Patrick Head knighted by the Queen of England
Patrick Head, former director and engineer of Williams, has been knighted by the Queen of England. His friend and former boss, Frank Williams, wanted to pay tribute to him.
In 1977, the Williams team made its debut in Formula 1 with Patrick Head and Frank Williams. The innovative concepts of the British engineer allowed Williams to win nine constructors’ championship titles.
In 2011, following a long career, Patrick Head decided to step back and resigned from his role as director of engineering, which did not prevent Williams from starting its return to the heights of Formula 1, with a particularly successful 2014 season as the highlight. Frank Williams spoke to Sky Sports about his friend, recently knighted by the Queen of England: « My name may be above the door, but I have always emphasized that the creation and remarkable success of Williams was a team effort. Co-founder Patrick Head was the design genius that took us from a small team to world champions. His engineering talent played a key role in shaping Britain’s image as a real force in global motorsport, and the benefits of this domination are felt economically and culturally. I believe this award is well deserved for his contribution to the field of engineering in motorsport ».
Currently, Patrick Head serves as the director of the board at Williams Hybrid Power Limited, a subsidiary of the F1 team aimed at developing and producing hybrid technologies. In 1999, Frank Williams was also knighted by the Queen of England.
