The Williams FW28 was the car with which the Williams team competed in the 2006 Formula One season. The drivers were Mark Webber and rookie Nico Rosberg, the reigning GP2 Series champion. Webber was in his second year with the team, and teammate Nico Rosberg carried a hint of nostalgia, as Nico's father Keke had won the 1982 F1 championship in a Cosworth-engined Williams.

However, 2006 was very disappointing for the team. The car was dogged by a handling problem which affected the cars on the entry to corners. Despite the effectiveness of the Cosworth engine, the Bridgestone tyres and the two drivers, the FW28 could only display brief flashes of promise. Too often this promise was compromised by poor reliability - an embarrassment for a team that prided itself on engineering excellence.

The car seemed competitive at the beginning of the year when the cars scored a double points finish with Rosberg setting the fastest lap of the race on his F1 début at the Bahrain Grand Prix. An excellent second-row qualifying performance at Sepang was wasted when both cars suffered engine failures, and the season went downhill from there. Exceptions were Australia and Monaco, both races where Webber looked a contender for at least a podium finish until retiring on both occasions with hydraulics failure and an exhaust fire respectively.

A note of significance for Webber and Williams came on lap 21 of the 2006 Australian Grand Prix. By leading the lap Webber became the first Australian to have led his home grand prix since the last non-championship AGP was held in 1984.

Williams finished eighth in the Constructors' Championship - the team's lowest finish since its inaugural season in 1978. Unhappy by the team's reliability problems, Webber departed the team at the end of the season to join Red Bull Racing.

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Results

YearRoundCountryDriverGrid PosFinish PosResult
20061Bahrain Grand PrixNico Rosberg127Finished
20061Bahrain Grand PrixMark Webber76Finished
20062Malaysian Grand PrixNico Rosberg321Engine
20062Malaysian Grand PrixMark Webber419Hydraulics
20063Australian Grand PrixNico Rosberg1421Accident
20063Australian Grand PrixMark Webber718Transmission
20064San Marino Grand PrixNico Rosberg1311Finished
20064San Marino Grand PrixMark Webber106Finished
20065European Grand PrixNico Rosberg227Finished
20065European Grand PrixMark Webber1920Hydraulics
20066Spanish Grand PrixNico Rosberg1311+1 Lap
20066Spanish Grand PrixMark Webber119+1 Lap
20067Monaco Grand PrixNico Rosberg819Accident
20067Monaco Grand PrixMark Webber221Exhaust
20068British Grand PrixNico Rosberg129Finished
20068British Grand PrixMark Webber1722Accident
20069Canadian Grand PrixNico Rosberg621Accident
20069Canadian Grand PrixMark Webber1612+1 Lap
200610United States Grand PrixNico Rosberg219+1 Lap
200610United States Grand PrixMark Webber1219Accident
200611French Grand PrixNico Rosberg1814+2 Laps
200611French Grand PrixMark Webber1018Wheel rim
200612German Grand PrixNico Rosberg1420Accident
200612German Grand PrixMark Webber1113Water leak
200613Hungarian Grand PrixNico Rosberg1817Electrical
200613Hungarian Grand PrixMark Webber520Accident
200614Turkish Grand PrixNico Rosberg1418Water leak
200614Turkish Grand PrixMark Webber910+1 Lap
200615Italian Grand PrixNico Rosberg1222Driveshaft
200615Italian Grand PrixMark Webber1910Finished
200616Chinese Grand PrixNico Rosberg1511+1 Lap
200616Chinese Grand PrixMark Webber148Finished
200617Japanese Grand PrixNico Rosberg1010+1 Lap
200617Japanese Grand PrixMark Webber1419Accident
200618Brazilian Grand PrixNico Rosberg1322Collision
200618Brazilian Grand PrixMark Webber1121Collision