoya stayed in contention for the Drivers' Championship during the season, and finished third, 11 points behind [[Michael Schumacher]], while Ralf Schumacher finished fifth, 24 points behind Montoya. Williams finished second in the Constructors' Championship, two points ahead of McLaren.

====2004 season====
[[File:J p montoya usgp 2004.jpg|thumb|left|[[Juan Pablo Montoya]] in the "Walrus-Nose" designed [[Williams FW26]] during the [[2004 United States Grand Prix]] when he qualified fifth for the race but was disqualified for illegally using the spare car]]
At the start of the {{F1|2004}} season, it was announced that Montoya would be moving to McLaren in 2005. The team began the season with a radical nose-cone design, known as the "[[Walrus]]-Nose", that proved uncompetitive and was replaced by a more conventional assembly in [[2004 Hungarian Grand Prix|Hungary]]. [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]] dominated for a third consecutive season, winning 15 of the 18 races. Williams picked up a win at the final race in [[2004 Brazilian Grand Prix|Brazil]], with [[Juan Pablo Montoya]] finishing one second ahead of [[Kimi Räikkönen]]'s McLaren; this remained Williams's last F1 win until the [[2012 Spanish Grand Prix]]. Another low part of the season was when both Williams and [[Toyota Racing (Formula One team)|Toyota]] were disqualified from the [[2004 Canadian Grand Prix|Canadian Grand Prix]] after it was discovered that both cars had brake irregularities, the brake ducts seemingly not conforming to regulations.{{Citation needed|date=June 2012}} Williams finished the season in fourth, scoring 88 points and finishing on the podium six times, while Montoya was the highest-placed Williams driver that year, scoring 58 points to finish in fifth position.

====2005 season====
[[File:Heidfeld (Williams) in practice at USGP 2005.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Nick Heidfeld]] in the [[Williams FW27|FW27]] during practice for the [[2005 United States Grand Prix|2005 United States GP]]]]
For the {{F1|2005}} season, [[Ralf Schumacher|Schumacher]] moved to [[Toyota Racing (Formula One team)|Toyota]], while [[Juan Pablo Montoya|Montoya]] moved to McLaren. Taking their places were Australian [[Mark Webber (racing driver)|Mark Webber]] and German [[Nick Heidfeld]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Webber signs to BMW WilliamsF1|url=http://www.castrol.com/castrol/genericarticle.do?categoryId=9000062&contentId=7000426|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208011946/http://www.castrol.com/castrol/genericarticle.do?categoryId=9000062&contentId=7000426 |archive-date=8 February 2012|work=Castrol|date=28 July 2004|access-date=13 July 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=BMW sign Heidfeld for new F1 team|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/4251472.stm|work=BBC Sport|date=16 September 2005|access-date=13 July 2006}}</ref> [[Jenson Button]] was to have driven for Williams in 2005,<ref>{{cite news|title=Williams firm on Button|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/3541856.stm|work=BBC Sport|date=6 August 2004|access-date=9 June 2009}}</ref> but an [[Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile|FIA]] ruling forced Button to remain with his current team, [[British American Racing|BAR]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Williams: BAR can have Button but...|url=http://www.crash.net/f1/news/53476/1/williams_bar_can_have_button_but.html|work=Crash.net|publisher=Crash Media Group|date=29 August 2005|access-date=9 June 2009}}</ref> [[Antônio Pizzonia]] served as the test driver for the team during the 2005 season. Meanwhile, Button signed a contract to drive for Williams in 2006.

Although there was some positive moments, such as a double podium finish in Monaco and Heidfeld qualifying on pole position at the Nürburgring, Williams slipped further back down the field in 2005, due in part to the return to form of rivals McLaren and the emergence of Toyota as a front-running team. Williams failed to win a race for the first time since 2000, and only registered four podium finishes over the course of the season, finishing fifth in the constructors' championship with 66 points. Heidfeld was replaced by Pizzonia for the last five races of the season after the former suffered firstly a testing accident, and then was hit by a motorbike when out cycling prior to the race in Brazil. Pizzonia could only contribute two points towards the team's tally.

During the course of the 2004 and 2005 F1 seasons, [[BMW Motorsport]] and director [[Mario Theissen]] increasingly became publicly critical of the Williams F1 team's inability to create a package capable of winning the Constructors' Championship, or even multiple victories within a single season.<ref>{{cite news|title=BMW: Williams must improve|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/3036349.stm|work=BBC Sport|date=18 May 2003|access-date=8 June 2009}}</ref> Williams, on the other hand, blamed BMW for not producing a good enough engine.<ref>{{cite news|title=Williams criticises partner BMW|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/4075286.stm|work=BBC Sport|date=8 June 2005|access-date=9 June 2012}}</ref> Williams's failed attempt to prise [[Jenson Button]] out of his BAR contract may also have been an issue with Theissen. Despite [[Frank Williams (Formula One)|Frank Williams]]'s rare decision to capitulate to commercial demands by employing German driver [[Nick Heidfeld]] when he allegedly preferred [[Antônio Pizzonia]], the fallout between Williams and BMW continued through the 2005 Formula One season. Despite BMW's contract with Williams to supply engines until 2009, this public deterioration of the relationship between Williams and BMW was a factor in the decision by BMW Motorsport to buy [[Sauber]] and rebrand that team to feature the BMW name.<ref>{{cite news|title=BMW buys Sauber to form own team|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/4118472.stm|work=BBC Sport|date=22 June 2005|access-date=9 June 2012}}</ref>