Claire Williams: "We cannot win again without F1 changes"
- Published on 25 Apr 2018 09:37
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- By: Rob Veenstra
Without changes to formula one, Claire Williams is pessimistic about the future of the British team she leads. Recently, the daughter of team founder Sir Frank Williams attended a meeting with Liberty Media and emerged declaring "Let's crack open some champagne".
That's because plans for a $150 million budget cap from 2021 had just been unveiled. "That's not to say we were on the brink, but with the financial disparity between teams, the likelihood of Williams' survival into the medium and long term was looking pretty bleak," Williams, the deputy team boss, added.
Since then, Williams' woeful start to 2018 has not significantly improved, and Claire Williams suggests that without changes, she is not upbeat about the future. "When I started, I really thought we could win again. Now I do not believe that any more," Williams is quoted as saying by Roger Benoit, the veteran F1 correspondent for Blick. "Our sport is basically broken."
Once a dominant great of the sport, Williams has not won a title since 1997, or a race since Pastor Maldonado's in 2012. Claire Williams continued: "It's naive to believe that if you just work hard, you'll be rewarded. Except for the top three teams, nobody will win in the future."
"The financial discrepancy compared to Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull is just too big. It's impossible to keep up. And it's sad. If the new formula one owners actually push the $150 million budget from 2021, we could survive," she added.
However, Williams acknowledged that the Oxfordshire based team also needs to do a better job straight away. "There are teams with less money than we have who are doing a better job," she said. (GMM)
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Replies (11)
Login to replyRindtchamp
Posts: 304
...and Claire, you can't win again with only using pay drivers either.
reg
Posts: 162
Regrettably it does seem the women are currently unable to lead F! teams to get anywhere near the front!
krommenaas
Posts: 155
Yeah if only Paddy Lowe were a man!
Mr.Useless
Posts: 18
sorry for posting this to your post, but this is aimed at "KROMMENAAS", posting below, I quote : "Yeah if only Paddy Lowe were a man!".
This doesn't apply to Paddy. He didn't design the 2014 Merc, nor the 2015 and etc. He didn't do shit. And now he comes to team Willy and the 2018 car with his input is slower than 2017 car without his input. Yeah, if only Paddy were a man, indeed, you plonker.
renaultFanF1
Posts: 80
Oh... so cars DON'T run any faster just by having more MONEY? And there are ACTUAL DIFFERENCES between these guys you call "drivers"?
ajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
No doubt that changes are needed for F1 to win again... but the biggest changes need to happen within Williams. They have literally managed to change Williams brand into the complete opposite of what it was in the 1980's and 90's. Williams was about excellence in engineering, a demanding place that rarely (if ever) took chances on unproven (let alone inexperienced) drivers. They pushed innovation that other would regularly then try to copy. Now? The opposite of everything I just mentioned.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
It needs to start with Williams, no doubt about it. They shouldnt be where they are now with such a good engine at the back of their car. It shouldnt be possible for Williams of all teams to be dead last with a Mercedes engine of all engines.
mcbhargav
Posts: 1,332
She probably did a Ph.D in giving up. She should learn a thing or two, from 1) Force India 2) Haas 3) Sauber. These teams keep their head down and work harder instead of giving silly excuses.
siggy74
Posts: 194
no wins with paddy lowe, implementing mirror image designs from merc, that are backwards and dont work ;p
As others have said, paid drivers, and no experience to help develop the car going forward. knowing the issues with the car, was the saying, dont judge us until the end of the season.....
Shockingly bad, attitude and not much hope for this team to return to the top with the current people leading it into the floor.
mcbhargav
Posts: 1,332
Not to mention, the whole situation also brings up the question about the developmental capabilities and feedback of Kubica, albeit not to the extent of contributions Lowe.
renaultFanF1
Posts: 80
@MCBHARGAV
Kubica joined the team when the car was already completed, and he didn't have much chance to drive it to provide meaningful feedback