Development of the FW14 was prompted by the team's underachievement in the 1989 and 1990 seasons despite being competitive. Newey joined Williams in mid-1990, having previously designed cost-effective cars for March. The FW14 was a completely new design, retaining only the engine; its promising early performance was enough to convince Mansell to rejoin Williams from Ferrari and delay his retirement plans.
The car was powered by a 3.5-litre V10 Renault engine, with design and development led by Bernard Dudot. By 1992 the evolved FW14B featured semi-automatic transmission, active suspension — invented by designer and aerodynamicist Frank Dernie — traction control, and for a brief period anti-lock brakes. The main visible differences between the FW14 and FW14B were a pair of bulbous protrusions above the front pushrods on the FW14B (housing the active suspension) and a longer nose section. The FW14B's successor — an initial FW15 — was ready mid-season 1992 but was never raced.
The FW14 debuted at the 1991 United States Grand Prix. Despite being the most technically advanced car in competition, difficulties during the season limited the team's progress. Mansell and Patrese combined for seven victories, but the Drivers' Championship was won by Ayrton Senna in the McLaren MP4/6, which had superior reliability. Mansell suffered several retirements — many while in a position to win — due to the then-new semi-automatic transmission. Patrese retired while leading twice. McLaren's reliability also took the Constructors' Championship, narrowly ahead of Williams. Five FW14 chassis were built.
After further development of the gearbox, aerodynamics, and electronics, the FW14B was introduced for 1992. It was dominant throughout the season: Mansell won a then-record nine races and wrapped up the Drivers' Championship with races to spare. Patrese added a further win at the Japanese Grand Prix. The increased downforce suited Mansell's aggressive driving style; Patrese, by contrast, preferred the passive suspension of the original FW14.
The performance advantage was substantial. In many races the two Williamses gained two seconds per lap over the rest of the field in the opening laps. At qualifying for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, Mansell's pole time was two seconds faster than Patrese's, who was in turn a second ahead of third-placed Senna. Williams won the 1992 Constructors' Championship. The season ended in acrimony: Mansell left the team after Alain Prost was signed, and Patrese moved to Benetton for 1993. Six FW14B chassis were built, numbered 6 through 11 in continuation from the FW14.
Between the two variants, the FW14 and FW14B won a combined 17 Grands Prix, took 21 pole positions, and scored 289 points before being replaced by the FW15C for 1993.
Current Formula One regulations ban many of the technologies used in the FW14B; together with the FW15C, it is considered among the most technologically advanced racing cars to have competed in Formula One.
In June 2017, the FW14B was driven for the first time since 1992 at Silverstone by Karun Chandhok, as part of the Williams team's 40th anniversary media day. In 2020 it was revealed that Sebastian Vettel had purchased Mansell's championship-winning chassis (number 5). Vettel drove it at the 2023 Goodwood Festival of Speed alongside Senna's McLaren MP4/8. In July 2019, FW14B chassis FW14/8 was sold at Bonhams auction at the Goodwood Festival of Speed for £2,703,000.
This article is based solely on the supplied corpus. No external sources were consulted; claims that could not be substantiated against the corpus were omitted under the drop-the-claim rule.
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