Team story
Origins
Support from Iso Rivolta and Marlboro gave Frank Williams’s cars a new name in 1973. The first FX3Bs descended from the Politoys project, but rules on deformable structures required another car. John Clarke designed the IR, which replaced the previous family: the sponsors’ Italian name did not mean a single-seater built at the Iso factory.
The Formula 1 journey
Howden Ganley was the main driver in 1973, initially partnered by Nanni Galli. Points came with Gijs van Lennep’s sixth place at Zandvoort and Ganley’s in Canada. In 1974, Arturo Merzario drove the new FW03 and took fourth place at Monza, Iso-Marlboro’s best result.
Jacques Laffite joined the team during the season, establishing the pairing that would begin 1975.
Historical timeline
Three chapters in the story of Iso-Marlboro
Three episodes to revisit the people, cars and races that shaped this journey.
First appearance · Argentine Grand Prix
Howden Ganley · Argentine Grand Prix 1973. The recorded outcome is NC. This is the first recorded race start, or the first entry if the team never started a race.
Sporting landmark · Italian Grand Prix
Arturo Merzario · Italian Grand Prix 1974. The recorded position is P4; this number alone does not show whether the driver completed the race distance. This marks the first win or podium where one exists, otherwise the highest recorded placing for this constructor.
Latest recorded appearance · United States Grand Prix
Jacques Laffite · United States Grand Prix 1974. The recorded outcome is DNF. This is the last race start attributed to this constructor in the archive, not necessarily the end of the organisation behind it.
A distinctive way of racing
The IRs had fuel tanks around the cockpit, radiators behind the front wheels and a Cosworth DFV engine. A lack of money hampered their development; Clarke left the group and was replaced by Ray Stokoe. The seat alongside Ganley often went to drivers able to bring a budget.
The IR and FW designations therefore describe developments and changes of name, not a count of the cars built.
What remains
In 1975 the same families of cars adopted the Williams name, grouped here under Frank Williams Racing Cars. Iso-Marlboro remains the chapter of 1973 and 1974, without inheriting Laffite’s German podium the following year. An FW03 had a further life as a privateer car with Loris Kessel and became the basis of the Apollon: a chassis’ physical journey outlasted the commercial name.