The FW19 was a logical development of the FW18, which had won both titles in 1996. It was the last Williams chassis to receive input from designer Adrian Newey, who left to join McLaren before the season began; his work was completed by Geoff Willis. Patrick Head also contributed to the design. The new car was designed to be lighter and stiffer than the FW18. It used the naturally aspirated Renault RS9 V10 engine alongside the in-house Williams gearbox, Elf fuel, Castrol oil, Penske shock absorbers, and AP Racing carbon disc brakes. The FW19 was the last Williams to run a works Renault engine before the French manufacturer's temporary withdrawal from the sport.
Villeneuve later said the FW19 was his favourite Formula One car, but that it operated best within a very narrow window, making it difficult to extract maximum performance. He described the car as exceptional in qualifying once placed at the knife edge of its operating window, but very difficult in wet conditions — likening it to driving on ice with a lot of grip. Frentzen also found the car challenging to set up to his liking throughout the season.
The season opened in Australia with Villeneuve and Frentzen locking out the front row. Villeneuve's pole lap was 1.7 seconds faster than his teammate and 2.1 seconds faster than Ferrari's Michael Schumacher in third. Villeneuve was eliminated at the first corner after Eddie Irvine pushed him into Johnny Herbert's Sauber and into the gravel. Frentzen led before being jumped by David Coulthard's one-stopping McLaren, then suffered brake failure three laps from the end.
Villeneuve took pole in Brazil and led the entire race apart from three laps during pit stops to take his and Williams's first win of the season. Frentzen recovered from 13th at the start to finish ninth. In Argentina, Villeneuve again started from pole — his third consecutive — and won after a safety car triggered by a collision between Coulthard and Schumacher. Frentzen retired with a clutch failure after five laps, still without points.
At San Marino, Villeneuve started from pole but retired on lap 41 with gearbox problems. Frentzen passed Schumacher during the pit stop sequence, held off the Ferrari to the end, and took his first Formula One victory. At Monaco, Frentzen took his first career pole while Villeneuve damaged his car hitting the barrier at the Sainte-Dévote corner during qualifying. In wet race conditions, Williams started both cars on dry tyres, believing the rain to be a short shower. Schumacher jumped Frentzen at the start on wet tyres, and both Williams drivers suffered retirements — Villeneuve with accident damage on lap 17, Frentzen with suspension damage after running wide at the seafront chicane on lap 40. Michael Schumacher's victory left him four points ahead of Villeneuve in the championship.
Villeneuve won in Spain despite pressure from Coulthard and Schumacher, while Frentzen slipped to eighth. In Canada, Villeneuve crashed into the Wall of Champions on lap 2 while Schumacher took victory; Frentzen finished fourth. At the French Grand Prix, Schumacher won from pole by 23 seconds over Frentzen, with Villeneuve fourth after a late spin attempting to challenge for third on the final lap. Williams's deficit grew to 13 points behind Ferrari in the Constructors' Championship — their largest of the season.
At Silverstone, Villeneuve won the British Grand Prix — Williams's 100th Formula One victory, at the same venue as their first win in 1979 — as Schumacher retired with a wheel bearing failure, cutting the German's lead to four points. The winning move was aided by Mika Häkkinen's Mercedes engine failing on lap 53 of 59. Frentzen stalled on the parade lap and was eliminated on the opening lap by Jos Verstappen's Tyrrell at Becketts.
Both Williams cars retired at the German Grand Prix through driver errors, with Frentzen hitting Irvine's Ferrari on lap 1 and Villeneuve spinning off on lap 34. Schumacher's second place stretched his Drivers' Championship lead to ten points and Ferrari's Constructors' lead to nine. In Hungary, Villeneuve won his fifth race of the season — his second consecutive at the Hungaroring. Frentzen led and set the fastest lap before a fuel valve detachment caused a fuel leak ended his race on lap 29. Damon Hill's Arrows threatened for the lead on Bridgestone tyres before a hydraulic failure on lap 74 dropped Hill back. Villeneuve won with Hill second and Herbert third; Villeneuve closed to within three points of Schumacher.
At the Belgian Grand Prix, Villeneuve took pole in dry conditions but started the wet race on the wrong wet tyre compound and dropped to sixteenth before recovering to fifth — aided by Häkkinen's post-race disqualification. Frentzen started seventh and finished third post-disqualification. The Italian Grand Prix suited the cars less well, and both drivers qualified and finished second and fourth with Frentzen ahead on both occasions. Villeneuve received his second yellow-flag warning of the season during Friday practice.
Villeneuve snatched pole on his final qualifying run at the Austrian Grand Prix and won, aided by a 10-second stop-go penalty applied to Schumacher for passing under waved yellow flags. Villeneuve moved to within one point of Schumacher's 68, with three rounds remaining. Williams overtook Ferrari in the Constructors' standings for the first time since mid-season.
At the Luxembourg Grand Prix, Villeneuve and Frentzen qualified second and third and both benefited when the two McLarens suffered engine failures on laps 42 and 43. Villeneuve inherited the lead and won his seventh race — his eleventh and final Formula One victory — at the same venue as his first win in early 1996. Frentzen finished third. Williams extended their Constructors' lead to 26 points.
At the Japanese Grand Prix, Villeneuve arrived nine points ahead of Schumacher but was penalised for failing to slow for a yellow flag — his third such offence — and excluded from the results, leaving Japan one point behind Schumacher after the team withdrew their appeal. Frentzen qualified sixth, finished second, and his six points secured the Constructors' Championship for Rothmans Williams Renault.
The 1997 European Grand Prix at Jerez produced an unprecedented qualifying result: Villeneuve, Schumacher, and Frentzen all set the exact same time of 1:21.072. Villeneuve secured pole as he set the time first. At the start Villeneuve lost places but recovered to second on lap 8. After both drivers made their second stops, Villeneuve rapidly closed on Schumacher and on lap 48 pulled alongside into the Dry Sac hairpin. The two cars made contact; Schumacher's Ferrari was beached in the gravel while Villeneuve continued with battery hold damage. Suspecting electrical issues, Villeneuve reduced his pace over the final 21 laps and moved aside for the McLarens of Häkkinen and Coulthard on the final lap. Crossing the line third, the four points were sufficient to crown Villeneuve the 1997 FIA Formula One World Champion. Frentzen finished sixth after supporting Villeneuve's title bid.
Schumacher was subsequently disqualified from the championship standings for his actions, promoting Frentzen to second place with 42 points. Rothmans Williams Renault retained the Constructors' title with 123 points. Across 17 Grands Prix the FW19 recorded eight victories, eleven pole positions, nine fastest laps, fifteen podiums, and five front-row lockouts.
The 1997 livery reversed the blue colour from the engine cover compared to the three preceding years. This was the fourth and final season for Rothmans as title sponsor before the team signed with Winfield for 1998, bringing the iconic blue, white, red, and gold livery to a close. Williams displayed Rothmans logos at most rounds but replaced them at the French, British, and German Grands Prix in compliance with anti-tobacco advertising laws — using stylised "Ro?" text, a barcode, or a question mark rather than the standard "Racing" replacement of previous seasons. Additional sponsors during the year included Burg-Wächter, Auto Motor und Sport, ProSieben, Snap-on, Hype Energy, and Pagine Gialle.
On 22–23 April 1998, WRC champion Tommi Mäkinen and five-time 500cc world champion Mick Doohan test drove the FW19 in FW20 livery during the Winfield Champions Test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
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