Patrick Head Biography

Patrick, however, never actually met the two at school. “Hunt was a year behind me, and of course one never talked to anybody younger than oneself.” Despite exposure to motor sport at such a young age, Patrick did not immediately
catch the motor sport bug and decided to follow in his father’s career footsteps and pursue a career in the military. Upon finishing his studies at Wellington, Patrick attended the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth. Naval life did not captivate Patrick, however, and his initial inclination was soon supplanted by an interest in mechanical engineering. Having left Naval College, Patrick subsequently went on to study engineering to degree level at Birmingham, Bournemouth and finally University College, London.

For Patrick, university was not all about study. In his free time, he liked to indulge his passion for cars and, towards the end of his studies, he decided he wanted to go Clubman's racing. "I decided that Arthur Mallock didn't really know what he was doing, and that the U-2 should have an independent rear end on it. He was actually very, very kind, and instead of telling me what an idiot I was, and that I should get out there in a standard car before trying anything, he said that I could buy the front of this much of a new U-2, Mark 8b, - putting a line here on the drawing! He reckoned that it was about two thirds of the length, so I could pay him two thirds of the price of a new chassis - only about £120, incredibly cheap! He literally did it by length and said I could do what I liked on the back of it. So in my last year at university - goodness knows where I found the time - I built a U-2, with a Mark 8b front end and an incredibly, excessively complex, Head independent rear end, built around a Lotus Elite final drive. With a friend, who provided the engine and gearbox, we went off racing."

After college, Patrick gained employment with Lola Cars Ltd and found himself
working under John Barnard producing parts for every kind of competition car
available - from Formula Ford to Formula 5000 cars. Following his six-month stint at Lola, and another brief period on his own, Patrick worked for Ron Tauranac, developing the Trojan F2 design for F5000 racing. Patrick admits that it was these early stages in his career where he found the most variety. “When I started at Lola, on the first day I worked on a Can-Am car, albeit only designing a seat bracket, and four days later was working on a Formula Ford. Then I assisted Eric Broadley on this Indy car, with a great big Ford Turbo V-8 - all sorts of different types. Lots of variety.”

It was in 1975, after his stint with Tauranac, that Patrick first met Frank. Frank was in desperate need of an engineer and Patrick had been recommended. Patrick recalls his interview in a suite at the Carlton Towers Hotel in London, hastily booked by Frank to give a positive impression. “As we talked, he gave not the slightest impression of being at all interested in me as an engineer, although one thing he did ask, however, was whether or not I was really committed. “Are you prepared to work twelve hours a day, seven days a week?” he asked, to which I replied, “No I’m not, because anybody who has to do that is extremely badly organised.” Frank took Patrick on, but his time at Frank Williams (Racing Cars) as chief engineer was to be short lived, as the company was almost immediately sold to Walter Wolf.

Patrick stayed on at Wolf Racing, becoming assistant engineer to Harvey
Postlethwaite, absorbing as much as possible. In the meantime, Frank had managed to secure enough sponsorship to set up Williams Grand Prix Engineering; all he needed was an engineer. Although widely regarded by some as professional suicide, Patrick left Wolf Racing to partner Frank.

The first Patrick Head-designed Williams car, the FW06, appeared in 1978. A year later, his designs had claimed their first Grand Prix victory at Silverstone, and two years later, Williams claimed the FIA Formula One Drivers’ and Constructors’ titles for the first time.

Twenty-six years later, Patrick’s designs have secured nine Constructors’ and seven Drivers’ Championships.

Patrick’s talents have led many to compare his technical ability to that of Colin
Chapman’s. His engineering vision, combined with his ability to comprehend the
importance of longer-term planning, in particular in research and development, has kept Patrick at the forefront of mechanical engineering for the past two decades. Despite this, Patrick still sketches his designs using the traditional pencil, rubber and ruler!

Away from the rigours of Formula One, Patrick has two or three favourite pursuits. He is a regular on the terraces at Chelsea football ground, and is a self-confessed motorcycling nut. He annually finds time in his hectic schedule to don some leathers and tour to the French Grand Prix with a group of friends. His final passion, a hang over from his youth and naval days, is the open sea. Patrick has a share in a yacht and predicts his retirement will be spent clattering up and down the deck with a zimmer frame. Patrick is married with two children and lives in London.