Williams replace BMW with Cosworth engines

Williams will use Cosworth engines next season in a complete break with their current partners BMW.

The team and engine maker said in a joint statement that the move aimed "to put British excellence at the front of the Formula One grid next season."

However it also returns the former champions to a minority of teams without manufacturer backing, a situation last experienced by Williams in 1999 when they had Renault-based Supertec engines.

The announcement had been expected after BMW, who had offered to continue providing Williams with engines, decided to take over Swiss-based Sauber from 2006.

Both Williams and Cosworth, with their factories located some 60km apart in England, said the decision had been taken on technical merit and the partnership would extend beyond a simple engine supply contract.

"The scope of the collaboration includes not just the engine as an isolated element of the race car but extends to a complete programme of design and development," they said.

Cosworth were owned by Ford until last November when the Northampton-based company was sold to US-based ChampCar co-owners Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerald Forsythe.

Williams enjoyed considerable success with Ford Cosworth engines, taking the constructors' titles in 1980 and 1981 with them as well as their first grand prix win in 1979.

However Formula One is now dominated by the major manufacturers with Toyota, Renault, FIAT (Ferrari) and BMW all having their own teams next year while Honda own 45 per cent of BAR and Mercedes have a stake in McLaren.