Most Successful Season

Over the course of the four years that BMW and WilliamsF1 have been together the team has had two third places in the Constructors' Championship, 2000 and 2001,  a second place 2002. Now in 2003 the team was in a position where they were they were in contention for both the drivers and constructors titles. In 2002 it was very much the case that BMW WilliamsF1 was the best of the rest but were not really able to challenge Ferrari. Now in 2003 Juan Pablo Montoya was challenging for the drivers title up until the United States Grand Prix and the team had an opportunity to secure the constructors title in the final race of the season.

The performance of the team was made even more impressive by the fact that the new FW25 struggled in the opening series of races, with only one podium finish in the first six races, and it was not until after the team developed the car that they were able to take on Ferrari. The team showed that they could turn things around and make the new car very competitive.

Looking at the facts of the 2003 season the team was able to secure four victories, Juan Pablo would have eight podium finishes in a row, and Ralf was able to score points in the first ten races. The team would also have two one-two race results, at the European and French Grand Prix. No other team would complete more race laps than did the BMW WilliamsF1 team showing their fantastic reliability for the season. Also the 2003 P83 BMW engine again showed its reliability, with not a single engine failure during any of the Grand Prix.

The start of the 2003 season would see the team put their new FW25 out on display and it was certainly an impressive introduction when the car rolled out for the first time. The opening race of the season would see Juan Pablo make an impressive start leading the race and ending in second position after a costly spin. It was a race where he could have won had it not been for Juan Pablo's error but still it was very encouraging. Ralf would finish in eighth, scoring a single point under the new points structure for 2003.

The next two races in Malaysia and Brazil would gain see Ralf score two more top eight positions. The reliability of the new FW25 was certainly showing, even if it still had yet to show the speed necessary to challenge for race victories. Even though the team was working hard to correct this lack of speed in the car the races at Imola and Barcelona, for the san Marino and Spanish Grand Prix, would still see the team lacking in the necessary performance. It was a time when it was thought by many that the teams chances for the 2003 season were lost, but the team would start to turn things around.

Come the Austrian Grand Prix the team would start to show that they were getting on top of the performance issues and showed that their season was from from been written off. Juan Pablo was able to lead the race in Austria, and despite retiring with a cooling system problem came away knowing that they could challenge for race victories.

Juan Pablo commented on the race by saying: "After all, we are leaving Austria knowing that the WilliamsF1 BMW FW25 is able to win races."

And win a race was exactly what Juan Pablo would do at the following race in Monaco. It was a race result that the team had indeed turned things around. The team would see their drivers qualify first and third. Ralf would lead the race and Juan Pablo would secure the victory. It was a result that would leave the team with a great feeling and very positive about the prospects for the rest of the season. BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen said: “A great result, a fantastic feeling. This result and the pole position will be a real boost for the whole team.”  His comments were backed up by those of WilliamsF1 Chief Operations Engineer Sam Michael who added: “This success is just fantastic for the whole team.”

But could the team continue their success at the next Grand Prix in Canada. They would not disappoint their fans with Ralf and Juan Pablo finishing the race on the podium, Ralf in second position and Juan Pablo third. the last time the team had been able to achieve this result, with both drivers on the podium was in Germany last year.

Dr Mario Theissen commented on the result showing that it indicated that the team would be competitive everywhere, not just on tight and slow circuits like Monaco. He said: “The grid positions in the first row and the race result have confirmed that we are now able to set the pace not only at circuits like Monaco.”

So with the first half of the season complete the BMW Williams F1 Team had scored points at every single race and were third position in the Constructors’ Championship. The team certainly had turned their season around and were now in a position to challenge for both championships.

The second half of the season would start well with the team scoring two 1-2’s race finishes as well as seeing Juan Pablo score another victory in Germany and Ralf winning in the French and European Grand Prix. The team would also see its drivers score several second placed finishes.

During this time, after much media speculation, the WilliamsF1 team and BMW announced that they had finally reached an agreement and would extend the partnership until 2009.

“We are convinced that this move will prove to have been the foundation stone for a successful future of the project”, said Dr Burkhard Goeschel, BMW F1 project head.

For the team this renewal of their BMW and WilliamsF1 partnership would see them achieve instant success with Ralf Schumacher winning the European GP, with Juan Pablo finishing second. The feelings of the team were summed up by BMW's Dr Mario Theissen who said: “This was a perfect weekend for our team. At first we have extended our cooperation, and then we gained a 1-2, and all this at our home Grand Prix at the Nürburbring.”

This success would continue at the next race in France for the French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours, when the BMW WilliamsF1 team would see their drivers scoring another one-two. The race was won by Ralf Schumacher followed by team-mate Juan Pablo.

“This is the best result we have achieved since we have begun our partnership three and a half year ago”, said Dr Theissen. Juan Pablo added:  “We are getting closer and closer to Ferrari.”

Further success was seen by the team at the British Grand Prix, when Juan Pablo would secure another second place. Unfortunately for Ralf his record of scoring points in every race would come to an end at this race.

At the next race in Germany the race would see Juan Pablo secure a dominate victory, finishing 1m:05.459 ahead of second placed David Coulthard  Again the race would be a disappointing one for Ralf as he had to retire after been involved in start incident with Barrichello and Raikkonen. The team had every right to feel that they were in a position to challenge Ferrari for the championships. The next race, the Hungarian Grand Prix, would see them confirm their challenge when after Juan Pablo and Ralf came third respectively fourth.

This would see the team lead of the Constructors’ Championship. The result of the next race at Monza would see the team continue to lead the constructors championship. But for Ralf his title hopes would suffer a major set back when he would have to withdraw from the race after having a major testing crash which left him unfit to drive.

For Juan Pablo the race would see him achieve his eighth podium finish in a row. He was backed up by Marc Gené, brought into replace Ralf, who would finish an excellent fifth. Marc spoke of this result by saying: "This is the best result of my F1 career and I’m really happy with it."

It was now down to the last two races of the season with Juan Pablo still in with a chance to secure the drivers title and the team lead the constructors championship. But the last two races would see the team suffer a reversal of their success. The team would only score three more points in the USA and Japan. The race at Indianapolis would see Ralf retire and Juan Pablo given a penalty for his part in an accident with Rubens Barrichello. Juan Pablo and Rubens would have a coming together which would see Rubens retire.

Juan Pablo would finish in sixth, ending any hopes he had a securing the drivers title. This was disappointing for the team but they were still in a position to fight for the constructors title. But it would all go wrong in the final race, the Japanese Grand Prix. Neither Ralf or Juan Pablo would score points with Juan Pablo retiring and Ralf only finishing tenth.

After the final race the BMW WilliamsF1 Team would finish second in the Constructors’ Championship, with 144 points. This points tally was the best since WilliamsF1 and BMW had come together. Juan Pablo and Ralf would finish third and fifth in the drivers championship.

Not exactly where they had hoped to be but never the less the team did have what could be considered their most successful season. Two points that should not be forgotten are that no other team was as successful as the BMW WilliamsF1 Team in the second half of the 2003 season and no other team had been able to score one-two finishes in 2003.

BMW's Dr Mario Theissen spoke of the season by saying: “The foundation for a successful future has been laid." As for 2004 the BMW WilliamsF1 Team should have the confidence built from their performances in 2003 to challenge for the championships.

For Dr Mario Theissen the prospects for 2004 are positive. He said: "It was close, and everything is setting up for next year even better. We have got the potential you need to win the title."

Both Ralf and Juan Pablo are staying with the team for 2004, combined with what should be a continuation of the 2003 FW25, the 2004 FW26 with its powerful new BMW P84 engine. Things certainly look very good for the BMW WilliamsF1 team, coming from what was their most successful season.