Albon becomes Williams’ all-time leading starter – but who else makes the top 10?

Alex Albon is set to become Williams’ leading all-time Grand Prix starter when he climbs into his FW48 at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix this weekend. But who are the other drivers who have raced most often for one of the most iconic and best-loved teams in the sport? Here’s the top 10…

10. Keke Rosberg – 61 Grands Prix

Keke Rosberg joined Williams ahead of the 1982 season, and emerged as the World Champion in a year of tumult and tragedy up and down the field.

Rosberg won only one race that year, the Swiss Grand Prix, but was the most consistent scorer and clinched the title at the finale at Caesars Palace.

Rosberg remained with Williams for a further three years, winning on four more occasions, including his final start for the team at the inaugural Australian Grand Prix at the end of 1985.

9. Damon Hill – 65 Grands Prix

Damon Hill linked up with Alain Prost for 1993, as Williams’ number two driver – a mantle he retained into 1994 once Ayrton Senna was signed.

But Senna’s shock death at Imola elevated Hill into the sudden role of team leader, and he challenged Michael Schumacher for the title, only to fall short in controversial circumstances in Adelaide.

After a difficult 1995, Hill rebounded in style in 1996, beating Jacques Villeneuve at the Suzuka finale to clinch the world title in a year dominated by Williams.

But team boss Sir Frank Williams had already opted to replace Hill with Heinz-Harald Frentzen for 1997, meaning Hill bowed out of the team as World Champion.

8. Juan Pablo Montoya – 68 Grands Prix

Juan Pablo Montoya arrived on the Formula 1 scene with Williams in 2001 like a hurricane, his fiery personality and aggressive driving style immediately capturing the attention.

Montoya claimed a maiden victory at Monza as a rookie, and was a regular front-runner, though the Williams-BMW alliance regularly fell short of the supreme Ferrari team.

Montoya challenged for the crown in 2003, ultimately winding up in third overall, but his relationship with the team became fractured during the year.

He signed for McLaren for 2005, though saw out a disappointing 2004 in the walrus-nosed FW26, the high point a surprise win in the Interlagos finale, his final race for Sir Frank’s team.

7. Nico Rosberg – 70 Grands Prix

Nico Rosberg joined Williams as a rookie, fresh out of winning the GP2 Series title, as he strived to follow in the footsteps of father Keke.

But Rosberg Junior joined a Williams team firmly entrenched in the midfield and about to enter a competitive slump.

Rosberg was a regular points scorer, and took two podiums in chaotic Grands Prix in 2008, but the opportunity to take a breakthrough win never arrived.

In a topsy turvy 2009 Rosberg was in the mix on occasion but the cards never fell his way, and after four seasons he made the move to Mercedes for 2010.

6. Valtteri Bottas – 77 Grands Prix

Valtteri Bottas joined Williams for 2013 in one of its least competitive campaigns, but showed glimpses of his talent, which were on full display when Williams surged forwards in 2014 under revised regulations.

Bottas scored six podiums, with Williams boosted by the pace-setting Mercedes engine, but the supremacy of Mercedes itself meant victory chances were few and far between.

Williams’ gradual regression through 2015 and 2016 limited opportunities further, and while Bottas was set to remain with Williams for 2017 – which would have made him the team’s leading all-time starter – Nico Rosberg’s shock retirement opened a vacancy at Mercedes, which Bottas filled.

5. Felipe Massa – 78 Grands Prix

Felipe Massa was ousted from Ferrari but fell on his feet at Williams in 2014, just as the team hit its stride. Massa took pole position in Austria, and five more podiums across 2014/15, but decided mid-2016 to retire from Formula 1, bidding the sport a memorable and emotional farewell.

But days after his last race, Nico Rosberg’s shock retirement, and Bottas’ consequent exit to fill his seat at Mercedes, left Williams searching for a replacement, and Massa answered the call.

Williams were running in the midfield by 2017 though a potential win chance for Massa went begging in a crazy Grand Prix in Azerbaijan due to a suspension issue.

4. Riccardo Patrese – 81 Grands Prix

Riccardo Patrese linked up with Williams at the end of 1987, replacing the injured Nigel Mansell, having already been signed for 1988.

Uncompetitive engines blighted that first year, but Williams returned to form in 1989, enabling Patrese to take a string of podiums.

He then claimed a victory at Imola, in 1990, and took three more across the following two years, though he mostly operated in the shadow of charismatic team leader Nigel Mansell.

Patrese finished runner-up to Mansell in Wiliams’ spectacular FW14B in 1992, but as several drivers circled to try and grab his seat, Patrese saw the writing on the wall and signed for Benetton.

3. Ralf Schumacher – 94 Grands Prix

Ralf Schumacher arrived at Williams after two impressive years at Jordan, and led the team through so-so seasons in 1999 and 2000, the latter the first with BMW grunt.

Six wins followed through 2001-03, including back-to-back victories from a sequence of three poles in four Grands Prix in mid-2003. But that proved to be the zenith.

Schumacher’s 2003 was scuppered by an injury in a testing accident, and in 2004 he was absent from six Grands Prix after suffering a serious back injury and concussion in a crash at the US Grand Prix.

By that time Schumacher had already sought pastures new for 2005 and signed for Toyota.

2. Nigel Mansell – 95 Grands Prix

Is there any driver more iconically associated with Williams than Nigel Mansell? The hard-charging Brit joined Williams in 1985, taking his first wins at the end of the year, and his title challenge in 1986 famously fell short only due to a spectacular tyre failure in the Adelaide season finale.

Mansell missed out again in 1987, coming off second-best to team mate Nelson Piquet, and after a 1988 season blighted by poor engines – and illness – Mansell switched to Ferrari. But that dalliance lasted only two seasons and Mansell returned to Williams for 1991.

The following year he was in perfect harmony with the team’s all-conquering FW14B, finally taking the world title he’d been yearning for. But just as he wrapped up the championship he had a falling out with Williams management and left to race in CART in America.

Still the pull of F1 and Williams was strong though, and he returned for four more Grands Prix in Williams’ colours in 1994 after the death of Ayrton Senna. Just like Keke Rosberg did before him, and both Damon Hill and Juan Pablo Montoya would do after him, Mansell triumphed in his final race for Sir Frank, the season finale in Adelaide.

1. Alex Albon – 96 Grands Prix (in Barcelona)

And so to the driver who will soon top the list. It feels like only yesterday that Albon joined Williams in 2022, the struggling team handing the Anglo-Thai a chance after a season spent on the sidelines following a difficult spell at Red Bull.

The partnership immediately gelled, with Albon rebuilding his confidence and his reputation, all while Williams put in the foundation blocks for their gradual climb back up the order.

A sequence of standout drives in difficult situations, executing left-field tyre strategies, and rebounding from setbacks put Albon back on the radar, peaking with a string of strong results in the first half of 2025.

The latter stages of 2025 and the start of 2026 have brought more challenges, but Albon has established himself as one of the key figures in the team under boss James Vowles.