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180-608: The Romano WE84 is an Australian designed and built, mid-engined closed top racing car built to CAMS Group A Sports Car specifications. The car began its life as the Kaditcha K583 when it first appeared in the 1983 Australian Sports Car Championship and was built by the Queensland based Kaditcha owner and former McLaren engineer Barry Lock after he was approached by Brisbane accountant, property developer, timber mill owner and former speedway racer Bap Romano in 1981 with

360-479: A Mediterranean climate . The south-east ranges from oceanic (Tasmania and coastal Victoria) to humid subtropical (upper half of New South Wales), with the highlands featuring alpine and subpolar oceanic climates . The interior is arid to semi-arid . Driven by climate change , average temperatures have risen more than 1°C since 1960 . Associated changes in rainfall patterns and climate extremes exacerbate existing issues such as drought and bushfires . 2019

540-511: A belt of Brigalow grasslands lie between the coast and the mountains, while inland of the dividing range are large areas of grassland and shrubland. These include the western plains of New South Wales, and the Mitchell Grass Downs and Mulga Lands of inland Queensland. The northernmost point of the mainland is the tropical Cape York Peninsula . The landscapes of the Top End and

720-793: A large wave of immigration from across Europe , with such immigrants referred to as " New Australians ". This required a relaxation of the white Australia policy , which was justified to Australians using the slogan "populate or perish". A member of the Western Bloc during the Cold War , Australia participated in the Korean War and the Malayan Emergency during the 1950s and the Vietnam War from 1962 to 1972. During this time, tensions over communist influence in society led to unsuccessful attempts by

900-509: A car that was over 200 kg heavier and produced similar loading from the ground effect aerodynamics which lead to the numerous failures through testing in 1982 and racing in 1983). During this time, the Cosworth DFV's original builder Ross Calgher of Nicholson McLaren rebuilt the engine in late 1983 at the team's base in Slacks Creek south of Brisbane. Eckersley also redesigned the front of

1080-557: A championship winning driver in his own right during the 1960s and 1970s including having raced a number of WEC races in Europe at tracks such as Le Mans, Spa-Francorchamps and the Nürburgring , commented that it was an endurance race and that Alfie had 'butchered' the car by not respecting the equipment. Bap Romano's previous challenge had gone unanswered by Peter Brock. However, the 956 that Brock and co-driver Larry Perkins were to drive at

1260-625: A crash in its first lap of practice, forcing the Kaditcha to be a non-starter for both heats on race day. Lock believed the crash was caused by Romano going too fast too soon on cold tyres, while Romano was adamant that suspension failure was the cause. The car suffered yet another suspension failure during practice and a DNF due to a burnt out coil in Heat 1 of Round 2 of the championship at the Adelaide International Raceway . The burnt out coil

1440-461: A date which later became Australia's national day . Most early settlers were convicts , transported for petty crimes and assigned as labourers or servants to "free settlers" (willing immigrants). Once emancipated , convicts tended to integrate into colonial society. Convict rebellions and uprisings were suppressed under martial law, which lasted for two years following the 1808 Rum Rebellion , Australia's only successful coup d'état . During

1620-620: A new record for the most wins by a single driver in one year. Despite this, there looked to be significant upheaval at Williams for 1993; what followed led to a domino effect that had not only effects on the World Championship, but also the CART -sanctioned PPG IndyCar Series . Williams was interested in signing Alain Prost to drive one of its two cars for 1993 as he was returning from his year long sabbatical after being sacked by Scuderia Ferrari during

1800-771: A race that season and finished seventh in the Constructors' Championship, scoring 20 points. The highlights of the season for the team were two second-place finishes by Mansell. When Mansell was forced to miss two races due to illness, he was replaced by Martin Brundle for Belgium and Jean-Louis Schlesser for Italy. Schlesser's collision with Ayrton Senna in that race would deny McLaren a clean sweep of race wins that season. The team secured Renault as their engine supplier in 1989. Renault engines subsequently powered Williams's drivers to another four Drivers' and five Constructors' Championships up until Renault's departure from Formula One at

1980-692: A record that still stands for the 1.6 to 3 litres category as of 2024. The coil was replaced in time for Heat 2 where Romano and the car scored their first win, coming home 5.5 seconds in front of eventual series champion Hopwood. In the 5 rounds and 10 races of the 1983 championship, Romano and the K583 scored 3 race wins and one round win at the tight Winton circuit. He also recorded 6 fastest laps (including 3 class lap records) and 2 pole positions. Romano actually won both heats of Round 4 at his home circuit of Lakeside in Brisbane, but both he and Hopwood were excluded from

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2160-624: A second 1–2 after Hill won the French Grand Prix . Villeneuve won his second race in F1 at Silverstone after Hill retired with a wheel bearing failure on lap 26. Hill was victorious in the next Grand Prix in Germany while Villeneuve won the race after that in Hungary . Schumacher's Ferrari would then take the next two Grands Prix at Spa-Francorchamps and Monza . Villeneuve mounted a title challenge going into

2340-568: A settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land (present-day Tasmania ), and in 1813, Gregory Blaxland , William Lawson and William Wentworth crossed the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, opening the interior to European settlement. The British claim extended to the whole Australian continent in 1827 when Major Edmund Lockyer established a settlement on King George Sound (modern-day Albany ). The Swan River Colony (present-day Perth )

2520-548: A short distance off the north-east coast and extends for more than 2,000 km (1,200 mi). Mount Augustus , claimed to be the world's largest monolith, is located in Western Australia. At 2,228 m (7,310 ft), Mount Kosciuszko is the highest mountain on the Australian mainland. Even taller are Mawson Peak , at 2,745 m (9,006 ft), on the remote Australian external territory of Heard Island , and, in

2700-588: A single point the previous year. He won the Drivers' title that year despite winning only one race, the Swiss Grand Prix . Rosberg's teammate, Reutemann , finished in 15th place having quit Formula One after just two races of the new season. His seat was filled by Mario Andretti for the United States Grand Prix West ; before Derek Daly took over for the rest of the year. Williams finished fourth in

2880-606: A step up for the 1992 season, keeping their 1991 driver line-up of Patrese and Mansell . Mansell dominated the first round in South Africa , qualifying in pole position and winning the race by 24 seconds from his teammate, Patrese. Nigel Mansell won the next four rounds for Williams, at Mexico City , Interlagos , Catalunya and Imola , Patrese coming second in all but one (the Spanish Grand Prix at Catalunya, where he retired after spinning off). Mansell's five victories in

3060-569: A type of fuel for which samples had not been provided to the FIA . Thus, Gerhard Berger and Ferrari were declared winners. Schumacher and Coulthard had their positions reinstated after appeal, though Benetton and Williams were not awarded their Constructors' points. Hill won the next two races in Argentina and San Marino and would later win races at The Hungaroring and in Adelaide . Hill won two laps ahead of

3240-411: A wide variety of landscapes, with tropical rainforests in the north-east, mountain ranges in the south-east, south-west and east, and desert in the centre. The desert or semi-arid land commonly known as the outback makes up by far the largest portion of land. Australia is the driest inhabited continent; its annual rainfall averaged over continental area is less than 500 mm. The population density

3420-436: Is 3.4 inhabitants per square kilometre, although the large majority of the population lives along the temperate south-eastern coastline. The population density exceeds 19,500 inhabitants per square kilometre in central Melbourne. In 2021 Australia had 10% of the global permanent meadows and pastureland. Forest cover is around 17% of Australia's total land area. The Great Barrier Reef , the world's largest coral reef, lies

3600-413: Is a constitutional monarchy , a parliamentary democracy and a federation . The country has maintained its mostly unchanged constitution alongside a stable liberal democratic political system since Federation in 1901. It is one of the world's oldest federations, in which power is divided between the federal and state governments. The Australian system of government combines elements derived from

3780-465: Is governed by convention and their precise scope is unclear. The most notable exercise of these powers was the dismissal of the Whitlam government in the constitutional crisis of 1975 . WilliamsF1 Williams Racing , legally known as Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited , is a British Formula One team and constructor. It was founded by Frank Williams (1942–2021) and Patrick Head . The team

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3960-569: Is now Southeast Asia. It is uncertain how many waves of immigration may have contributed to these ancestors of modern Aboriginal Australians. The Madjedbebe rock shelter in Arnhem Land is possibly the oldest site showing the presence of humans in Australia. The oldest human remains found are the Lake Mungo remains , which have been dated to around 41,000 years ago. Aboriginal Australian culture

4140-609: Is one of only two pristine Archaean 3.6–2.7 Ga (billion years ago) crusts identified on the Earth. Having been part of all major supercontinents , the Australian continent began to form after the breakup of Gondwana in the Permian , with the separation of the continental landmass from the African continent and Indian subcontinent. It separated from Antarctica over a prolonged period beginning in

4320-460: Is one of the oldest continuous cultures on Earth. At the time of first European contact, Aboriginal Australians belonged to wide range of societies, with diverse economies spread across at least 250 different language groups . Estimates of the Aboriginal population before British settlement range from 300,000 to 3 million. Aboriginal Australians cultures were (and remain) deeply connected with

4500-411: Is unique. About 85% of flowering plants, 84% of mammals, more than 45% of birds , and 89% of in-shore, temperate-zone fish are endemic . Australia has at least 755 species of reptile, more than any other country in the world. Besides Antarctica, Australia is the only continent that developed without feline species. Feral cats may have been introduced in the 17th century by Dutch shipwrecks, and later in

4680-715: The 1980 season by the McLaren team in the hands of John Watson and a young Alain Prost . While in England Romano was introduced to the Works Manager at Tyrrell Racing , Neil Davis. Davis took an interest in Romano's plans for the car and the two formed a friendship that saw the K583's suspension designed around components of the 1981 Tyrrell 010 Formula One car. Romano had chosen the Cosworth for its proven reliability in racing against

4860-437: The 1984 Australian Drivers' Champion John Bowe (who had comprehensively beaten Costanzo to that years title) or 1983 Sports Car champion Peter Hopwood for the event, reasoning that both would be easier on the car than Costanzo who although fast, had a reputation for being hard on equipment. Unfortunately their fears were to prove correct as over the course of the race meeting Costanzo broke no less than 4 gearboxes, 2 of them in

5040-719: The 1991 season. Replacing him was a returning Nigel Mansell , who had spent the previous two seasons driving for Ferrari . Williams also recruited future 1996 world champion, Damon Hill , as their reserve driver. Williams failed to finish the first Grand Prix of the season, the US Grand Prix , with both drivers retiring due to gearbox problems. Patrese got back on track for the team in the next Grand Prix at Interlagos , coming second behind McLaren's Ayrton Senna . The 1991 San Marino Grand Prix saw both cars retiring yet again: with Mansell crashing and Patrese suffering from an electrical failure. The Monaco Grand Prix saw Mansell finish in

5220-776: The 1996 championship. None of Williams's Drivers' Champions went on to win another championship after their success with Williams. Williams have worked with many engine manufacturers, most successfully with Renault , winning five of their nine Constructors' titles with the company. Along with Ferrari , McLaren , Benetton and Renault , Williams is one of a group of five teams that won every Constructors' Championship between 1979 and 2008 and every Drivers' Championship from 1984 to 2008. Williams also has business interests beyond Formula One. They have established Williams Advanced Engineering and Williams Hybrid Power, who take technology originally developed for Formula One and adapt it for commercial applications. In April 2014, Williams Hybrid Power

5400-649: The Australian Drivers' Championship . Bap Romano retained the car and commissioned the cars original builder Barry Lock to build a replacement chassis to replace the one written off in the 1986 Amaroo crash. This was done by 2001 and by 2010 the WE84 had been completely rebuilt and track tested at Queensland Raceway by Romano himself. Currently Bap Romano drives the car in historic events including returning to Lakeside Park in Brisbane 26 years after it last competed there, at

5580-513: The Australian Grand Prix meeting at Calder in late 1983 and the start of the 1984 Australian Sports Car Championship , Wayne Eckersley rebuilt the inner workings of the car, redesigning both the sidepods resulting in improved ground effect aerodynamics. He also rebuilt the suspension of the car (it was found that the Tyrrell suspension designed for a Formula One car was actually inadequate for

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5760-639: The Austrian Grand Prix the previous season for a devastated Shadow team following the death of their lead driver, Tom Pryce . Jones's first race for the team was the Argentine Grand Prix where he qualified in 14th position but retired after 36 laps due to a fuel system failure. The team scored its first championship points two races later at the South African Grand Prix when Jones finished in fourth. Williams earnt their first podium at

5940-550: The Austrian Grand Prix , finishing half a minute ahead of Gilles Villeneuve's Ferrari. Three wins in a row became four two weeks later at the Dutch Grand Prix , with Alan Jones winning yet again by a comfortable margin over Jody Scheckter 's Ferrari. Scheckter ended Williams's winning streak when he won the Italian Grand Prix ; with Regazzoni finishing third behind Scheckter and Villeneuve. Alan Jones managed another win at

6120-611: The Brazilian Grand Prix and the Belgian Grand Prix . Williams won the Constructors' title for the second year in a row, scoring 95 points, 34 points more than second-placed Brabham. This season, Alan Jones retired from Formula One (though he would come back a year later for a single race with the Arrows team). The Australian was replaced by Keke Rosberg , the father of 2016 World Champion Nico Rosberg . Rosberg had not scored

6300-502: The British Grand Prix . (In the final round, in Adelaide , the two Williams cars again retired, Mansell after Senna violently crashed into the back of him, and Patrese with electrical problems.) Williams won the Constructors' Championship with 164 points, 65 points more than second-place McLaren. Mansell became World Champion, scoring 108 points, with Patrese finishing second with 56 points. Placing first in nine races, Mansell had set

6480-580: The British Grand Prix . Hill closed the points gap with Schumacher, who was disqualified from first at Spa after the Stewards found floorboard irregularities on his Benetton. He was banned for the next two races, and Hill capitalised on this with wins in Italy and a Williams 1–2 in Portugal . With three races left, 1992 champion Nigel Mansell returned from CART (where the season had concluded) to replace Coulthard for

6660-731: The Colonial Office that it be formally adopted. In 1824, the Admiralty agreed that the continent should be known officially by that name. The first official published use of the new name came with the publication in 1830 of The Australia Directory by the Hydrographic Office . Colloquial names for Australia include " Oz ", " Straya " and " Down Under ". Other epithets include "the Great Southern Land", "the Lucky Country" (from

6840-524: The Commonwealth of Australia , is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent , the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands . Australia has a total area of 7,688,287 km (2,968,464 sq mi), making it the sixth-largest country in the world and the largest country by area in Oceania . It is the world's oldest, flattest, and driest inhabited continent, with some of

7020-468: The Drivers' title with the team. Of those who have won the championship with Williams, only Jones, Rosberg and Villeneuve defended their title while still with the team; as Piquet moved to Lotus after winning the 1987 championship; Mansell left F1 to compete in the CART series after winning the 1992 championship, Prost retired after winning the 1993 championship, and Hill moved to Arrows after winning

7200-579: The FW07 chassis and gearbox for the 1979 season with Frank Dernie picking up the suspension, aerodynamic development and skirt design. This was the team's first ground effect car, a technology that was first introduced by Colin Chapman and Team Lotus . Williams also obtained membership of the Formula One Constructors' Association (FOCA) which expressed a preference for teams to run two cars, so Jones

7380-532: The French Grand Prix , five seconds ahead of Alain Prost 's Ferrari . Mansell then won again at the British Grand Prix ; it had been four years since a Briton had won the Grand Prix, Mansell having won it in 1987 . Three consecutive victories became four when Mansell won again in Germany , with Patrese about 10 seconds behind him in second place. Senna ended Williams's run of victories by winning in Hungary , finishing five seconds ahead of Mansell. Mansell later won

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7560-579: The Gulf Country —with their tropical climate—include forest, woodland, wetland, grassland, rainforest and desert. At the north-west corner of the continent are the sandstone cliffs and gorges of The Kimberley , and below that the Pilbara . The Victoria Plains tropical savanna lies south of the Kimberley and Arnhem Land savannas, forming a transition between the coastal savannas and the interior deserts. At

7740-542: The Indian Ocean Dipole and the El Niño–Southern Oscillation , which is correlated with periodic drought , and the seasonal tropical low-pressure system that produces cyclones in northern Australia. These factors cause rainfall to vary markedly from year to year. Much of the northern part of the country has a tropical, predominantly summer-rainfall ( monsoon ). The south-west corner of the country has

7920-529: The Iraq War from 2003 to 2009. The nation's trade relations also became increasingly oriented towards East Asia in the 21st century, with China becoming the nation's largest trading partner by a large margin. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic , several of Australia's largest cities were locked down for extended periods and free movement across the national and state borders was restricted in an attempt to slow

8100-544: The Italian Grand Prix and the Spanish Grand Prix , while Patrese won the Portuguese Grand Prix after Mansell's race was ruined by a botched pitstop in which only three wheel nuts were fitted. Williams finished second in the Constructors' Championship, scoring 125 points in total, 14 points behind McLaren. Mansell finished second in the Drivers' Championship with 72 points, 24 points behind Senna. Williams took

8280-638: The Menzies Government to ban the Communist Party of Australia , and a bitter split in the Labor Party in 1955. As a result of a 1967 referendum , the federal government gained the power to legislate with regard to Indigenous Australians, and Indigenous Australians were fully included in the census . Pre-colonial land interests (referred to as native title in Australia) was recognised in law for

8460-641: The Mexican Grand Prix , the team managed to achieve their first podium with the Renault engine, as Patrese finished second, 15 seconds behind Ayrton Senna in first. The next race saw Patrese finish second again, having started from 14th on the grid, with Boutsen finishing in 6th. At the sixth round in Canada , Williams not only scored their first win with the Renault engine but also their first one-two: with Boutsen finishing in first followed by Patrese in second. This won

8640-701: The Pacific Community ; the Commonwealth of Nations ; and the defence and security organisations ANZUS , AUKUS , and the Five Eyes . It is also a major non-NATO ally of the United States. The name Australia (pronounced / ə ˈ s t r eɪ l i ə / in Australian English ) is derived from the Latin Terra Australis ( ' southern land ' ), a name used for a hypothetical continent in

8820-415: The Permian and continuing through to the Cretaceous . When the last glacial period ended in about 10,000 BC, rising sea levels formed Bass Strait , separating Tasmania from the mainland. Then between about 8,000 and 6,500 BC, the lowlands in the north were flooded by the sea, separating New Guinea, the Aru Islands , and the mainland of Australia. The Australian continent is moving toward Eurasia at

9000-411: The Porsche 956 that he was to share with Larry Perkins at the 1984 24 Hours of Le Mans , to a series of races on circuits in Australia fair to both cars claiming the WE84 could beat Brock's 956. At the time Brock's Melbourne based Holden Dealer Team had taken delivery of the Porsche for repainting in the colours of team patron Bob Jane for publicity purposes and so the team could become familiar with

9180-479: The South African Grand Prix . Williams finished in third in the Constructors' Championship, scoring 71 points. During qualifying for the British Grand Prix , Rosberg completed a lap of the circuit in 1:05.591. The lap's average speed was 160.938 mph (259.005 km/h). This was the fastest recorded lap in Formula One history to that point. From 1985 until 1993, Williams ran their famous yellow, blue and white Canon livery. In March 1986, Frank Williams faced

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9360-451: The Territory of Papua and New Guinea in 1949 and gained independence from Australia in 1975. In 1914, Australia joined the Allies in fighting the First World War, and took part in many of the major battles fought on the Western Front . Of about 416,000 who served, about 60,000 were killed and another 152,000 were wounded. Many Australians regard the defeat of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) at Gallipoli in 1915 as

9540-403: The Torres Strait Islands . The Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines and named the island continent " New Holland " during the 17th century, and although no attempt at settlement was made, a number of shipwrecks left men either stranded or, as in the case of the Batavia in 1629, marooned for mutiny and murder, thus becoming the first Europeans to permanently inhabit

9720-406: The United States Grand Prix , where Jones came second, 20 seconds behind the Ferrari of Carlos Reutemann . Williams finished the season in ninth place in the Constructors' Championship, with a respectable 11 points, while Alan Jones finished 11th in the Drivers' Championship. Towards the end of 1978, Frank Williams recruited Frank Dernie to join Patrick Head in the design office. Head designed

9900-519: The bombing of Darwin and other Japanese attacks on Australian soil , led to a widespread belief in Australia that a Japanese invasion was imminent , and a shift from the United Kingdom to the United States as Australia's principal ally and security partner. Since 1951, Australia has been allied with the United States under the ANZUS treaty. In the decades following World War II, Australia enjoyed significant increases in living standards, leisure time and suburban development. Governments encouraged

10080-426: The emu and the kookaburra . Australia is home to many dangerous animals including some of the most venomous snakes in the world. The dingo was introduced by Austronesian people who traded with Indigenous Australians around 3000 BCE . Many animal and plant species became extinct soon after first human settlement, including the Australian megafauna ; others have disappeared since European settlement, among them

10260-479: The governor-general at the federal level and by the governors at the state level, who by section 63 of the Constitution and convention act on the advice of their ministers. Thus, in practice the governor-general acts as a legal figurehead for the actions of the prime minister and the Cabinet. The governor-general may in some situations exercise reserve powers : powers exercisable in the absence or contrary to ministerial advice. When these powers may be exercised

10440-483: The "baptism of fire" that forged the new nation's identity . The beginning of the campaign is commemorated annually on Anzac Day , a date which rivals Australia Day as the nation's most important. From 1939 to 1945, Australia joined the Allies in fighting the Second World War. Australia's armed forces fought in the Pacific , European and Mediterranean and Middle East theatres . The shock of Britain's defeat in Singapore in 1942, followed soon after by

10620-503: The "island continent" and is sometimes considered the world's largest island . Australia has 34,218 km (21,262 mi) of coastline (excluding all offshore islands), and claims an extensive exclusive economic zone of 8,148,250 square kilometres (3,146,060 sq mi). This exclusive economic zone does not include the Australian Antarctic Territory . Mainland Australia lies between latitudes 9° and 44° south , and longitudes 112° and 154° east . Australia's size gives it

10800-428: The 18th century by European settlers. They are now considered a major factor in the decline and extinction of many vulnerable and endangered native species. Seafaring immigrants from Asia are believed to have brought the dingo to Australia sometime after the end of the last ice age—perhaps 4000 years ago—and Aboriginal people helped disperse them across the continent as pets, contributing to the demise of thylacines on

10980-407: The 1964 book of the same name ), "the Sunburnt Country", and "the Wide Brown Land". The latter two both derive from Dorothea Mackellar 's 1908 poem " My Country ". Indigenous Australians comprise two broad groups: Human habitation of the Australian continent is estimated to have begun 50,000 to 65,000 years ago, with the migration of people by land bridges and short sea crossings from what

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11160-405: The 1980s. In the 1990 season, Williams kept Patrese and Boutsen as the team's drivers. The team scored 20 fewer points than the previous year and finished fourth in the Constructors' Championship two positions lower than in 1989. In the Drivers' Championship, Boutsen finished sixth with 34 points and Patrese in seventh with 23 points. Boutsen left Williams and joined Ligier at the start of

11340-426: The 1986 Australian Sports Car Championship, while also contesting the 1986 Australian Drivers' Championship in a Ralt RT4 . The 1985 Sports Car title had seen the debut of the John Bowe driven Veskanda Chevrolet built by former ASCC competitor Brenie Van Elsen (the Veskanda, unlike the Romano, had been built to conform not only to CAMS Group A Sports Car rules, but was also FIA Group C and IMSA compliant). Bowe and

11520-402: The 1991 World Championship. Patrese, perhaps figuring that he would be the driver being sacked in order for Prost to take one of the two available rides, decided to leave after driving for Williams since 1987. He would join up with Benetton, where he would replace Martin Brundle alongside Michael Schumacher in the team's Camel -backed Fords. Mansell, meanwhile, was not pleased that Williams

11700-468: The 1992 season, to join Prost in the other Renault. The Williams FW15C was an extremely dominant car, with active suspension and traction control systems beyond anything available to the other teams. Prost won on his debut for the team in South Africa and, like Mansell, dominated the weekend, taking pole position and finishing a minute ahead of Senna , who was second. The next Grand Prix in Brazil saw Prost collide with Christian Fittipaldi's Minardi in

11880-420: The 1993 championship and subsequent retirement. Hill retained the number 0, while Senna's car was issued number 2. Pre-season testing showed the FW16 had speed but was difficult to drive. The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) had banned electronic driver's aids, such as active suspension , traction control and ABS , to make the sport more "human". It was these technological advancements that

12060-416: The 2018 Environmental Performance Index . There are more than 1,800 animals and plants on Australia's threatened species list, including more than 500 animals. Paleontologists discovered a fossil site of a prehistoric rainforest in McGraths Flat , in South Australia, that presents evidence that this now arid desert and dry shrubland / grassland was once home to an abundance of life. Australia

12240-413: The 3.0 litre DFV was past its best after Romano's co-driver, four times Australian Drivers' Champion Alfredo Costanzo (the faster of the pair by over 2 seconds despite not having driven the car previously after missing a pre-meeting sorting session at Calder Park) could not lap in better than 1:42 when it had been expected that the Romano was capable of lapping around 8 seconds faster. After changing to

12420-433: The 775 kg WE84 to bring it in line with the FIA weight scale for cars with a 3.9 litre, four valves per cylinder engine (the lead weight, bringing the car to 845 kg, was placed on the passenger floor which would bring its own problems). Despite Romano purchasing a 3.9 litre Cosworth DFL V8 with the intent on putting it in before the meeting, it was only put in after the first day of practice when it became apparent

12600-500: The Australian Antarctic Territory, Mount McClintock and Mount Menzies , at 3,492 m (11,457 ft) and 3,355 m (11,007 ft) respectively. Eastern Australia is marked by the Great Dividing Range , which runs parallel to the coast of Queensland, New South Wales and much of Victoria. The name is not strictly accurate, because parts of the range consist of low hills, and the highlands are typically no more than 1,600 m (5,200 ft) in height. The coastal uplands and

12780-438: The Australian mainland. The first ship and crew to chart the Australian coast and meet with Aboriginal people was the Duyfken , captained by Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon . He sighted the coast of Cape York Peninsula in early 1606, and made landfall on 26 February 1606 at the Pennefather River near the modern town of Weipa on Cape York. Later that year, Spanish explorer Luís Vaz de Torres sailed through and navigated

12960-542: The British driver's left-rear tyre blew at the Australian Grand Prix , the final race of the season, while his fellow championship rival and new teammate, Nelson Piquet made a pitstop shortly after Mansell's retirement as a precaution. This left Alain Prost to defend his title successfully, despite being in a slower car. The 1987 season brought the Williams-Honda partnership its first and only Drivers' Championship title in

13140-650: The Commonwealth of Australia. This continued a process of increasing autonomy from the United Kingdom, highlighted by the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942 , and culminating in the Australia Acts of 1986. Australia is a federal parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy comprising six states and ten territories . Its population of more than 28 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on

13320-556: The Constructors' Championship that year, 16 points behind first-place Ferrari . Frank Williams looked towards Honda, who was developing a turbocharged V6 engine with Spirit . A deal between Honda and Williams was settled early in 1983 and the team used the engines for the 1984 season. For the 1983 season however, Williams continued to use the Ford engine except for the last race of the year in South Africa ; where Keke Rosberg finished in an impressive fifth place. The team finished fourth in

13500-553: The Constructors' Championship, scoring 36 points. Also, Rosberg won that year's Monaco Grand Prix . For the 1984 season, the team ran an FW09 . Keke Rosberg won the Dallas Grand Prix and finished in second at the opening race in Brazil . Rosberg's new teammate, Jacques Laffite , came 14th in the Drivers' Championship with five points. The team finished sixth in the Constructors' with 25.5 points, with Rosberg finishing in eighth in

13680-487: The DFV's used in Grand Prix racing that were rated at approximately 520 bhp (388 kW; 527 PS) and required a rebuild after just 350 miles, or the equivalent of one Grand Prix weekend. By mid-1982 the car was built with full ground effects aerodynamics and was ready for testing. The car proved quick in testing and the engine was as strong as expected, but the suspension was proving suspect, breaking numerous times under

13860-416: The Drivers' Championship with 91 points. In 1995 , Nigel Mansell was not retained, Williams favouring Coulthard over him to partner Hill . Schumacher , whose Benetton team had switched engine suppliers from Ford to Renault in the off-season, won the first round in Brazil , with Coulthard taking second. However, both were disqualified from the race after it was found that Elf supplied their teams with

14040-554: The Drivers' Championship, 17 points ahead of Nelson Piquet 's Brabham . Williams also won its first Constructors' Championship, scoring 120 points, almost twice as many as second-placed Ligier . Williams won four races in 1981 . Alan Jones won the first race of the season, the United States West Grand Prix , and the final race of the season, the Caesars Palace Grand Prix . Meanwhile, Carlos Reutemann won

14220-569: The Drivers' Championship, 33 points behind Benetton's Michael Schumacher. For 1996 , Williams had the quickest and most reliable car, the FW18 . Coulthard had left Williams to join Mika Häkkinen at McLaren, and Williams replaced him with Canadian Jacques Villeneuve , who had won the CART series title in 1995, while Hill remained with the team. Schumacher left Benetton to join Ferrari . Williams won

14400-574: The Drivers' Championship. In 1985 , Head designed the FW10 , the team's first chassis to employ the carbon-fibre composite technology pioneered by McLaren. Nigel Mansell replaced Laffite to partner with Rosberg. Dernie produced another competitive aerodynamic package. The team scored four wins with Rosberg winning the Detroit and Australian Grands Prix , and Mansell won the European Grand Prix and

14580-520: The Festival of Sports Cars on 22–24 July. The car now runs a 600 bhp (447 kW; 608 PS), 3.5L Cosworth DFZ V8 engine developed for Formula One that Romano had intended to put the car after 1986, but didn't due to the rebuild needed after his Amaroo Park crash, and his move into open wheelers in pursuit of the Australian Drivers' Championship. Australia Australia , officially

14760-491: The Kaditcha-Cosworth giving away over 300 bhp (224 kW; 304 PS) to the turbocharged Porsche and about 200 bhp (149 kW; 203 PS) to the 6.0L V8 Chevrolet Monza, Romano used the superior handling and aerodynamics of the car to finish the 15 lap race only 6.79 seconds behind Jones and 3.22 seconds clear of Brock showing that both car and driver had the potential to be a regular race winner. Between

14940-524: The Romano WE84 was designed and built in Australia. Romano's open challenge to Brock went unanswered. Following the successful 1984 championship, Eckersley and Romano prepared the car for the Sandown 1000 which was a round of the 1984 World Endurance Championship where it would compete in the special AC Class for Australian-based GT and Sports cars. The preparation included adding 70 kg of ballast to

15120-443: The Romano, while Bap Romano was able to set a time in the high 1:39's. Bond and Miedecke ran a steady race and finished 6th, 8 laps behind the winning Rothmans Porsche. Due to reliability problems with the car, mostly diff related with the original not coping with the extra 130 horsepower of the larger engine which also caused handling problems, Romano only contested 3 rounds of the 1985 Australian Sports Car Championship . That plus

15300-538: The Sandown 1000 was upgraded to the new 962 model and was driven by the versatile Colin Bond and open wheel racer Andrew Miedecke after Brock and Perkins became unavailable. In a car neither had driven before, and with approximately 200-300 more horsepower than either was used to, Bond qualified the 650 bhp (485 kW; 659 PS) Porsche 962 in 11th place with a time of 1:36.000, 2.4 seconds faster than Costanzo qualified

15480-696: The Southern Hemisphere since ancient times. Several 16th-century cartographers used the word Australia on maps, but not to identify modern Australia. When Europeans began visiting and mapping Australia in the 17th century, the name Terra Australis was applied to the new territories. Until the early 19th century, Australia was best known as New Holland , a name first applied by the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman in 1644 (as Nieuw-Holland ) and subsequently anglicised. Terra Australis still saw occasional usage, such as in scientific texts. The name Australia

15660-516: The Veskanda, now complete with a 5.8 litre Chevrolet due to a lifting of the engine capacity limit from 5000 to 6000cc, dominated the 1986 series, claiming pole at every round (like the Romano in 1984), winning every race and setting fastest laps in all (including many outright circuit lap records). The WE84 suffered a bad crash in a minor Sports and GT Handicap race at Amaroo Park in Sydney in mid-1986 when

15840-601: The Williams chassis of the previous years had been built around. With their removal in 1994, Williams had not been a good-handling car, as observed by other F1 drivers, having been seen to be very loose at the rear. Senna himself had made numerous comments that the Williams FW16 had quirks that needed to be ironed out. It was obvious that the FW16, after the regulation changes banning active suspension and traction control, exhibited none of

16020-511: The Williams–Head partnership. Williams entered a March 761 for the 1977 season. Lone driver Patrick Nève competed in 11 races that year, starting with the Spanish Grand Prix . The new team failed to score a point, achieving a best finish of 7th at the Italian Grand Prix . For the 1978 season, Patrick Head designed the first Williams car: the FW06. Williams signed Alan Jones , who had won

16200-508: The appearance of other specially built cars such as a 5.0L Lola T610 -Chevrolet for Terry Hook (2nd), and the Mazda 13B powered JWS C2 of Jeff Harris (3rd in 1984 & 1985), saw Romano only finish 6th in his title defence. The series was won by 1982 champion Chris Clearihan driving the Steve Webb owned Kaditcha Chev he had driven to the runner up spot in 1984. Romano only contested two rounds of

16380-496: The best alternative at the time, the 5.0L Chevrolet V8 Formula 5000 engine, which also carried more weight than the DFV (CAMS Group A Sports Car engines were limited to 5000cc capacity until the end of 1985). When purchased the engine was reportedly producing 406 bhp (303 kW; 412 PS) @ 9,450 rpm and was rebuilt to be able to run for 2,000 racing miles (by 1983 a rebuild of the engine had it producing approximately 430 bhp (321 kW; 436 PS)). This compared to

16560-545: The car after 10 years of running production based Holden V8 touring cars. Romano claimed in a Brisbane newspaper that it was 'ridiculous' for Brock to pretend that his 1984 Le Mans challenge was an 'All-Australian' effort since the Porsche was made in West Germany . However it was noted that Romano ignored the fact that his car had sourced many of its components, including the suspension and Cosworth V8 engine, from England, though

16740-577: The car second on the grid beside Australia's 1980 Formula One World Champion Alan Jones who was driving a Porsche 935 K4 GT car imported from America for the race by John Fitzpatrick Racing . Jones won the first 15 lap preliminary race from Peter Brock driving Bob Jane 's Chevrolet Monza with Romano back in third place in front of the Porsche 935/78 of Momo Wheels founder, Italian Gianpiero Moretti . Jones also won main 15 lap race from Romano and Peter Brock with Moretti again finishing fourth. Despite

16920-620: The car to the famous 24 Hour French classic in an All-Australian challenge. Although this did not happen, going on its qualifying performance of the car at the 1984 Sandown 1000 race as part of the 1984 World Endurance Championship held at Melbourne 's Sandown Raceway against the FIA Group C Sports Cars, the Romano, with some minor modifications to bring it up to FIA specs, would not have been out of place in Group C2 at Le Mans. Even in 2024, 41 years after its competition debut and 38 years since it

17100-410: The car, though the Romano retained its distinctive twin front air scoops which were enlarged to allow more air for to the ground effect venturies and also to the brakes. With the new front end and sidepod design, the car was found to produce as much downforce as before without the use of skirts. Under Eckersley's direction the car was transformed and Romano went on to dominate the championship. The car

17280-610: The centre and Phanerozoic sedimentary basins , metamorphic and igneous rocks in the east. The Australian mainland and Tasmania are situated in the middle of the tectonic plate and have no active volcanoes, but due to passing over the East Australia hotspot , recent volcanism has occurred during the Holocene , in the Newer Volcanics Province of western Victoria and south-eastern South Australia. Volcanism also occurs in

17460-477: The colonies was achieved after a decade of planning, constitutional conventions and referendums , resulting in the establishment of the Commonwealth of Australia as a nation under the new Australian Constitution . After the 1907 Imperial Conference , Australia and several other self-governing British settler colonies were given the status of self-governing dominions within the British Empire. Australia

17640-807: The continent. In 1770, Captain James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast, which he named " New South Wales " and claimed for Great Britain. Following the loss of its American colonies in 1783, the British Government sent a fleet of ships, the First Fleet , under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip , to establish a new penal colony in New South Wales . A camp was set up and the Union Flag raised at Sydney Cove , Port Jackson , on 26 January 1788,

17820-583: The convict system culminated in its abolition in the eastern colonies by the 1850s. Initially a free colony, Western Australia practised penal transportation from 1850 to 1868. The six colonies individually gained responsible government between 1855 and 1890, thus becoming elective democracies managing most of their own affairs while remaining part of the British Empire . The Colonial Office in London retained control of some matters, notably foreign affairs. In

18000-702: The country's economy. It ranks highly for quality of life, health, education, economic freedom, civil liberties and political rights. Australia is a middle power , and has the world's thirteenth-highest military expenditure . It is a member of international groups including the United Nations; the G20 ; the OECD ; the World Trade Organization ; Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation ; the Pacific Islands Forum ;

18180-459: The early 2010s after the 2000s Australian drought . Although most of Australia is semi-arid or desert, the continent includes a diverse range of habitats from alpine heaths to tropical rainforests . Fungi typify that diversity—an estimated 250,000 species—of which only 5% have been described—occur in Australia. Because of the continent's great age, extremely variable weather patterns, and long-term geographic isolation, much of Australia's biota

18360-481: The eastern seaboard. Canberra is the nation's capital, while its most populous cities are Sydney and Melbourne , both with a population of more than 5 million. Australia's culture is diverse, and the country has one of the highest foreign-born populations in the world . It has a highly developed market economy and one of the highest per capita incomes globally . Its abundant natural resources and well-developed international trade relations are crucial to

18540-570: The end of 1970 ). Despite still running at the end, the Romano WE84 was not classified as a finisher due to completing an insufficient number of laps. Victory in the AC Class went to the BMW 320i of JPS Team BMW drivers Jim Richards and Tony Longhurst who finished 14th after completing 178 laps. Prior to Sandown, Romano wanted Costanzo as his co-driver for the race, but both Wayne Eckersley and team manager Bruce Ayers tried to persuade him to go with either

18720-502: The end of 1997. The team brought in Adrian Newey to replace Frank Dernie . The combination of Renault's powerful engine and Adrian Newey 's designing expertise led to the team dominating the sport in the mid-1990s alongside McLaren. Mansell had a record-breaking 1992 season, winning the title in record time and leading numerous races from pole to finish. The Renault era started in 1989 , with Riccardo Patrese and Thierry Boutsen at

18900-412: The field at Adelaide in one of F1's most dominating victories. Coulthard recorded his only 1995 win for the Williams team at Estoril , before moving to McLaren. Williams's champion streak was ended by Benetton , who elected to switch engine suppliers from Ford to Renault, the same as Williams. As such, Benetton outscored Williams by 29 points in the Constructors' Championship. Damon Hill placed second in

19080-584: The final race of the season at Japan , but Hill reasserted his dominance to take the race and the 1996 title, while Villeneuve lost a wheel and retired. Williams's dominance was such that they had clinched the Constructors' Championship and only their drivers had a mathematical chance of taking the title, several races before the season concluded. Around that time, Frank Williams announced that Hill would not be re-signed after his contract expired, despite Hill's successes and eventual Drivers' Championship, so he joined Arrows for 1997. Adrian Newey had ambitions as

19260-506: The first five Grands Prix, Hill winning all but one of them. Olivier Panis would take victory at the sixth round in Monaco after both Williams cars retired. Hill would retire for the second time in a row after he spun-off in Spain , while his teammate, Villeneuve, took third place. Hill and Villeneuve dominated the next Grand Prix in Canada , with a 1–2 in qualifying and a 1–2 finish. Williams made it

19440-479: The first lap. After Senna's death, every Williams F1 car carried a Senna 's' on its livery in his honour and to symbolise the team's ongoing support of the Instituto Ayrton Senna until the permanent removal starting in 2022, with then Williams CEO Jost Capito stating it was time to "move on". At the next race in Spain , Williams brought in test driver David Coulthard as Hill's new teammate. Hill took

19620-755: The first time when the High Court of Australia held in Mabo v Queensland (No 2) that Australia was neither terra nullius ( ' land belonging to no one ' ) or "desert and uncultivated land" at the time of European settlement. Following the abolition of the last vestiges of the White Australia policy in 1973, Australia's demography and culture transformed as a result of a large and ongoing wave of non-European immigration, mostly from Asia. The late 20th century also saw an increasing focus on foreign policy ties with other Pacific Rim nations. The Australia Acts severed

19800-466: The following year, and Clay Regazzoni won Williams's first race at the 1979 British Grand Prix . At the 1997 British Grand Prix , Jacques Villeneuve scored the team's 100th race victory, making Williams one of only five teams in Formula One, alongside Ferrari , McLaren , Mercedes , and Red Bull Racing to win 100 races. Williams won nine Constructors' Championships between 1980 and 1997 . This

19980-456: The front of the WE84 but also resulted in two broken legs for Romano. Emergency crew's took over an hour to remove Romano from his car where, despite his injuries, a conscious Romano instructed rescuers where to cut the front of the car so the front wouldn't collapse on top of him. After three and a bit seasons of sports car racing in Australia, Romano retired the car following the crash, and once recovered he concentrated on racing open wheelers in

20160-501: The front of the car causing Romano to be a non-starter in Heat 2. Bap watched part of Heat 2 from the Channel 7 commentary box, giving television commentary alongside Evan Green , Garry Wilkinson and John Sheppard for a few minutes. Despite running in Class B which paid more points for a position than his main opposition Chris Clearihan (driving Hopwood's 1983 car) did for a position in Class C,

20340-488: The ground effect aerodynamics could not overcome), Costanzo eventually qualified the car in 13th position (1st in AC) with a time of 1:38.400, some 1.9 seconds in front of Allan Grice driving his 1984 Australian GT Championship winning 6.0L Chevrolet Monza , but 6.8 seconds slower than the pole time set by eventual race winner and 1984 World Endurance Champion Stefan Bellof driving his Group C Rothmans Porsche 956B. Costanzo's time

20520-405: The hands of Nelson Piquet . Piquet won three races and scored 73 points in the Drivers' Championship. His teammate Mansell came in second place with six victories and 61 points. Williams won the Constructors' Championship for the second year in a row, scoring 137 points, 61 points ahead of their nearest rivals, McLaren. Despite this success, Honda ended their partnership with Williams at the end of

20700-412: The heart of the country are the uplands of central Australia . Prominent features of the centre and south include Uluru (also known as Ayers Rock), the famous sandstone monolith, and the inland Simpson , Tirari and Sturt Stony , Gibson , Great Sandy, Tanami , and Great Victoria deserts, with the famous Nullarbor Plain on the southern coast. The Western Australian mulga shrublands lie between

20880-675: The heavy load generated by the ground effects. By the time the Kaditcha K583 Cosworth made its debut in Round 1 of the 1983 Australian Sports Car Championship at Sandown Raceway in Melbourne , Romano had enlisted the services of former Williams and Tyrrell F1 mechanic Wayne Eckersley to help sort out the car after his faith in Lock had gradually eroded with repeated suspension failures in testing. Romano, driving in Class B (1.6 to 3 litres) suffered

21060-417: The helm of the two Williams cars. Boutsen replaced Mansell, who had signed a contract with Ferrari. The engine's first Grand Prix in Brazil was one that the team would prefer to forget: Boutsen retired with an engine failure and Patrese with an alternator failure. Williams managed to get back on track with Boutsen finishing in fourth at the next race in Italy ; winning the team three points. Two races later at

21240-447: The idea of building a Le Mans type coupe. When the car first appeared in 1983, it was the first closed top Sports Car seen in Australia and looked like an FIA Group C Sports Car (such as the Porsche 956 ) rather than the open cockpit Can-Am style cars of previous years. This led to the false belief that it was built to the Group C regulations Bap Romano's ultimate ambition was to take

21420-470: The interior deserts and Mediterranean-climate Southwest Australia . Lying on the Indo-Australian Plate , the mainland of Australia is the lowest and most primordial landmass on Earth with a relatively stable geological history. The landmass includes virtually all known rock types and from all geological time periods spanning more than 3.8 billion years of the Earth's history. The Pilbara Craton

21600-417: The island of New Guinea (considered geologically as part of the Australian continent), and in the Australian external territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands . Seismic activity in the Australian mainland and Tasmania is also low, with the greatest number of fatalities having occurred in the 1989 Newcastle earthquake . The climate of Australia is significantly influenced by ocean currents, including

21780-620: The land and the environment, with stories of The Dreaming maintained through oral tradition , songs , dance and paintings. Certain groups engaged in fire-stick farming , fish farming , and built semi-permanent shelters . These practices have variously been characterised as " hunter-gatherer ", " agricultural ", "natural cultivation" and "intensification". Torres Strait Islander people first settled their islands at least 2,500 years ago. Culturally and linguistically distinct from mainland Aboriginal peoples, they were seafarers and obtained their livelihood from seasonal horticulture and

21960-406: The larger, 560 bhp (418 kW; 568 PS) engine during practice, Romano and Costanzo were able to improve their times by around 4 seconds per lap. Following numerous gearbox and brake problems throughout practice, as well as battling a severe under-steer problem on Sandown's new, slower, infield section (a legacy of the extra 70 kg weight the car was carrying at the front, something even

22140-447: The least fertile soils. It is a megadiverse country , and its size gives it a wide variety of landscapes and climates including deserts in the interior and tropical rainforests along the coast . The ancestors of Aboriginal Australians began arriving from south-east Asia 50,000 to 65,000 years ago, during the last glacial period . By the time of British settlement, Aboriginal Australians spoke 250 distinct languages and had

22320-545: The location for the future federal capital of Canberra . While it was being constructed, Melbourne served as the temporary capital from 1901 to 1927. The Northern Territory was transferred from the control of South Australia to the Commonwealth in 1911. Australia became the colonial ruler of the Territory of Papua (which had initially been annexed by Queensland in 1883) in 1902 and of the Territory of New Guinea (formerly German New Guinea ) in 1920. The two were unified as

22500-448: The mainland. Australia is also one of 17 megadiverse countries. Australian forests are mostly made up of evergreen species, particularly eucalyptus trees in the less arid regions; wattles replace them as the dominant species in drier regions and deserts. Among well-known Australian animals are the monotremes (the platypus and echidna ); a host of marsupials , including the kangaroo , koala , and wombat , and birds such as

22680-466: The mid-19th century, explorers such as Burke and Wills charted Australia's interior. A series of gold rushes beginning in the early 1850s led to an influx of new migrants from China , North America and continental Europe, as well as outbreaks of bushranging and civil unrest; the latter peaked in 1854 when Ballarat miners launched the Eureka Rebellion against gold license fees. The 1860s saw

22860-423: The most serious challenge of his life. While returning to the airport at Nice , France, after pre-season testing, he was involved in a road accident that left him paralysed. He did not return to the pit lane for almost a year. Despite the lack of his trackside presence, the Williams team won nine Grands Prix and the Constructors' Championship and came close to winning the Drivers' Championship with Nigel Mansell, but

23040-403: The new engine supplier, Senna approached Williams and offered to take over the second car. His interest was such that he was willing to drive for Williams while collecting no salary. However, like with Mansell, Prost had a rather testy relationship with Senna from when the two were teammates and rivals at McLaren in the 1980s. As such, he negotiated a two-year contract with Williams that gave him

23220-602: The next two decades, social and economic reforms, together with the establishment of a Legislative Council and Supreme Court , saw the penal colony transition to a civil society. The indigenous population declined for 150 years following European settlement, mainly due to infectious disease. British colonial authorities did not sign any treaties with Aboriginal groups . As settlement expanded, tens of thousands of Indigenous people and thousands of settlers were killed in frontier conflicts while settlers dispossessed surviving Indigenous peoples of most of their land. In 1803,

23400-498: The oldest living culture in the world. Australia's written history commenced with Dutch exploration of most of the coastline in the 17th-century. British colonisation began in 1788 with the establishment of the penal colony of New South Wales . By the mid-19th century, most of the continent had been explored by European settlers and five additional self-governing British colonies were established, each gaining responsible government by 1890. The colonies federated in 1901, forming

23580-399: The opening five races was a new record in Formula One. Senna won the next race in Monaco , ahead of both Williams cars, which finished second and third. In the next race, in Canada , both Williams cars retired: Mansell spun off on entering the final corner (he claimed that Senna pushed him off) and Patrese had a gearbox failure. Mansell went on to record four more Grand Prix wins, including at

23760-420: The outside wall at the 5th corner (out of sight of Hill). As Schumacher recovered, Hill came around the corner and attempted to overtake into the next corner. Schumacher turned in and the resulting contact (Schumacher in the wall and Hill retiring with bent suspension) meant that Schumacher was the champion. This collision has been controversial with some, such as Williams's Patrick Head , have suggesting that this

23940-485: The penultimate race in Canada to cap off a great season. Williams had greatly improved their Constructors' Championship position, finishing eight places higher than the previous year and scoring 59 more points. Alan Jones was the closest driver to the Ferrari duo of Villeneuve and 1979 champion Jody Scheckter. Jones scored 43 points, 17 points behind Scheckter, while Regazzoni was two places behind him with 32 points. Before

24120-404: The points for the first time; as Jones was fourth with Regazzoni in sixth. The team's first win came at the British Grand Prix (their home Grand Prix) when Regazzoni finished 25 seconds ahead of second place. Greater success followed when Williams got a 1-2 finish at the next round in Germany , Jones in first with Regazzoni two seconds behind in second. Jones then made it three wins in a row at

24300-544: The points, coming in second. At the next race, the Canadian Grand Prix , Williams locked out the front row only for Patrese to drop back with gearbox problems and Mansell to retire from the lead on the final lap due to an electrical fault. At the following race in Mexico , Williams achieved a 1–2 finish, with Patrese finishing in first and Mansell finishing in second. Williams then ran a streak of victories, with Mansell winning

24480-536: The points. Williams retained their Constructors' title, 84 points ahead of second-placed McLaren. Prost clinched the Drivers' Championship in Portugal and finished the season 26 points ahead of second-placed Senna. Based on his victory in the 1992 World Championship, Mansell would have been issued car number 1 for the 1993 season, and his teammate issued number 2. However, Mansell's move to the IndyCar series meant that number 1

24660-428: The political systems of the United Kingdom (a fused executive , constitutional monarchy and strong party discipline ) and the United States ( federalism , a written constitution and strong bicameralism with an elected upper house), resulting in a distinct hybrid. Federal government power is partially separated between three groups: Charles III reigns as King of Australia and is represented in Australia by

24840-533: The power to approve or disapprove any driver Williams would seek to have him team with for 1993. Once the contract was signed, Prost used that power to freeze Senna out of driving for Williams; he would return to McLaren for one more season with the team running Ford engines. Needing a replacement, Williams decided not to pursue any of the available drivers such as Berger and Brundle. Instead, they chose to promote former Brabham driver Damon Hill , who had been their test driver since Brabham collapsed and folded during

25020-417: The previous two World Championships with vastly superior cars, Senna was a natural and presumptive pre-season title favourite, with second-year driver Damon Hill intended to play the supporting role. Between them, Prost, Senna, and Hill had won every race in 1993 but one, which was taken by Benetton's Michael Schumacher . As with 1993, Williams's cars were issued numbers 0 and 2, following Prost's victory in

25200-572: The protection of threatened species. Numerous protected areas have been created under the National Strategy for the Conservation of Australia's Biological Diversity to protect and preserve unique ecosystems; 65 wetlands are listed under the Ramsar Convention , and 16 natural World Heritage Sites have been established. Australia was ranked 21st out of 178 countries in the world on

25380-511: The race itself. JPS Team BMW team manager Frank Gardner told Romano after the race that while standing at the back straight entry to Sandown's new infield section, he noted that Costanzo had been changing from 5th gear straight down to 2nd gear for the hairpin, missing 4th and 3rd gears completely. This was causing the rear tyres to lock up, the Cosworth engine to over-rev and had seen the Hewland FGB 400 gearbox twice stripped of 2nd gear. Gardner,

25560-534: The race, along with a collision with the Rothmans Porsche 956B of British Formula 3 champion Johnny Dumfries which broke the nose cone from the car (later retrieved by the team and put back on with race tape) saw Romano and Costanzo only complete 106 laps, 100 behind winners Bellof and Derek Bell (Dumfries shared his drive with Australia's triple Formula One World Champion Jack Brabham , marking Jack's first World Championship race since his retirement from F1 at

25740-451: The rain on lap 29, while Hill went on to his first podium finish: second, 16 seconds behind Senna. Prost won three of the next four Grands Prix for Williams, Senna winning the other race. Prost and Hill later scored a 1–2 in France : the only 1–2 of the season for Williams. Prost won the next two Grands Prix at Silverstone and Hockenheim . Hill proved competitive especially in the second half of

25920-475: The rate of 6 to 7 centimetres a year. The Australian mainland's continental crust , excluding the thinned margins, has an average thickness of 38   km, with a range in thickness from 24 km to 59 km. Australia's geology can be divided into several main sections, showcasing that the continent grew from west to east: the Archaean cratonic shields found mostly in the west, Proterozoic fold belts in

26100-515: The remainder of the season. Mansell would get approximately £900,000 per race , while Hill was paid £300,000 for the entire season, though Hill remained as lead driver. Schumacher came back after his suspension for the European Grand Prix , which he won by about 25 seconds, to take a lead of 5 points into the penultimate round in Japan . The race in Japan was held in torrential rain, with Hill managing to win

26280-533: The remaining constitutional ties between Australia and the United Kingdom while maintaining the monarch in her independent capacity as Queen of Australia . In a 1999 constitutional referendum , 55% of voters rejected abolishing the monarchy and becoming a republic. Following the September 11 attacks on the United States, Australia joined the United States in fighting the Afghanistan War from 2001 to 2021 and

26460-419: The resources of their reefs and seas. Agriculture also developed on some islands and villages appeared by the 1300s. By the mid-18th century in northern Australia, contact, trade and cross-cultural engagement had been established between local Aboriginal groups and Makassan trepangers , visiting from present-day Indonesia. The Dutch are the first Europeans that recorded sighting and making landfall on

26640-418: The restarted race by three seconds on aggregate over Schumacher who finished second. Going into the final round at Adelaide , Schumacher led Hill by a single point. Mansell took pole for Williams but had a poor start which let Hill and Schumacher through to fight for the lead and the 1994 title. Midway through the race, Schumacher's perceived need for a low downforce setup cost him, as he lost control and clipped

26820-530: The results for dangerous driving following two clashes in heat 1. Despite only finishing 6th in the championship, Bap Romano proved that he had the fastest Sports Car seen in Australia to that time. In November, Romano entered the K583 in the Sports Car/GT Invitation as a support to the 1983 Australian Grand Prix at the 1.609 km (1.000 mi) Calder Park Raceway in Melbourne. Romano qualified

27000-491: The rise of blackbirding , where South Sea Islanders were coerced or abducted into indentured labour, mainly by Queensland colonists. From 1886, Australian colonial governments began removing many Aboriginal children from their families and communities, justified on the grounds of child protection and forced assimilation policies. The Second Boer War (1899–1902) marked the largest overseas deployment of Australia's colonial forces . On 1 January 1901, federation of

27180-517: The season. Mechanical problems cost Hill leads in Britain and Germany, but he went on to win the next three Grands Prix at Hungary , Belgium and Italy which moved him to second in the standings, as well as giving him a chance of taking the Drivers' title. After Italy, Williams would not win a Grand Prix for the rest of the season, as a young Michael Schumacher won the following race in Portugal , and Senna took Japan and Australia to overtake Hill in

27360-709: The spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus . Surrounded by the Indian and Pacific oceans, Australia is separated from Asia by the Arafura and Timor seas, with the Coral Sea lying off the Queensland coast, and the Tasman Sea lying between Australia and New Zealand. The world's smallest continent and sixth-largest country by total area , Australia—owing to its size and isolation—is often dubbed

27540-429: The start of the 1980 season, Regazzoni left the team. So, Carlos Reutemann joined the team. Williams started strong in the championship, with Jones winning the first race of the season in Argentina . Jones won four more races: the French Grand Prix , the British Grand Prix , the Canadian Grand Prix and, the last race of the season, the United States Grand Prix . Jones became the first of seven Williams drivers to win

27720-410: The success he desired. Despite the promise of a new owner, Canadian millionaire Walter Wolf , and the team's rebranding as Wolf–Williams Racing in 1976 , the cars still were not competitive. Eventually, Williams left the rechristened Walter Wolf Racing and moved to Didcot, Oxfordshire to rebuild his team as Williams Grand Prix Engineering. Frank recruited Patrick Head to work for the team, creating

27900-440: The superiority of the FW15C and Williams FW14 B cars that had preceded it. The surprise of testing was Benetton - Ford which was less powerful but more nimble than the Williams. The first four rounds were won by Michael Schumacher in the Benetton - Ford . Senna took pole in the first two races but failed to finish either of them. In the third race, the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix in Imola, Senna again took pole position, but

28080-419: The team 15 points. Williams came second in the Constructors' Championship, scoring 77 points, 64 points behind McLaren. Patrese finished 3rd in the Drivers' Championship with 40 points, 41 points behind second-placed Alain Prost . Boutsen finished 5th in the championship with 37 points after also winning in Australia . Boutsen's win gave Williams the distinction of having won both the first and last Grand Prix of

28260-416: The team Williams signed a contract with tobacco company Rothmans International for 1994 , and their namesake brand became its primary sponsor from 1994 to 1997 . Despite Prost's continued unwillingness to have his former McLaren teammate run with him, pressure from various sources including the team's new sponsor led Williams to agree to terms with Ayrton Senna for 1994. The veto power in Prost's contract

28440-534: The team's first victory of the season, by almost half a minute over Schumacher's Benetton , while Coulthard would retire due to an electrical problem. In Montreal , both Williams cars finished in the points for the first time that season, with Hill finishing second and Coulthard finishing fifth. In France, Nigel Mansell replaced Coulthard (in the first of four appearances), at the behest of Renault. At Silverstone, Damon Hill accomplished what had eluded his father, twice Formula One World Champion Graham Hill , by winning

28620-474: The throttle stuck open as the car drove over Bitupave Hill at the end of the main straight, the fastest section of the tight 1.9 km circuit where the faster cars reached over 220 km/h (137 mph). Going into the left hander before the right hand Dunlop Loop after the hill, Romano couldn't slow the car and it drove straight through the infield. The car hit a dip and bounced across the track at speed, hitting an earth bank front on which not only destroyed

28800-406: The thylacine. Many of Australia's ecoregions, and the species within those regions, are threatened by human activities and introduced animal, chromistan , fungal and plant species. All these factors have led to Australia's having the highest mammal extinction rate of any country in the world. The federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 is the legal framework for

28980-417: The way the results of the series fell with Clearihan failing to finish Round 3 at Lakeside due to suspension failure, Romano would have still won the 1984 ASCC had they been competing for the same class points. In mid-1984 Bap Romano, feeling that he had the fastest sports car in Australia (and having proved so in the 1984 ASCC), challenged then seven time Bathurst 1000 winner Peter Brock, with Brock to drive

29160-661: The year in favour of McLaren. Unable to make a deal with another major engine manufacturer, Williams used naturally aspirated Judd engines for the 1988 season. This left them with a significant performance deficit compared with their turbo-powered rivals. Piquet left Williams to join Lotus who had retained their Honda engines for the 1988 season, helped by having Satoru Nakajima as number 2 driver to Piquet. Nelson Piquet called Frank Dernie every week to persuade him to join Lotus. Eventually Dernie moved to Lotus to become their new Technical Director. Williams brought in Riccardo Patrese to replace Piquet. The team did not win

29340-615: Was Australia's warmest recorded year, and the 2019–2020 bushfire season was the country's worst on record . Australia's greenhouse gas emissions per capita are among the highest in the world. Water restrictions are frequently in place in many regions and cities of Australia in response to chronic shortages due to urban population increases and localised drought. Throughout much of the continent, major flooding regularly follows extended periods of drought, flushing out inland river systems, overflowing dams and inundating large inland flood plains, as occurred throughout Eastern Australia in

29520-426: Was a deliberate attempt by Schumacher to take Hill out of the race. Others, such as then BBC commentator Murray Walker, defended Schumacher, calling the accident a "racing incident". Meanwhile, Nigel Mansell won the last Grand Prix of his career here, driving the second Williams car. Williams would end the season as Constructors' Champion for the third consecutive year, scoring 118 points, while Hill finished second in

29700-456: Was a record until Ferrari won its tenth championship in 2000 . Notable drivers for Williams include: Alan Jones , Keke Rosberg , Nigel Mansell , Damon Hill , David Coulthard , Jenson Button , Juan Pablo Montoya , Alain Prost , Nelson Piquet , Ayrton Senna , Riccardo Patrese , Valtteri Bottas , Carlos Reutemann , Felipe Massa and Jacques Villeneuve . Of these drivers, Jones, Rosberg, Mansell, Hill, Piquet, Prost, and Villeneuve won

29880-413: Was established in 1829, evolving into the largest Australian colony by area, Western Australia . In accordance with population growth, separate colonies were carved from New South Wales: Tasmania in 1825, South Australia in 1836, New Zealand in 1841, Victoria in 1851, and Queensland in 1859. South Australia was founded as a free colony—it never accepted transported convicts. Growing opposition to

30060-400: Was formed in 1977 after Frank Williams's earlier unsuccessful F1 operation, Frank Williams Racing Cars (which later became Wolf–Williams Racing in 1976). The team is based in Grove, Oxfordshire , on a 60-acre (24 ha) site. The team's first race was the 1977 Spanish Grand Prix , where the new team ran a March chassis for Patrick Nève . Williams started manufacturing its own cars

30240-417: Was involved in a fatal crash at the second corner after completing six laps. The repercussions of Senna's fatal accident were severe for the team itself, as the Italian prosecutors tried to charge the team and Frank Williams with manslaughter, an episode which was not over until 2005. At the next race in Monaco , Damon Hill was the only Williams on the grid, as a mark of respect to Senna, and retired on

30420-447: Was joined at the team by Clay Regazzoni . It was not until the seventh round of the championship, the Monaco Grand Prix , that they finished in the points. Regazzoni came close to taking the team's first win but finished second, less than a second behind race winner Jody Scheckter . The next race, the French Grand Prix , is remembered for the final lap battle between René Arnoux and Gilles Villeneuve , but also saw both cars finish in

30600-412: Was leaving CART to replace Berger at McLaren. McLaren also was potentially dealing with losing a driver, as Ayrton Senna's contract had expired following the 1992 season. In addition to this, McLaren's arrangement with Honda to provide engines had also expired, and the team had signed to run Ford engines for 1993. With McLaren having fallen behind Williams on the grid, combined with his uncertainty regarding

30780-574: Was looking to bring Prost aboard. Prost and Gerhard Berger had essentially swapped rides after the 1989 season with Prost becoming Mansell's teammate at Ferrari. The acrimonious relationship between the two that ensued nearly resulted in Mansell retiring from the sport altogether and he had not forgotten this; as such, Mansell began looking for other options to continue his racing career. He eventually decided to move over to CART, where he paired with Mario Andretti at Newman/Haas Racing . That seat, meanwhile, had opened up because Andretti's son, Michael ,

30960-429: Was not issued; instead, the team was issued the number 0, which was placed on Hill's car, while Prost was issued number 2. 1993 marked the final season that Williams ran with Canon as its primary backer. During the 1994 season, Williams used FW16 (developed during the pre-season) and FW16B (with shorter sidepods and optimised for the revised floor regulations which were introduced during the season). After Canon left

31140-416: Was one of the founding members of the League of Nations in 1920, and the United Nations in 1945. The Statute of Westminster 1931 formally ended the ability of the UK to pass federal laws without Australia's consent. Australia adopted it in 1942, but it was backdated to 1939 to confirm the validity of legislation passed during World War II. The Australian Capital Territory was formed in 1911 as

31320-425: Was only 0.4 seconds off the Group C2 pole time set by Englishman Gordon Spice (driving with English-based Aussie Neil Crang) in a Tiga GC84 , powered by the 3.3 litre version of the same Cosworth DFL that powered the WE84. Despite the cars problems, Costanzo's time showed that the Australian designed and built car was capable of mixing it with the best Sports Cars in the world. More gearbox and brake problems during

31500-409: Was only in effect for the 1993 season, and since Williams was now free to do as it desired and that Senna was again a free agent, the team decided it would bring in the multi-time former champion. To appease Prost, who decided to retire from racing permanently after Senna's signing, Williams agreed to pay him his full salary for the second half of the contract. Given this was the same team that had won

31680-418: Was popularised by the explorer Matthew Flinders , who said it was "more agreeable to the ear, and an assimilation to the names of the other great portions of the Earth". The first time that Australia appears to have been officially used was in April 1817, when Governor Lachlan Macquarie acknowledged the receipt of Flinders' charts of Australia from Lord Bathurst . In December 1817, Macquarie recommended to

31860-409: Was renamed the Romano WE84 (WE for Wayne Eckersley) and Bap Romano won 4 of the 5 rounds, sat on pole for every round and set fastest race lap in every race he contested. The only round he did not win was the crash marred Round 1 at Calder where he was involved in a crash, running into the back of Ray Hanger's Rennmax while lapping him at the end of Calder's back straight during Heat 1 which destroyed

32040-545: Was retired from competition, the Romano remains one of Australia's most iconic, fastest, and popular race cars, and is generally regarded as the second fastest Australian built sports car, behind only to the Group C and IMSA spec Veskanda C1 - Chevrolet built in 1985 by K&A Engineering in Adelaide . Bap Romano travelled to England in December 1981 and purchased a 3.0L Cosworth DFV V8 engine (engine no. DFV 088) from John Nicholson of Nicholson McLaren Engines. The engine itself had actually been used in Formula One during

32220-589: Was sold to GKN . In May 2020, Williams announced they were seeking buyers for a portion of the team due to poor financial performance in 2019 and that they had terminated the contract of title sponsor ROKiT. On 21 August 2020, Williams was acquired by Dorilton Capital. Frank and Claire Williams stepped down from being Manager and Deputy Manager of the team on 6 September 2020, with the 2020 Italian Grand Prix being their last time in their respective positions. Frank Williams founded Williams in 1977 after his previous team, Frank Williams Racing Cars , failed to achieve

32400-474: Was the result of its position on top of the Cosworth engine. The cars had been held on the grid for long time while the back markers took up their positions, and the heat build up was enough to cook the coil only 4 laps into the race when Romano held a 3-second lead over the Kaditcha Chevrolet of Peter Hopwood. On just the 3rd lap, Romano broke Garrie Cooper 's Sports Car lap record at AIR of 52.2 (set in his self-designed Elfin MR7 Chevrolet), lowering it to 51.67,

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