Williamson won the 1971 and 1972 British Formula Three Championship titles. In 1973, he was offered a drive in the March Engineering works Formula One team.

Williamson's second Formula One appearance was on the 1973 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort. On lap 8, a suspected tyre failure caused his car to flip upside down and catch fire. Williamson had not been seriously injured by the impact, but was trapped under the car. The marshals were both poorly trained and badly equipped, and could not assist him. Fellow driver David Purley abandoned his own race in a desperate and valiant attempt to rescue him, but was not able to put out the fire, or to turn the car upright. By the time the first fire truck arrived and the fire was extinguished, Williamson had died of asphyxiation.

In 2003, on the 30th anniversary of his fatal crash, a bronze statue of Roger Williamson was unveiled at the Donington Park circuit in Leicestershire, England. Then-owner Tom Wheatcroft had provided financial backing to Williamson, and described the day Williamson died as "the saddest day of my life".

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