Williams Young Drivers

Four young drivers were signed by the Williams F1 Team in 1997 in order to be evaluated as possible stars of the future. Only one of them, Juan Pablo Montoya, later succeeded to obtain that status, with Indy 500 and Grand Prix victories.

Picture above from left to right: Brazilian Max Wilson, Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya and French drivers Soheil Ayari and Nicolas Minassian were enrolled as the Young Drivers for the Rothmans Williams-Renault team in 1997.

French drivers Soheil Ayari and Nicolas Minassian did not breakthrough into Formula One, but had a long and successful career in touring cars and endurance for Ayari, and Champcar (IndyCar) and endurance for Minassian.

Max Wilson, born in 1972, is a Brazilian driver who had finished fifth in the 1997 Formula 3000 championship and stayed with team Edenbridge for the 1998, while being a test driver for the Williams F1 team (picture below). Lack of financial backing prevented him to move to Minardi in 1998, so he then tried his luck in the Champ Car Series. Since then, he has competed in the Brazilian V8 Supercar and Stock Car Brazil series.