The car was designed by Harvey Postlethwaite, previously responsible for the Hesketh 308 in which James Hunt won his first race.

Wolf's former driver Jody Scheckter left the team at the end of 1978, going to Ferrari, where he would win the World Championship.

When it was found that Hunt was unable to fit into the Wolf WR5/6 chassis, a new car had to be built in a haste prior to the season opener in Argentina.

The assertion made by Motor Sport magazine ahead of the season that Hunt was a driver likely to "quickly lose interest" when not provided with a competitive machine[4] proved right after the 1979 Monaco Grand Prix when he left the team to join BBC Sport as a commentator.

Rosberg crashed WR9 heavily during qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix so a hybrid car using WR8's monocoque, dubbed WR8/9 was built up for his use in the United States.