Head designed the FW07 for the season with Frank Dernie picking up the aerodynamic development and skirt design. This was the team's first ground effect car, a technology first introduced by Colin Chapman and Team Lotus. Williams also obtained membership of the Formula One Constructors' Association (FOCA) which expressed a preference for teams to run two cars, so Jones was partnered by Swiss driver Clay Regazzoni. It was not until the seventh round of the championship, the , that they achieved a points-scoring position. Regazzoni came close to taking the team's first win but finished second, less than a second behind race winner Jody Scheckter. The next round at Dijon is remembered for the final lap battle between René Arnoux and Gilles Villeneuve, but also saw both cars finish in the points for the first time; Jones was fourth with Regazzoni sixth. The team's first win came at the  – their home Grand Prix – when Regazzoni finished almost 25 seconds ahead of anyone else.