Frank Williams, F1 pioneer who fought adversity to build dominant team

Saudia was an early sponsor of Williams Racing. (Williams Photo)
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Updated 29 November 2021
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Frank Williams, F1 pioneer who fought adversity to build dominant team

  • Williams’ dry wit and charm, indefatigable spirit and resilience served him well on his journey from being a trainee sales rep for Campbell’s soup to the pinnacle of F1
  • Frank Williams: ‘It’s been a great journey, one I’d love to do again if I was younger. I wouldn’t try and do anything different except try and avoid the accidents’

PARIS: Frank Williams was a colossus of Formula One, but lurking beneath all the success the British racing legend’s life was touched by tragedy.
Williams, who died on Sunday aged 79, was left a tetraplegic and confined to a wheelchair after a road accident in France in 1986.
The courage, energy and determination with which he dealt with this cruel roll of fate’s dice drew admiration from his family, friends, colleagues and the wider public.
With technical guru Patrick Head he created, from scratch, one of the greatest Formula One teams of all time.
Williams captured seven drivers’ titles, the last claimed by Canadian Jacques Villeneuve in 1997, while the team’s nine constructors’ crowns places Williams second only to mighty Ferrari.
His noted dry wit and charm, indefatigable spirit and resilience served him well on his journey from being a trainee sales rep for Campbell’s soup earning £10 a week, to the pinnacle of the high-octane world of F1.
Francis Owen Garbett Williams was born in South Shields in northeast England on April 16, 1942.
In his early days in motor racing, he had to conduct business from his local red telephone box when cash wasn’t flowing.
He established Frank Williams Racing Cars in 1966, competing in F3 and F2, and F1 with a borrowed chassis from 1969.
The death of his first driver Piers Courage, driving for Williams at the Dutch GP at Zandvoort in 1970, was said to have marked him for life.
The first all-Williams built F1 car had an inauspicious start, when with Henri Pescarolo at the wheel, it was destroyed in a crash in 1972.
With funding an ever-present problem and having lost control of his company he left, with Head, to set up the team that is still racing today, in 1977.
Clay Regazzoni drove a Cosworth-powered Williams to its first F1 success, fittingly at the British Grand Prix, in 1979.
Australian Alan Jones won the team’s first drivers’ title the following season. Williams also collected the constructors’ championship that year.
Keke Rosberg took the 1982 title, with five more captured in a golden period between 1987 and 1997, all after Williams’ ill-fated 1986 dash to catch a flight in France that led to the car crash.
“I was late for a plane I didn’t need to be late for, I got the French time mixed up with the English time,” he was to recall.
Williams lost control of the rental car, causing it to leave the highway and drop 2.4 meters into a field. Williams suffered a spinal fracture between the fourth and fifth vertebra after being pressed between his seat and the crushed roof.
Williams was consigned to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair.
“But life has to go on,” he said. “I was able to continue in the business I was already in, but generally speaking it’s been a handicap in the true sense of the word.”
At the height of their powers, Ayrton Senna, who had won three titles with McLaren, came on board for the 1994 season, only to perish in a horrific high-speed crash at Imola.
Williams had a deep connection with the Brazilian great and was never able fully to come to terms with his death.
“Frank had a love affair with Ayrton,” his daughter Claire, who would later head the team, told The Sun newspaper in 2019.
“He got into his heart, got into his mind, and he always wanted to put him in his race car. Dad’s wish then came true, but it ended in the worst possible way.”
Not for the first time personal anguish failed to diminish Williams’ single-mindedness to succeed, with Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve capturing the 1996 and 1997 world championships. He was knighted in 1999 and became Sir Frank.
“It’s been a great journey, one I’d love to do again if I was younger. I wouldn’t try and do anything different except try and avoid the accidents,” Williams told the BBC in 2010.
His death comes after his family ended 43 years of involvement in the team in September 2020, following its sale to Dorilton Capital.
Former Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone told AFP shortly before the sale that the team had lost its raison d’etre when Williams stepped down from the board in 2012.
Both of them were among the co-founders of the Formula One Constructors’ Association in 1974.
“Dear old Frank had to work so hard to make sure the team competed and that happened,” he said.
“Frank was hands-on in the way he managed the team.
“He could get things done.”


Najmul to lead Bangladesh in Pakistan-hosted Champions Trophy

Updated 30 sec ago
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Najmul to lead Bangladesh in Pakistan-hosted Champions Trophy

  • Key players Liton Das and former all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan not part of the squad
  • ODI Champions Trophy tournament takes place in Pakistan and Dubai from February 19

DHAKA: Najmul Hossain Shanto will captain Bangladesh in the Champions Trophy in Pakistan and Dubai next month, the cricket board said Sunday, with key players including Liton Das missing the cut.

Former star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is also missing from the 15-man squad for the one-day international tournament.

The Champions Trophy takes place in Pakistan and Dubai from February 19 with Bangladesh placed in Group A alongside India, Pakistan and New Zealand.

Bangladesh are ninth in the ICC ODI rankings.

They play their opener against India in Dubai on February 20.

Bangladesh squad: Nazmul Hossain Shanto (capt), Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan, Towhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Mahmudullah Riyad, Jaker Ali, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Parvez Hossain Emon, Nasum Ahmed, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Nahid Rana.


Australian Open: Olympic champ Zheng Qinwen starts her bid for another final on a rainy Day 1

Updated 12 January 2025
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Australian Open: Olympic champ Zheng Qinwen starts her bid for another final on a rainy Day 1

  • They had just finished the pre-match formalities when play was delayed by a few minutes so that the roof could be closed
  • It was one of the matches that continued under cover when tournament organizers suspended play on all outside courts until later in the afternoon

MELBOURNE: Zheng Qinwen’s tennis resume is quite different from what it was when she showed up at the Australian Open a full year ago. No matter everything she accomplished in 2024 — a runner-up finish at Melbourne Park; an Olympic gold medal for China — she felt jitters before entering Rod Laver Arena on Sunday.
After overcoming some hiccups late in the opening set of her first-round match on a stormy Day 1 at the season’s first major tennis tournament, Zheng came through with a 7-6 (3), 6-1 victory against Anca Todoni, a 20-year-old qualifier from Romania who has won one Grand Slam match in her career.
“Actually, I feel really nervous,” said Zheng, who is seeded No. 5. “I started to feel nervous already since yesterday, ‘cause I felt special emotion for the Australian Open. ... I really like it here.”
As well she should.
It was 12 months ago on Melbourne’s hard courts that Zheng made it all the way to the final before losing to Aryna Sabalenka. The two-time champion was due to begin her title defense as the No. 1 seed on Sunday night against 2017 US Open title winner Sloane Stephens, before Alexander Zverev, the men’s No. 2 seed, faced Lucas Pouille.
Before her run in Australia last January, Zheng had only played in eight major tournaments, making one quarterfinal. Her big-hitting breakthrough opened a season in which she wound up with a gold draped around her neck at the Paris Games in August.
The 22-year-old Zheng’s power-based game is best suited for hard courts, and playing indoors doesn’t hurt, either, so she eventually was quite comfortable against Todoni under a closed retractable roof, while thunder and lightning and a serious downpour suspended action on the courts that can’t be covered.
Still, Zheng frittered away set points while serving for the opener at 5-4, then was forced to save set points for Todoni later. Afterward, Zheng said that being nervous usually makes her focus better, but this time, it didn’t make “me play my best tennis out there.”
Maybe that’s because it was her first match of the season. Still, she was good enough on this day.
The second set was more one-sided, and Todoni took a medical timeout for treatment on her lower back after three games.
Zheng was among only a handful of players able to complete matches in the early going at what is now a 15-day tournament after a Sunday start was instituted last year. That extra time, which spreads out the first round across three days, could be particularly helpful this week, when Monday’s packed program already included matches for Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek.
Other winners Sunday afternoon included No. 14 Mirra Andreeva, a 17-year-old from Russia; No. 18 Donna Vekic and No. 20 Arthur Fils.
“To be able to play a match and to finish a match with a roof, it’s much more easy than ... to stop with the rain,” said Fils, who eliminated Otto Virtanen of Finland 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4, 6-4. “So, yeah, it’s a nice treatment.”


New Zealand recall proven trio for Pakistan-hosted Champions Trophy

Updated 12 January 2025
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New Zealand recall proven trio for Pakistan-hosted Champions Trophy

  • New Zealand recall Kane Williamson, Devon Conway and Lockie Ferguson for upcoming tournament
  • Key trio were unavailable for home ODI series against Sri Lanka due to offshore T20 commitments

Wellington: Seasoned players Kane Williamson, Devon Conway and Lockie Ferguson were recalled Sunday to an experienced New Zealand squad to contest the Champions Trophy one-day tournament.

The key trio were unavailable for the just-completed home ODI series against Sri Lanka because of offshore T20 commitments.

Batters Williamson and Conway have been playing in South Africa’s T20 league while pace bowler Ferguson is involved in Australia’s Big Bash competition.

Ben Sears was also selected for the ICC tournament co-hosted by Pakistan and UAE, having missed the 2-1 series win over Sri Lanka with a knee injury.

It will be the first senior ICC event for Sears and fellow pace bowlers Will O’Rourke and Nathan Smith.

Coach Gary Stead will oversee a squad he said also boasted experience and depth.

“We’re currently blessed with a lot of quality players and that certainly made for some challenging selection discussions,” Stead said.

Spin bowler Mitchell Santner will lead New Zealand at a major event for the first time, after being named full-time white ball captain in December.

Santner, former skipper Williamson and wicketkeeper Tom Latham were all part of the New Zealand squad for the last edition of the Champions Trophy, in England and Wales in 2017.

New Zealand will contest the tournament’s opening match against Pakistan in Karachi on February 19, followed by pool games against Bangladesh and India.

New Zealand squad: Mitchell Santner (capt), Will Young, Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham, Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Nathan Smith, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Ben Sears, Will O’Rourke


Boxing Magazine relaunch: A historic celebration at London’s Old Royal Naval College

Updated 25 min 41 sec ago
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Boxing Magazine relaunch: A historic celebration at London’s Old Royal Naval College

  • First published in the 1920s, Boxing Magazine has cemented its reputation as the definitive source of news, analysis, and profiles in the world of boxing
  • “This magazine is more than a publication; it is a bridge between tradition and modernity," says Saudi entertainment authority chief, the man behind the acquisition of the mag 

LONDON: The historic Old Royal Naval College was the perfect backdrop for a momentous occasion: the relaunch of Boxing Magazine, a publication steeped in tradition and renowned for its in-depth coverage of the sweet science.

Established in 1922, Boxing Magazine has chronicled the evolution of boxing for more than a century, becoming a trusted voice for fans and insiders alike.

Now, under the stewardship of Turki Al-Alshaikh, adviser to the Saudi Royal Court and head of the Kingdom’s General Entertainment Authority, the magazine is poised for a bold new era.

First published in the early 20th century, Boxing Magazine quickly cemented its reputation as the definitive source of news, analysis and profiles in the world of boxing. Over the decades, it has covered legendary bouts, celebrated champions, and documented the sport’s growth on a global scale. From the roaring 1920s to the digital age, the magazine has adapted to changing times while maintaining its commitment to quality journalism.

Saturday’s relaunch event was a tribute to this legacy, with guests including prominent figures from the boxing community, sports media, and entertainment industry. Attendees marveled at an exclusive exhibition of iconic magazine covers and memorabilia, offering a nostalgic journey through boxing’s storied past. Al-AlShaikh, who attended the event, highlighted the magazine’s potential to unite global boxing enthusiasts.

Visionary leadership

The acquisition of Boxing Magazine by Al-AlShaikh is a significant turning point for the publication. Known for his transformative work as GEA head, Al-Alshaikh has been instrumental in fostering cultural and sporting advances in the Kingdom. His presence at the event underscored his commitment to elevating the magazine’s profile and broadening its global reach.

In his remarks, Al-AlShaikh emphasized his passion for boxing and the role of sport in bridging cultures. “This magazine is more than a publication; it is a bridge between tradition and modernity, a testament to the enduring power of sport to inspire and unite,” he said.

As part of the event, special awards were presented to recognize outstanding achievements in the boxing world. Billy Dib was honored with The Ring Comeback of the Year award, while Daniel Dubois received The Ring Knockout of the Year award for his stunning KO of Anthony Joshua.

Saudi Vision 2030

The relaunch of Boxing Magazine aligns seamlessly with Saudi Vision 2030, the Kingdom’s ambitious blueprint for economic and cultural transformation. By investing in global cultural and sporting assets, Saudi Arabia aims to establish itself as a hub for innovation, creativity and entertainment. The reinvigoration of a historic brand like Boxing Magazine reflects this commitment, showing how tradition and progress can harmonize.

Under Al-AlShaikh’s leadership, the magazine is expected to expand its reach to new audiences, particularly in the Middle East and Asia, regions where boxing is experiencing rapid growth. Plans include bilingual editions, interactive digital platforms, a dedicated app, and printed versions of the magazine. These initiatives aim to celebrate boxing’s heritage while nurturing its future.

Bright future ahead

As Boxing Magazine enters this exciting new chapter, its relaunch at the Old Royal Naval College symbolizes the enduring appeal of boxing as a sport and cultural phenomenon. With Al-AlShaikh at the helm, the magazine is well positioned to honor its storied past while embracing the opportunities of the future.

For boxing enthusiasts and casual readers alike, the relaunch promises a revitalized publication that stays true to its roots while setting new standards in sports journalism. With its rich history and visionary leadership, Boxing Magazine is poised to remain a cornerstone of the boxing world for generations to come.


Caroline Dubois dominates and retains title but bout ends in technical draw after head clash

Updated 12 January 2025
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Caroline Dubois dominates and retains title but bout ends in technical draw after head clash

  • Dubois (10-0-1) was in full control when the referee called a timeout. The ringside doctor ruled that the 36-year-old Camara (14-4-1) could not continue

SHEFFIELD, England: Caroline Dubois scored a first-round knockdown and retained her WBC lightweight title against Jessica Camara despite the bout ending in a technical draw due to an accidental clash of heads Saturday.
Dubois, whose older brother Daniel is the IBF heavyweight champion, dominated in her first title defense, which ended just after the bell rang to start the third round.
Camara’s right eye was swollen from punches and the Canadian was bleeding from a cut above her left eye — the result of an accidental clash of heads in the second round.
“I don’t think she wanted it,” Dubois said. “The blood wasn’t coming in her face, it was coming around the side of her face — she didn’t want it, man.”
Dubois (10-0-1) was in full control when the referee called a timeout. The ringside doctor ruled that the 36-year-old Camara (14-4-1) could not continue.
Because it was under four rounds, the bout was declared a technical draw.
Dubois immediately called for a fight against WBO champion Terri Harper.
“Terri Harper, that’s who I want,” she said.
Dubois said she wants to be the undisputed lightweight champion by the end of 2025. Beatriz Ferreira of Brazil holds the IBF belt, and the WBA belt is vacant.
Shane McGuigan, Dubois’ trainer, said she has the talent to win titles at multiple weight classes.
“She’s the best female fighter on the planet, by a mile,” McGuigan said.