A Williams FW22 Formula 1 car driven by future World Champion Jenson Button in his rookie season will thrill crowds with ear-splitting demo runs at this year’s Donington Historic Festival, held from May 2-4, 2025.
The FW22 contested the 2000 Formula 1 World Championship and marked BMW’s return to the sport as an engine supplier. Designed by Patrick Head and Gavin Fisher, the 800bhp 3.0-litre V10-powered machine laid the foundation for the BMW-Williams partnership that followed. BMW would eventually split from Williams to create the BMW-Sauber Works team from 2006-2009.
Button, then just 20 years old, earned his drive after beating Bruno Junqueira in a much-publicised pre-season shoot-out. He became the youngest Briton to start a Grand Prix at the time, and he went on to impress with a string of precocious performances. His stand-out result was a fourth-place finish at the rain-affected German Grand Prix, while a sixth place in Brazil saw him become the youngest driver to score a World Championship point.
Twenty-five years later, chassis FW22-00 will return to action at Donington Park as part of the Festival’s much-anticipated historic F1 demo sessions, running on both Saturday and Sunday afternoons. It will be driven by six-time Indy 500 entrant James Davison.
This particular chassis was used in pre-season testing early in 2000 by both Button and team-mate Ralf Schumacher, with outings at circuits including Silverstone, Barcelona, Kyalami and Jerez.
For tickets and more information about this year’s Donington Historic Festival, click here.
