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- More than 1000 hours went into restoring this classic World Championship-winning F1 car.
- The vehicle was restored in the UK and shipped back to Saudi Arabia for the inaugural race.
- The FIA used it in a tribute lap to the late Sir Frank Williams, founder of Williams Racing.
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An extraordinary Formula One car appeared at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah earlier this month. Driven by F1 living legends David Coulthard, Emerson Fittipaldi and Damon Hill, this vehicle was painstakingly restored by Fifteen Eleven Design (a UK-based restorations business), and it was the first F1 car to sample the all-new Corniche circuit ahead of the Grand Prix.
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The fully-restored 1980 Williams FW07/04
Fifteen Eleven created history this earlier month as they were chosen to fully recommission a 1980 Williams FW07/04 Formula 1 car that Alan Jones used during his World Championship title-winning season. From their premises in Bakewell in the UK, the company extensively restored the iconic racer with a ground-up rebuild after dismantling and shipping the machine from its Saudi Arabian car collector's home. After a painstaking eight-week restoration, Fifteen Eleven returned the legendary car to Jeddah, where it was the first Formula 1 car to sample the all-new race circuit used as the penultimate round of the 2021 F1 World Championship.
READ MORE ABOUT THE WILLIAMS F1 RACING HERE.
One of the greatest F1 cars ever made
The raucous Williams FW07/04 was first used by Australian F1 star Alan Jones in 1979 and would be the car that propelled him to the Drivers title and Williams to the Constructors title in 1980. Jones would pilot "04" in the Argentinian Grand Prix in January of 1980, taking pole position and subsequent the race win, laying the foundations for a stellar season in the World Championship. From its owner's home in Saudi Arabia, the Fifteen Eleven team would visit the iconic machine to thoroughly inspect and understand the necessary work. From there, they would strip the vehicle to its aluminium monocoque chassis to enable transport to its premises in the UK.
Modern techniques used to restore a classic car
The painstaking process would then begin restoring the Williams to its original glory, which included 3D scans and modelling to ensure a faithful re-creation of unavailable parts. All components' total strip-down and rebuild began, from the wiring loom to the iconic green leather steering wheel often associated with the FW07/04. Geoff Richardson Racing Engines commissioned a brand new 3-litre V8 Cosworth DFV engine, coupled with a full transmission overhaul by specialists Mark Bailey Racing. Fifteen Eleven's engineers spent over one thousand hours bringing this legendary Formula 1 car back to life before returning to the Middle East ahead of the much-hyped Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. There, it would showcase the brand-new circuit, with a host of A-list motorsport legends taking to the track in the Williams.
READ MORE ABOUT SIR FRANK WILLIAMS HERE.
A fitting tribute to Sir Frank Williams
Due to the passing away of Sir Frank Williams, founder of Williams Racing, at the end of November, Formula 1 would also call on the FW07/04 to complete a lap of the circuit ahead of the Saudi Arabian race with Hill at the wheel as a mark of remembrance of the inspirational mastermind and car builder.
Managing Director of Fifteen Eleven Design Chris Mellors was honoured to work on such a prestigious and high-profile project.
"The Williams FW07/04 project has undoubtedly been one of the biggest tasks Fifteen Eleven Design has undertaken, and we certainly faced many challenges along the way, but it's been simply magical to be able to return this iconic machine to its former glory," he says.
Fifteen Eleven Design, the classic arm of the World Rally Championship team Mellors Elliot Motorsport boasts more than 40 years of experience in engineering and building bespoke cars for competition and road use.
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