1986 Williams FW11 @ Nordschleife

The Williams FW11 was a Formula One car designed by Frank Dernie as a serious challenger to McLaren and their MP4/2C car. The car took over from where the FW10 left off at the end of 1985, when that car won the last three races of the season.

The FW11's most notable feature was the Honda 1.5 litre V6 turbo engine, one of the most powerful in F1 at the time producing 800 bhp at 12,000rpm and well over 1,200 bhp at 12,000 rpm in qualifying.

Added to the engine's power were the aerodynamics, which were ahead of the MP4/2C and the Lotus 98T. That and its driving pairing of Nelson Piquet and Nigel Mansell made it a force to be reckoned with.

In 1986, the car won first time out in Brazil with Piquet, before Mansell laid down a title challenge with four wins. Williams were shaken by the near fatal road crash of Frank Williams which demoralised the team. Williams survived the crash but became a quadriplegic as a result, with the 1986 British Grand Prix the first time during the season he would appear in the Williams pits as he went through his rehabilitation. Patrick Head stepped up and managed the team until Williams returned late in the season. This may have caused the in-fighting between the two team mates, and the lost points helped Alain Prost take his second world championship. That and Mansell's spectacular blow out in the final race in Australia where all he had to do was finish third to win the title. The points built up between Piquet and Mansell were enough for Williams to take the constructors' championship, however.

Reportedly, both Nelson Piquet and Honda, whom it was rumored were paying the bulk of the Brazilian's USD$3.3 million retainer, left Australia angry with Head and Williams Management. Both believed that the 1981 and 1983 World Champion had been signed by Frank Williams as the undisputed number 1 driver and that the team hadn't honoured their contract, with Frank Williams' comment when he announced the signing of Piquet that he had just signed "The best driver in the world" seeming to support their view. Both Piquet and Honda believed that Williams should have reined in Mansell during races and forced him to give best to Piquet for race wins or higher points finishes, and thus an easier passage to the World Championship, something that both Piquet and Honda coveted.

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