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The Williams way

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If anyone in the Formula 1 world deserves an award, it's Sir Frank Williams.

It was satisfying, then, to see him pick up the Helen Rollason Award at the BBC Sports Personality Of The Year ceremony before Christmas.

Clearly, Frank's '86 card accident that left him paralysed has indelibly marked his life, but he has freely admitted that he wrecked numerous cars previously and was driving like a nutter at the time. But what is most remarkable is that he has simply worked around his disability and carried on running one of F1's most successful and popular F1 teams, with a string of World Championships and a list of drivers that many teams can only dream of.

But it would be unwise to assume that the frail old man in a wheelchair is weak-minded; Far from it. Whilst the equally tough Patrick Head has engineered top cars, Frank has always been the one making the tough business decisions and wielding the axe with driver contracts in a rigorously unemotional way. Ask Damon - World Champ in '96, booted out at the end of the season.

Whilst Frank might be easing off slightly and allowing others to come into the team and take on some of the day-to-day responsibility, it would be wrong to think that he's winding down. For a guy who works virtually every day of the year, that would be an unwise assumption. The fire still burns strongly for more wins.

Let's hope that Williams are able to move back up the grid in the near future. If anyone deserves it, it's the man with his name above the garage door.

(Listening to Craig Charles on Radio 2 right now....)

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