The Williams Database Winter Challenge 2025
Now in its eigth year, The Williams Database Winter Challenge is a bit of fun for the off-season. For 14 weeks between the 2024 and 2025 F1 seasons from 11th December 2024 – 26th February 2025, there will be one Williams related question for you to answer a week.
Questions will be posted here every Wednesday at 8 AM GMT (ish!) – you have 24 hours to submit your answer using the form below so no need to rush. Everyone who gives the correct answer within 24 hours of positing the question will get ten points. The person with the most points at the end of the competition will win. If more than one person has the same number of points at the end there will be a quick-fire tie-break round.
So that means to be in with a chance you have to answer as many questions as you can over the ten weeks but you don’t need to rush to answer.
What you can win
This year there is a bumper prize on offer that includes:
- A Jim Bamber Williams mechanic figure (needs a bit of TLC!)
- A Topps Williams Racing shiny logo card
- Hamleys Williams small rucksack
- Copy of Mark Webbers autobiography.
The competition is open to anyone, anywhere as I will post on to you.
Current Positions
This Week’s Question
The maps above show:
- Grove, Oxfordshire: current Williams factory
- Silverstone circuit, Northmptonshire: site of Williams’s first win
- Woodlands St. Mary, Berkshire: Sir Franks’s last house
- Felbridge, West Sussex: James Vowles birth place.
Previous Week’s Questions
Here’s a reminder of the previous questions:
Week One
The answer was, as many of you said, Lance Stroll, who was, at the 2017 Australian Grand Prix, 18 years, 4 months, and 26 days old, just beating Jenson Button, whose first start was when he was 20 years, 1 month, and 23 days.
Week Two
I think that the contents of this tweet shows that the world of Twitter was a very different place back in 2010! I’m surprised that more people weren’t able to get this but what do I know! Well done to those that did.
“Managed to delete my @ClaireVWilliams account so this is my new one. Please spread the word!” – May 20th 2010 @11:36
Week Three
Easy one this week, my Christmas present to you! It was, of course, Carlos Reutemann and Franco Colapinto. Reutemann had 31 starts with Williams and three wins leaving abruptly after the second race in 1982. Colapinto completed nine races replacing Logan Sargeant and is now left on the sidelines for 2025 with no seat.
Week Four
Not an easy one this week but the answer is either 33 or 34 depending on you view of the 1983 European Grand Prix at which Williams fielded a third car for Jonathan Palmer. I’ve accepted both as valid answers to the question.
If you want to see the years when there have been drivers more or less than the now standard two, see below.
Week Five
It was surprisingly only the previous year at the US Grand Prix in 2023. The Williams duo of Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant were 9th and 10th, having originally finished outside of the points, but two post-race disqualifications promoted them. It was the only time Sargeant was to score in his F1 career.
Week Six
In 1992, Nigel Mansell won the championship in style and had wanted to defend it the following year. However, Frank had snapped up Alain Prost, who had taken a year out after leaving Ferrari. Mansell didn’t want to be in the team with Prost so went off in a huff and went to Cart, where he duly won the championship, which I find incredibly impressive.
In 1993, Alain Prost won the championship in style and had wanted to defend it the following year. However, Frank had snapped up Ayrton Senna. Prost didn’t want to be in the team with Senna so went off in a huff and setup Prost Grand Prix, which was much less impressive than his driving career.
