They don't grow them like Frank any more: Bernie

LONDON • Former Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone paid tribute to the late Frank Williams as a pioneer who helped to build the modern motor sport and without whom it might have ceased to exist.

A quadriplegic since a 1986 car accident in France, Williams died on Sunday aged 79, his family said.

The eponymous team he founded, the second most successful in terms of constructors' championships (nine) behind Ferrari's 16 and the third oldest in F1, was sold to investment firm Dorilton Capital last year, ending a 43-year association with his family.

Williams came from an era where title-winning teams were run by their founders, men such as Enzo Ferrari, Ken Tyrrell and Lotus boss Colin Chapman, who are all long gone.

"Without those type of people, I doubt whether Formula One would have still been going now. Probably Ferrari would have stopped and that would have been it," said Ecclestone, 91.

"There's not many of the old-timers floating around now - those that were with the teams when they started. You could buy an engine and a gearbox (in those days). You didn't need to have multi, multi-billions and have 1,000 people working for you."

The British billionaire, who took over and ran the Brabham team in the early 1970s, called Williams an old friend who got over life's financial and physical obstacles with charm and determination.

He added: "Things were never really bad as far as Frank was concerned, he never complained about things. He got on with things the best way he could and that's the reason he was so successful. He was a racer through and through."

Ecclestone also recalled the obsessive physical fitness fanatic who before his accident would run for miles before dinner but also showed a keen eye for style.

"He was always ahead of the game. He knew about cashmere sweaters when I'd never heard of them. That was Frank," he said. "I would trust him with my life."

There were fears Williams would not make it after his accident but he pulled through despite the late F1 doctor, Professor Sid Watkins, giving a negative prognosis.

"I said, 'Is he going to survive all this?' and Watkins said, 'I don't think so.' As usual, Frank proved everyone wrong. They don't grow them like Frank any more," Ecclestone added.

Others in the F1 fraternity hailed Williams as a "legend and icon of our sport". Briton Damon Hill, who won the 1996 world title with his team, said: "The only person I could compare him to is Enzo Ferrari. He loved Formula One and he loved racing. Anyone who runs a team would like to aspire to his achievements and to his record."

Current Williams driver George Russell tweeted: "We say goodbye to the man who defined our team. Sir Frank was such a genuinely wonderful human being and I'll always remember the laughs we shared. He was more than a boss, he was a mentor and friend to everybody who joined the Williams Racing family and many others."

The last Williams driver to win a world championship was Canada's Jacques Villeneuve in 1997, which was also their last constructors' title.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS