Mercedes obviously have faith in their (Williams) survival.... they have just signed an engine deal to supply Williams until at least 2025. That is well into the new regs era. New rules planned for 2021 are aimed at making the grid more competitive. AFAIK a budget cap has already been agreed, while new technical rules to allow closer racing are being finalised before teams and the sport's bosses move on to agreeing a more equitable revenue split.
Toto Wolff wrote:"Williams is one of the iconic brands in F1," said Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff.
"They have been through some tough times recently but that has only served to demonstrate their resilience and strength of character as they battle back to where they belong on the grid.
"I am certain that the outlook for independent teams is bright under the financial regulations that will be introduced from 2021 and we are delighted to continue our partnership with Williams into that new era of our sport."
Of course, that is still a couple of years away for Williams to benefit from that. In the short term they have to improve their car performance to earn some FIA/Liberty money
* I started life with nothing, and still have most of it left
“Good drivers have dead flies on the side windows!” (Walter Röhrl)
* I married Miss Right. Just didn't know her first name was Always
Vassago wrote: ↑4 years ago
I can only wonder how much Michael Latifi is willing to spend on his son's career but that would be way more than Orlen did for Kubica. Nothing like private money where you don't have to report to anyone over spending it. I wouldn't be surprised if M.Latifi became a full-time share-holder in Williams so his son occupies the seat for years to come (unless he takes it elsewhere but with so many manufacturer teams I don't think he will have another choice unless Haas suddenly goes belly up).
I mean Latifi "invested" 200m pounds to become a 10% shareholder with McLaren Group last year and Nicky boy didn't come close to sniffing a race seat there. This is taking pay driving into a whole new level.
One would have to be thinking the future for RK for next season is bleak in F1 terms. In financial terms, Latifi could easily outbid whatever Kubica can put on the table.
Re the 10% Latifi purchase of McLaren shares I do remember that Latifi Snr said it was purely a business opportunity and nothing to do with his son's aspirations.... of course what he said and what he thinks are two different matters.
Certainly the Stroll / Latifi ínvestments' are a whole new ballgame, although of course we have for several decades always had some very wealthy drivers buying their way in.... some talented, and others less so.
* I started life with nothing, and still have most of it left
“Good drivers have dead flies on the side windows!” (Walter Röhrl)
* I married Miss Right. Just didn't know her first name was Always
In the rookie thread @PTRACER said it was difficult to judge George Russell as the car was so bad.
And it looks like this season will be more of the same for Williams and George....
George has released a statement confirming the new 2020 Williams is just an evolution of last years crap. He says the car will be better.... but so will the others so Williams will stay at the back of the field.
Disappointing.
"We had to look at the basic structure of the car. There were aspects that were fundamentally wrong," he said.
"Something was wrong with the aero. The downforce was not constant and there were also times in 2018 when Lance and Sergey crashed out of nowhere.
"We had to start from scratch when it comes to the downforce but since then we've been on a good path," Russell added.
But despite the obvious flaws, he revealed that the 2020 car will be an "evolution" of last year's design.
"We committed to a strategy at the end of 2018 and it took time to rebuild the foundation of the car. We didn't see any progress in the wind tunnel for a long time but the trend is different now.
"We will definitely be better in 2020," Russell said.
However, he acknowledged that Williams is likely to remain at the back of the grid.
"I expect that we will fight the others more often, but realistically it will be another difficult season for us.
"McLaren took a big step from 2018 to 2019, and if we can do a similar step and Haas, Racing Point and Toro Rosso do not progress, we will be in a very strong position.
"If they all find a second, we'll stay where we are," Russell admitted.
To the point that Merc sees some potential in Williams - the truth is that despite their loss of prize money and Stroll backing, they remain financially sustainable to an extent. They’re not generating enough funding to launch a proper F1 campaign but at least they don’t appear to be in terrible financial shape at least for the moment - so if they can afford to keep Merc engines they will do so. They’ve also saved tonnes by getting rookies in so that should ease the pressure a bit.
It really comes down to leadership. They are going to have to make some incredibly hard choices - just as McLaren did over the past few years - if they are to have any hope of moving forward.
I’m most concerned about Russell - does he move up to a top team like LeClerc did with Ferrari? Or is he the next Wherlein or Vandoorne?
Xstatic3000 wrote: ↑4 years ago
It really comes down to leadership. They are going to have to make some incredibly hard choices - just as McLaren did over the past few years - if they are to have any hope of moving forward.
I’m most concerned about Russell - does he move up to a top team like LeClerc did with Ferrari? Or is he the next Wherlein or Vandoorne?
There are a lot of quality drivers out there right now so I think Russell will have to sit tight for a bit yet. Especially if Hulk and Alonso come back next year.
@Circuitmaster Lol . That thought crossed my mind in a frying pan / fire sort of way.
Just seen the headline and not read the details like will the management and running of the team remain similar or will 'the family' still be involved and indeed retain a shareholding. Also whether they can now afford a few more $$ in development. Off to do a bit of reading on the details.
* I started life with nothing, and still have most of it left
“Good drivers have dead flies on the side windows!” (Walter Röhrl)
* I married Miss Right. Just didn't know her first name was Always
LOL it's no coincidence that since Claire was practically forced into taking over day to day running of the team due to Franks refusal to sell it or relinquish overall control, she has butted heads with almost everybody there, moral is in the gutter and the teams performance laughable at best.
Claire wants to be Britians next female prime minister, it's what she studied at university and has a degree in, she has no interest in the family business but was practically forced into it by dad because her brother didn't want the job either.
So if the new owners have any sense they'll let her go and peruse the career she wants and put someone in her job who wants to be there, like Paddy Lowe for instance, at least then he won't have Claire undermining him and overruling his decisions every five minutes.
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Well it seems that Williams have sold everything, lock stock and barrel. No retained shareholding by the family. Sold for I think just shy of £140 million. Presumably out of that the Latifi loans will have to be paid out, unless the new buyers bought that debt with the deal. I dont know much about Dorilton Capilton beyond what has been said of them in relation to this sale. I wonder if Latifi has any links to Dorilton.
They say they will retain the name, valuing the heritage of the name, and that they have no plans to relocate from Grove.
As @Ian-S said, hopefully Dorilton will put someone capable at the helm, and allow them the freedom and funding that previous senior staff were not granted.
Dorilton will I imagine not be into Williams as a long term deal, and would I guess be looking to do the usual investment outfit deal, turn it into a decent profit maker and move it on, as CVC did with F1. With budget caps and a fairer division of F1 money to the lower teams it maybe a good time for such a takeover. Im not sure whether Dorilton had any shares in Williams from when SFW floated the company on the stock exchange a few years back.
Time will tell. Hopefully the quality staff in house will be retained, and indeed much of the workforce. I wish them all the very best for the future, and am glad the Williams name is being retained. I guess in a way it is a similar path to McLaren after Ron Dennis had taken over the team from the leftovers of the Bruce days. Sold shares in the business (as Williams did when they floated,) and as with Ron eventually sold out to an investment company.
Interesting times ahead.
* I started life with nothing, and still have most of it left
“Good drivers have dead flies on the side windows!” (Walter Röhrl)
* I married Miss Right. Just didn't know her first name was Always