Williams insider names one driver F1 team hired that was a real ‘disappointment’

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Frank Williams was one of the most legendary Formula 1 team owners of all time, but his decision to hire Alex Zanardi was widely considered a mistake.

For the Drive to Survive generation of F1 fans, the idea of Williams being one of the most dominant teams in the sport might be hard to understand.

However, Williams insider Jim Wright has shared on the Bring Back V10s Podcast the difficult season the Italian-born driver had when he returned to Formula 1 in 1999.

In the 1990s, Williams had enjoyed plenty of success.

They won five Constructors’ Championships in six seasons but also suffered the heartbreak of losing Ayrton Senna in 1994.

Jacques Villeneuve and Heinz-Harald Frentzen had won the title in 1997, but dropped to third the following year and Williams decided to make a change.

Both drivers moved on and Ralf Schumacher came in after two decent seasons with Jordan.

He was partnered by Alex Zanardi, returning to F1 after winning back-to-back CART Championships in the USA.

However, Williams ended up making a mistake bringing Zanardi back in at 33, as he struggled in a car that should have regularly been competing for points.

Just 12 months later, Schumacher was joined by Jenson Button as his F1 career started to develop.

Williams made a mistake in hiring Zanardi

Speaking about his season, former Williams board member Wright said: “I think the first word that comes to mind is disappointment because we had such high hopes for Alex [Zanardi] joining Williams.

“We’d had a vision to get Alex onboard, we’d signed him on a reasonable long-term contract and it just didn’t work, so disappointment would be the word that springs to mind.

“I’ll say this, Frank [Williams] was always quite emotional with racing drivers.

“For a man who was devoid of emotions and famously said that emotions are a sign of weakness, drivers did sway him, there was no doubt about it.

“Alex had this fantastic aura about him, this friendliness, this warmth, humour, passion, everyone just wanted him to work and to be the successful Williams Formula 1 driver that we thought he could and should be.

“And I think for once, Frank made a mistake there.”

Zanardi initially started life in Formula 1 with Jordan, replacing Roberto Moreno at the end of the 1991 season.

A brief stint with backmarkers Minardi in 1992 was followed up by two nearly complete seasons with Lotus before returning to America, scoring what turned out to be the only point of his F1 career in Brazil in 1993.

Unfortunately, it was clear Williams had made a mistake when Zanardi ended up retiring from eight of his first 11 races in 1999.

He showed glimpses of his quality at Spa and Monza, but he went through the campaign pointless and even though he was still doing media events at the beginning of 2000, he never returned to the grid.

Unfortunately, Zanardi had a life-changing crash in 2001, losing both his legs in the process.

However, he went on to four gold medals at the Paralympic Games before suffering further serious injuries during a cycling race in 2020.