Williams FW26

Head supervised the car with the aim of being on the pace immediately, whilst his design team came up with a revolutionary aerodynamics package. The car featured a radical front section, nicknamed the 'Walrus nose'. It featured a short, stubby nosecone connected to the front wing by sloping vertical spars which allowed more airflow to the underside of the car. In an effort to maximise the airflow, the front suspension was designed around the twin keel principle, pioneered by Sauber and also used by McLaren and Jordan.

Launch control and fully-automatic gearboxes were also banned for 2004, which had been used by the team for the previous three seasons, since the 2001 Spanish Grand Prix.^{[4][5][6][7][8][9]}

The FW26 proved fast in pre-season testing and Montoya was tipped as a title favourite,^{[by whom?]} but during the season proper the car proved difficult to set up and was inconsistent, with Montoya and Schumacher both struggling to maximise the car's potential. The car was genuinely outpaced by the Renaults and BARs of that time, as well as the Byrne/Brawn-designed Ferrari F2004, which dominated much of the season. This meant the team was largely in the upper midpack among the competition this year, but not in contention for the title.

 

The mid-season was especially barren. The cars were disqualified from second and fifth-place finishes in Canada for running brakes that infringed the technical regulations, and Schumacher suffered a heavy crash at Indianapolis, sidelining him for three months, while Montoya was disqualified for the second race in a row. Schumacher's replacements, Marc Gené and Antônio Pizzonia could do little with the car and it was left to Montoya to defend Williams's honour.

The team redesigned the front end of the car in time for the Hungarian Grand Prix and fitted the car with a more conventional nosecone. It was with this configuration that Montoya set the then-all-time fastest F1 lap in pre-qualifying at Monza, almost 163 mph average. This does not stand as a lap record as it was not set during the race. He rounded off the season with a win in Brazil, whilst the returning Schumacher put in strong drives in Japan and China. Following Montoya's win in Brazil, Williams would not score another win until eight years later, at the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix, which was won by Pastor Maldonado in the FW34.

The FW26 was the last Williams Formula One car that was designed under the supervision of longtime Williams technical director Patrick Head.

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Team	Engine	Tyres	Drivers	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Points	WCC
2004	Williams	BMW P84 V10	M		AUS	MAL	BHR	SMR	ESP	MON	EUR	CAN	USA	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	CHN	JPN	BRA	88	4th
				Juan Pablo Montoya	5	2	13	3	Ret	4	8	DSQ	DSQ	8	5	5	4	Ret	5	5	7	1
				Ralf Schumacher	4	Ret	7	7	6	10	Ret	DSQ	Ret							Ret	2	5
				Marc Gené										10	12
				Antônio Pizzonia												7	7	Ret	7

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  Juan Pablo Montoya 2004 Belgian Grand Prix Qualifying, 28 August 2004 (FW26B; with new, improved front wing)
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  FW26 during demonstration run at Regent Street, London, 6 July 2004
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  FW26 during demonstration run at Regent Street, London, 6 July 2004

  Media related to Williams FW26 at Wikimedia Commons