Williams family bows out of F1

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#91

Post by MonteCristo »

Bottom post of the previous page:

PTRACER wrote: 3 years ago
MonteCristo wrote: 3 years ago Anyone else thinking that this will be a nail in the coffin for Frank himself sadly? He's lived for this team, and now it's gone. Without purpose...
Are you putting him in his grave?
Hopefully not. They were my favourite team growing up, and what he went through was legendary and inspiring.

But you hear so many stories of people carking it after they get forcefully retired. I was just thinking back at that Williams doco, and it really seems like the thing that drove him through his injury. He didn't seem like much of a family man at all. It was all racing. So I just don't know what he'd otherwise do. Hopefully they let him come to races still.
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#92

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

He is AFAIK the world's oldest surviving Tetraplegic. He must be close to 80yo now. (checked 78 yo)

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#93

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Everso Biggyballies wrote: 3 years ago
Ruslan wrote: 3 years ago So is this now an American owned team, meaning there are no British owned teams left in F1?
Well, we dont know that Dorilton is the sole owner.... initial reports spoke of them buying the business for a fund they manage, and James Matthews, the British Brother in Law of Prince William is the individual / familty of 'considerable wealth' mentioned is now a Director of Williams

But it certainly is less British than it was..... although Tota had a significant share at one stage (30% when he was there which dropped to 5% when he joined Mercedes) so it is a long time since Williams have been totally British owned, although yes always British controlled with SFW always retaining the majority, to avoid a Ron Dennis situation. (Sir Patrick Head always retained a healthy chunk of shares as well)
I do think this is a significant milestone... there are no British teams in F1, for the first time since the F1 world championship was started (71 years ago).

The new Williams board is two guys from Doritos, and Pippa's hubby. So one-third British?
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#94

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Everso Biggyballies wrote: 3 years ago He is AFAIK the world's oldest surviving Tetraplegic. He must be close to 80yo now. (checked 78 yo)
By that count he is 34 he only had his accident in 86
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#95

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

Michkov wrote: 3 years ago
Everso Biggyballies wrote: 3 years ago He is AFAIK the world's oldest surviving Tetraplegic. He must be close to 80yo now. (checked 78 yo)
By that count he is 34 he only had his accident in 86
OK then, the oldest person still alive with tetraplegia. (ie all 4 limbs and body. Quadriplegia is two limbs +). Just a thing I read somewhere a while ago.

Edit: Found the article. (4 years old now) It was written when he was hospitalised with Pneumonia and not very well.
....The 74-year-old, who established Williams as a grand prix constructor in the 1970s, has guided the British team to seven drivers’ titles and nine constructors’ championships. He is recognised as the world’s oldest surviving tetraplegic following a car crash in 1986.....
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/ ... 0in%201986.

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#96

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

Williams names Simon Roberts as acting F1 team principal

Williams has named Simon Roberts as acting team principal for its "transition period" after the Williams family stood down following the Italian Grand Prix.

Roberts joined the team earlier this year as managing director of its F1 operations having previously been McLaren's long-time operations chief and previously. Roberts, who also had a short spell on secondment at Force India in 2009, started his initial role at the beginning of June.

Also current Williams CEO and Board Director Mike O'Driscoll has announced his intention to retire following the sale of the Formula 1 team. He will stay on for the rest of the year in a role whereby he will ensure "the smooth transition of ownership through this year and ensure that the team is well positioned to build for the future".

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#97

Post by Cheeveer »

Renamed thread as to not mislead anyone. Williams team is staying, the Willams family is bowing out.
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#98

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Oh, I don't know. A Williams team run by a couple of corporate investors in New York and Pippa's hubby is really not the same team as one run the Williams family. I consider the Williams team gone.

End of an era. No more British teams in F1.
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#99

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

Quite an emotional fly on the wall video of the team's last day with "the Williams family".


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#100

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Ex-VW, McLaren head Jost Capito to become Williams F1's CEO

Jost Capito will become Williams Formula 1 team's new CEO in February, while Simon Roberts take on the role of team principal full-time. Jost has been a major player in the world of motorsports for years. Well decades. Most recently he was head of Volkswagen Motorsport, with a brief interlude to McLaren which clearly did not work out.

Probably a good bloke to put in the top job, and I guess an appointment of this stature shows that Dorilton or whatever they are called are serious about turning Williams around. Roberts will report to Capito and he will report direct to Dorilton principal Matthew Savage. He did a great job with Volkswagen and before so is in the Siedl (McLaren) mould. He wont be shy in making changes and hard choices.

Capito' CV
A former motorbike racer and Paris-Dakar participant, he worked at BMW in the late 1980s as a powertrain development engineer, before moving to Porsche in a motorsport management role in 1989.

He joined Sauber in 1996 as a member of the managing committee, and becoming chief operating officer two years later.

He was with the Swiss team for five years as it developed relationships with the likes of Ford, Petronas and Red Bull.

He joined Ford in October 2001 as director of special vehicle engineering, and spent a decade with the company in various jobs, eventually becoming director of global performance vehicles and motorsport business development.

In May 2012 he became head of VW Motorsport, overseeing its successful World Rally Championship programme, before moving to McLaren as CEO in September 2016, though he stayed for just five months before departing.

He then returned to Volkswagen in June 2017 to run its R performance car division, before leaving in October. He subsequently stated on his Linkedin profile that he was "looking for a new challenges."

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#101

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I mentioned this in another thread, but Sir Frank is in hospital. There has been no update on his condition and the family say there won't be. Let's hope he's home safe and well again soon.
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#102

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

Star wrote: 3 years ago .....Sir Frank is in hospital. There has been no update on his condition and the family say there won't be. Let's hope he's home safe and well again soon.
Ditto. I know he had a type of pneumonia last year sometime I guess it was, so hopefully it is not a recurrence of this or something Covid related. Wish him a full and speedy recovery.

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#103

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Star wrote: 3 years ago I mentioned this in another thread, but Sir Frank is in hospital. There has been no update on his condition and the family say there won't be. Let's hope he's home safe and well again soon.
I don't really like the sound of that :down:
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#104

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

Antonov wrote: 3 years ago
Star wrote: 3 years ago I mentioned this in another thread, but Sir Frank is in hospital. There has been no update on his condition and the family say there won't be. Let's hope he's home safe and well again soon.
I don't really like the sound of that :down:
I think it is quite understandable. The Williams are no longer owners of a high profile business, they are not in the public spotlight, Sir Frank is 80 years old near as, and the family say his health is a private matter want privacy whilst he is recovering. They have said he is stable. ie He is in hospitaal in a stable condition but we dont want to talk about it. Simples.

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#105

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

Everso Biggyballies wrote: 3 years ago
Antonov wrote: 3 years ago
Star wrote: 3 years ago I mentioned this in another thread, but Sir Frank is in hospital. There has been no update on his condition and the family say there won't be. Let's hope he's home safe and well again soon.
I don't really like the sound of that :down:
I think it is quite understandable. The Williams are no longer owners of a high profile business, they are not in the public spotlight, Sir Frank is 80 years old near as, and the family say his health is a private matter want privacy whilst he is recovering. They have said he is stable. ie He is in hospitaal in a stable condition but we dont want to talk about it. Simples.

Good news


Just in time for Christmas, Sir Frank Williams has been discharged (on Xmas Eve) from hospital and is recovering at home, No word on what he was or is suffering from, but the fact he is allowed to continue his recovery at home must be seen as good.

Wish him all the best for a full recovery from whatever it is he is suffering from.
"We're delighted to say that Sir Frank has been discharged from hospital and is now on the mend at home," a Williams statement read.

"The Williams family would like to thank everyone for their support during this difficult time, and to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year."

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#106

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

Williams agrees deal for more Mercedes parts

It has been a long time coming and some of us doubted the wisdom of their continued reliance on building expensive in-house components such as gearboxes and suspensions given the development costs, when other non manufacturer teams were taking advantage of deals with their associated manufacturer to buy complete engine transmission and rear suspensions as a unit.

Happily I have to say that Williams have now under their new ownership, agreed a deal in which they have opted to take advantage of the ‘transferable components’ allowance. Initially it will be for gearboxes and assorted hydraulic componentry.
n its latest announcement, the team states that its agreement will “enable Williams to implement a more efficient design and manufacturing process in-house in the long-term, allowing the team to focus its resources more effectively in other performance areas.”
Williams CEO Simon Roberts himself commented, “I’m pleased to see our great relationship with Mercedes extend beyond the supply of engines.

“Williams is an independent team, but Formula One is always evolving, and as a team we must be agile to react to the current climate in order to put the team in the best position to be competitive on track.

“This long-term agreement with Mercedes is a positive step and forms part of our strategic objectives for the future whilst we will still retain our design and manufacturing capabilities in-house.”

Mercedes-AMG Formula 1 Team Principal/CEO Toto Wolff said, “We are pleased to expand our technical cooperation with Williams through this new agreement.

“For Williams, it makes sense to acquire the integrated powertrain after running our power units since 2014 and for our team, it makes sense in terms of economies of scale to supply another team under the new rules.

“This is a project we have been discussing with Williams for some time and I am glad we have been able to bring this extension to fruition.”
Its been a long time coming but with budget caps and the like it has to be seen as a no-brainer to take as much Mercedes componentry as they can. We have seen what Racing Point managed with a similar philosophy of buying in as much as they legally could (sic).

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