The Canon-Williams FW11 won the F1 constructors championship for 1986. The FW11 was powered by an intercooled, twin turbocharged Honda V6 engine, which made it one of the most powerful cars of the turbo era. The last race of the 1986 season decided a three way battle for the Driver's Championship. Rival William's teammates Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet were two of the contenters with McLaren's Alain Prost rounding out the third. The Adelaide Street Circuit hosted the Austrailian Grand Prix with spectacular lead changes and an eventual tire blow out that cost both Mansell and Piquet the Driver's Championship.

The Williams' FW11B evolved to use the latest generation of Honda's RA16 turbo V6 engine. The RA167E was Honda's answer to the FIA's boost pressure limit for turbocharged cars in 1987. Honda's continued engine development and Williams superior aerodynamics made the FW11B a worthly sucessor and clinched the F1 Constructors Championship for 1987. Mid-year developement of William's Reactive Ride active suspension helped achieve the highest top speed of the season at 218.807 mph. The driver lineup for 1987 duplicated the previous year with Nelson Piquet and Nigel Mansell behind the wheel. Mansell won twice as many races as Piquet (6-3) during the season, yet reliability issues and a crash during practice of the Japanese Grand Prix gave the 1987 Driver's Championship to Nelson Piquet.