The Williams Honda FW09 was the first car in Honda’s second F1 era to win a race. Keke Rosberg and Jacques Laffite were the team drivers in 1984, finishing 8th and 14th in the drivers' standings respectively, placing the team 6th in the constructors' championship.

Honda and Williams teamed up and started racing in the final round of 1983 (Rosberg finished 5th in South Africa), in anticipation of the 1984 season. The FW09 chassis was based on the FW08, the car in which Rosberg had won the 1982 championship with just one win, and was a relatively old design, which was clear to see by looking into the cockpit, as the chassis monocoque was made of an aluminum honeycomb structure instead of carbon composite. The front and rear wings looked straight and dull to those accustomed to modern F1 cars, and the ultra-thick nose and cabin frame also seemed to be from a bygone era. In contrast, the suspension arms and other parts are so slender that they seemed too frail for the task.

The honeycomb-shaped aluminum monocoque chassis gives the impression of being outdated, considering that Team Lotus had already adopted a carbon monocoque chassis (Type 87) in 1981. Yet, caution to change was a characteristic of Williams, and the character of its technical director, Patrick Head. In this sense, Williams was in sharp contrast to Lotus (Colin Chapman), which aggressive in its use of advanced materials and structures. Honda, teaming with Lotus (1987) after Williams, was an interesting choice.

Williams was a new constructor founded in 1977, but it won both the drivers’ title with Alan Jones and constructors’ title in 1980, the constructors' title in 1981, and the drivers’ title in 1982, making it one of the strongest teams in F1. For Honda, which had returned to F1 in mid-1983 by supplying the Spirit team with engines, and was soon looking for a new partner as Spirit was in a slump, Williams seemed an obvious choice, as its cautious attitudes had nonetheless taken the F1 world by storm. From Williams’ perspective, teaming up with Honda was also the only choice. 1983 saw the first turbo car win the drivers' title (Brabham BMW driven by Nelson Piquet), and for Williams, which had claimed the drivers' title the previous year but with only one win, naturally-aspirated Cosworth DFV engines were no longer a viable option, and they needed a turbo-engine supplier. BMW was mentioned, but Williams chose to partner with Honda. In other words, this was a package that was born out of the matching needs of both parties, and the collaboration created a positive circle that would grow with time.

The Honda RA164E V6 turbo engine supplied to Williams in 1984, however, was based on the Spirit-era RA163E, and its drivability control was still in its infancy. Rosberg commented that the early stage engine had a large amount of turbo lag, making it difficult to handle. However, finishing second at the opening round in Brazil was a major boost, and despite much trial and error, the car was rapidly refined throughout the season. In Round 9, Dallas, the Williams Honda FW09 driven by Rosberg claimed the new partnership’s first victory. This also marked Honda’s first win in its second F1 era, on it 17th grand prix since returning to F1 in 1983. In this respect, it was a car that would go down in history.

The 1984 season ended with this single win, but it could be said that the honeymoon between Williams and Honda began with the FW09. The team would go on to claim four wins in 1985, and nine in 1986, making Honda one of the top contenders.