Williams F1 Team up for Sale
- Thread starter chrismscotland
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Frank doesnt move out of the way, Claire is only there because of name sake any other TP she would have gone a few years into her time.
The way she handled Paddy Lowe etc, turning up on one day to blame him for everything when she talked about how much she walks abotu the factory, yet she had absolutly no clue what way the actual car was going. Brinng that attitude to the garage. Any have sensible management would have done that kind of thing and sorted it behind closed doors.
The way she handled Paddy Lowe etc, turning up on one day to blame him for everything when she talked about how much she walks abotu the factory, yet she had absolutly no clue what way the actual car was going. Brinng that attitude to the garage. Any have sensible management would have done that kind of thing and sorted it behind closed doors.
Soldato
Sad but unsurprising. The history is already mortgaged to the hilt.
Claire Williams has squandered their initial advantage of the current engine formula. However, let's not judge her too harshly, as the problem is as much with F1 as it is with the privateer teams. None of them have survived, save McLaren, and they're not exactly flying. No Sauber, no Force India, no Marussia, no Caterham. Haas are treading water thanks to their CTRL + C Ferrari entry point.
Probably better for Williams that it happens this way, rather than yet another season of humiliation on the track. I guess that the name will eventually change too, and the heritage and genuine value and achievement of those past years will be diminished. I grew up on Mansell in a Williams.
Claire Williams has squandered their initial advantage of the current engine formula. However, let's not judge her too harshly, as the problem is as much with F1 as it is with the privateer teams. None of them have survived, save McLaren, and they're not exactly flying. No Sauber, no Force India, no Marussia, no Caterham. Haas are treading water thanks to their CTRL + C Ferrari entry point.
Probably better for Williams that it happens this way, rather than yet another season of humiliation on the track. I guess that the name will eventually change too, and the heritage and genuine value and achievement of those past years will be diminished. I grew up on Mansell in a Williams.
I know very little of her but I'm seeing the trendy thing kicking off that they're all blaming this all on her across the web.
Soldato
Netflix.
It all went very downhill on her watch, when she took over full time. Whatever she did or didn't do, the buck stops with her, and she's survived long past any team principle in any other team would have done with the team's terrible performance.
I don't think any one cares that she's a woman, or that she's Frank's daughter before people start pulling out the sexim card. In F1 results are everything, and she's presided over what's probably been the worst period in Williams' history, which looks like culminating in the ending of the team as we know it.
I know the pandemic has been the final nail in the coffin, but Claire has presided over the last few terrible years that have left the team vulnerable and underperforming. Sooner or later, something was going to finish it off if it wasn't able to climb back into the mid-field, and time has run out.
Soldato
I don't know. BMW were pretty shocking at long-term strategies themselves. 2008 Kubica could have won the driver's championship, but as hard as Hamilton, Massa, McLaren and Ferrari tried to give it to them it, BMW chose to put everything into 2009, where they were poor, very poor.
Meanwhile, Williams went on to have a couple of decent years in (2012) 2014 and 2015. Granted they rarely looked like beating any works team, but they ought to have finished second in 2014. Choosing not to play second fiddle to Mercedes is probably what harmed them long term, but I understand why for such a team that would be a bitter pill to swallow. It never was a team to accept second best.
Perhaps Williams were hoping for a VAG or Toyota return for a revival, but Covid-19 has put paid to that. As sad as it is, I suppose there's a certain charm to not wanting to quit at the back, to go down fighting. Williams where never about being a supporting cast, and while McLaren have evolved with a road car division, Williams have always wanted to be just a racing team. There are no pure racing teams any more, more is the pity. I suppose there's a certain nobility to just accepting that you have to have a manufacturer onboard to have any real chance of success. Most independent teams have fallen that way (Tyrrell, Ligier, Lotus) long before Williams, so I suppose there's a lot to be said for how long they've survived.
Before Covid-19 there was a chance, but Coronavirus has probably done for any Williams revival. They suggested moderate steps in testing, enough to maybe mix with the second half of the grid, but when money is as short as it will be in the next 12 months, it's hard to back a team with no guarantee of points this year or next without manufacture backing.
Caporegime
Williams were never fighting for wins since BMW left. The resurgance of a few years back was simply because they had the best engine on the grid and everyone else had junk. If BMW had stayed with Williams instead of going to Sauber it might of been a completely different ball game as Williams were a much stronger outfit to Sauber. The sport as a whole needs a complete shake up though. I haven't watched a single race from last season yet continue to watch WRC and BTCC so thats speaks for itself really.
It's a difficult one to fix as well as development needs to be alowed while at the same time costs need to be kept down. Mercedes would be no where near as dominant if everyone could develop their engines.
Soldato
Very sad news 
Soldato
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Whatever Williams have been doing for the last few years hasnt worked. That is not to say they haven't made progress but up against the rest of the pack the improvements have just not been good enough.
Their design philosophy is all wrong and they haven't had any real impact since 2014/2015 seasons which to me indicates they were simply seeing advantages from the rule changes and were subsequently slower than everyone else to take their development forwards in a meaningful way.
It's been painful to watch, really. Its a shame but it is a team effort and has to be lead from the top. If the culture is wrong then outcomes will be poor.
Their design philosophy is all wrong and they haven't had any real impact since 2014/2015 seasons which to me indicates they were simply seeing advantages from the rule changes and were subsequently slower than everyone else to take their development forwards in a meaningful way.
It's been painful to watch, really. Its a shame but it is a team effort and has to be lead from the top. If the culture is wrong then outcomes will be poor.
Caporegime
It is very easy to blame but do not forget Williams is an independent company who basically built everything bar engines on a budget that sister teams have who have the luxury of next to nothing spent on r&d.
That's part of the problem though (one they were trying to change too late). Williams spends resources on designing and fabricating things that most other midrange teams simply buy in as a standard part. Not only does this cost time and money they don't have, it means that if they get it wrong, they are in a cycle of spending more resources re-doing things several times to get it right. That's why we've seen Williams turn up to pre-season practice, and even the first race with cars that are not finished.
Williams still thinks they are the last true privateer team, but their inefficiency has let them drift away from the midfield and into a consistent last place. I wonder how much of that is down to Frank's insistence on doing it all in house as they always have. In doing so they've sacrificed the whole team instead of being willing to let some parts of it be consigned to history for the greater good of the rest of the team being able to continue forwards.
Soldato
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If you cant beat them, join them. Strategically their insistence on independence has held them back.
Realistically, if you cant be competitive with your current model, then the model is wrong! A good leader would see the truth of the situation and move towards a better solution. Dogged determination to do things a set way and not roll with the punches is admirable but this is F1 where results matter more than anything else.
By all means do it your way but if it does not bring results - your way is wrong, so try another way.
In before F1 financing is so messed up etc etc. Yes it is. But William's have known that for years. So why haven't they adapted?
One word; Pride.
Look where that has gotten them.
Caporegime
I totally agree they needed to adapt. It is just a crying shame that F1 is like this now. I think that's why WRC, NASCAR, BTCC are just so much better to watch.
I've been that way since at least 2016? When the turbos hit it felt very "meh" to me and not just that, it was always a Mercedes winning or on pole or both. You knew if a Mercedes was on pole it was a win. The same applied to Red Bull. You always knew whoever got pole mostly and mainly won the race. Every time.
I've watched some races of passed years but at least 2018 and 19 I watched 0 because the races I watched it always felt, so predictable. I really have no favourite driver or team anymore but the best excitement I remember was 2009. Bahrain, pole was up for anyone. Nowadays it's mainly one or two teams and I used to constantly watch every part of F1, practice sessions, qualifying, Ted Analysis/notebook and then the race and post discussion.
Now I'll just not look at it sadly. The cars still sound boring sadly.
Soldato
That's just not true. The cars sound amazing now - there's so much going on, and all the engines are very distinctive and individual.
Ignore what you hear on TV, hear them live. The difference is night and day.
They still sound like fancy race cars, not F1. I still see many people commenting today how crap they sound. People still hanker for the V10s and V8s.
That will always be F1.
V8s still sound better than the turbo's of today.
Or better yet, this sounds better than today.
Soldato
Nobody misses the V8s. Did you ever hear them live?
You said that the current engines are boring. They're not. They're not V12s, sure, but they far from boring. The evolution they've had since their introduction has been astonishing. I could hardly hear them when turning up to Jerez for their first pre-season test. Completely different now.
You said that the current engines are boring. They're not. They're not V12s, sure, but they far from boring. The evolution they've had since their introduction has been astonishing. I could hardly hear them when turning up to Jerez for their first pre-season test. Completely different now.
Nobody misses them you say? That's not what I've read in recent years.
No, I've never been to any live F1 race but what I did hear for those that did, they preferred V8s and V10s over todays Turbos that has been to many races including recent ones.
No, I've never been to any live F1 race but what I did hear for those that did, they preferred V8s and V10s over todays Turbos that has been to many races including recent ones.
Caporegime
I still remember Goodwood FOS from 2017. Iirc watching the procesion of F1 cars go up the hill during the F1 batch. It went something like Ferrari 641 followed by a williams FW14B followed by one of Vettels RB's which was then followed by a Mercedes 2016 car. Utter fail came to mind. The only thing that was more lol worthy was Nick Heidfeld going up in his Formula E.