Jonathan Williams

Jonathan Williams (26 October 1942 - 31 August 2014): British racing driver born in Cairo, Egypt who participated in one Formula One World Championship Grand Prix on 22 October 1967. Williams started his racing career in 1961, initially driving a Mini and then moving into an Austin A40 prior to switching to single-seaters in Formula Junior in 1963. His racing career progressed through saloons and various junior formulae, graduating to Formula Three in 1963, and in 1966 he drove for the de Sanctis team, during which time he worked with the young Sir Frank Williams, Sheridan Thynne, and Piers Courage. His success in Italy led to an offer to drive for Ferrari in Formula 2 in 1967.

In 1967 he was signed by Scuderia Ferrari, initially competing in sports car racing. Williams got his famous opportunity to race for the F1 team after being sent on standby to the 1967 season-ending Mexican GP with little serious expectation of racing, but by Saturday Enzo Ferrari had decided he wanted two cars in the race and 24-year-old Williams was pitched into the fray. Williams replaced the injured Michael Parkes in Ferrari's line-up, qualifying the Ferrari 312 in 16th position and finishing eighth two laps down in what would be his only GP appearance. After only one Grand Prix he was dropped by Ferrari and a subsequent F1 project with Abarth did not come to fruition.

However, he did compete in some Formula Two events in 1968, winning the Rhine Cup race in a car entered by Sir Frank Williams before driving the works Serenissima. At the 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans he co-drove the Porsche 908/02 which carried cameras for the Steve McQueen movie Le Mans. Williams retired from racing in 1972 and became a pilot (initially for Alessandro de Tomaso), an occupation he claimed to dislike, and subsequently a writer and photographer. Williams died on 31 August 2014 aged 71.