Walter Wolf, Canadian of Austrian origin, entered the Formula 1 scene at the end of 1975, financing the team of Frank Williams, in severe economic crisis. Wolf bought Hesketh team material to start his own team with Williams. The FW05 was basically a modified Hesketh 308C and two examples were prepared (the third was built from scratch, always starting from the Hesketh project). The 1976 season saw the Hesketh-Williams team employ several drivers (Brown, Ickx, Leclère, Merzario, Binder…) without obtaining any significant results.