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The Williams F1 Team have today confirmed that Paddy Lowe, its former technical chief will leave the team after having been made inactive several months ago.
No, but continuing on the current path could well see all 500 go, so something has to give, sooner or later...
Racing Point is in a grasp of Mercedes. Stroll exclusively wanted that, he wanted that when he was at Williams, but was rejected and thats why he went for RP. So only Mcalren and Williams are the two truly independent teams available for a merger.ScottB wrote: ↑13 Mar 2019, 20:20A real danger for Williams is that, should the sport sort out a budget cap, it’s not a stretch to imagine new, Haas style teams joining with help from Merc and Renault, both potentially pushing Williams further from the front, and perhaps closing off that ‘B Team’ option to them.
It’s tough, I’m sure the ‘goal’ is to build back to the front and get manufacturer backing, but they are a long way from that. Might be better to accept a few years of Merc help, give some breathing room to properly restructure the team while hopefully still able to compete, with a goal of returning to ‘full’ constructor status later?
As it stands, if you were looking to join the sport as an engine maker, there are 3 teams available for such a partnership, Mclaren, Racing Point and Williams. I struggle to think of a reason to pick Williams over the other two right now...
There is a simple solution to solve this problem. Banning such collaborations permanently. And those who dislike it, can say goodbye as well. Ferrari, Mclaren, Williams and Renault would stay for sure, other spots probably could be filled without major problems as well.adrianjordan wrote: ↑13 Mar 2019, 19:58As a long time fan of Williams, the current state of the team saddens me.
I'm not going to pretend to know how to fix the team, but watching the Netflix series and you see the MEETING where Claire once again states, this time to what looks like a large portion of the workforce, that Williams will become a B-Team "over (her) dead body" you start to see why they're struggling.
Clinging on to that independence is not feasible in the modern F1 world.
When even Mclaren are rumoured to be looking to increase their ties to PU supplier Renault, you can see that going it alone against the might of Merc, Ferrari and RBR who all have junior teams, is just too big of a struggle.
Perhaps Williams should be looking at how they can strengthen their ties to Merc and at ways of making better use of their budget.
I do get the impression that CW is a chip off the old FW block and that the way the team is being run is not working.
Possibly, but for now they still make most of their own stuff, they certainly aren't Haas style, and, if reports of them building a new factory and expanding their facilities are accurate, it doesn't sound like they are going for that style of relationship, even if they are otherwise close to Mercedes.proteus wrote: ↑13 Mar 2019, 21:44Racing Point is in a grasp of Mercedes. Stroll exclusively wanted that, he wanted that when he was at Williams, but was rejected and thats why he went for RP. So only Mcalren and Williams are the two truly independent teams available for a merger.ScottB wrote: ↑13 Mar 2019, 20:20A real danger for Williams is that, should the sport sort out a budget cap, it’s not a stretch to imagine new, Haas style teams joining with help from Merc and Renault, both potentially pushing Williams further from the front, and perhaps closing off that ‘B Team’ option to them.
It’s tough, I’m sure the ‘goal’ is to build back to the front and get manufacturer backing, but they are a long way from that. Might be better to accept a few years of Merc help, give some breathing room to properly restructure the team while hopefully still able to compete, with a goal of returning to ‘full’ constructor status later?
As it stands, if you were looking to join the sport as an engine maker, there are 3 teams available for such a partnership, Mclaren, Racing Point and Williams. I struggle to think of a reason to pick Williams over the other two right now...
I’ve never heard anything of the sort. Are you sure about that? AFAIK, they were always fiercely independent when Mallya was in charge.proteus wrote: ↑13 Mar 2019, 21:44Racing Point is in a grasp of Mercedes. Stroll exclusively wanted that, he wanted that when he was at Williams, but was rejected and thats why he went for RP.ScottB wrote: ↑13 Mar 2019, 20:20A real danger for Williams is that, should the sport sort out a budget cap, it’s not a stretch to imagine new, Haas style teams joining with help from Merc and Renault, both potentially pushing Williams further from the front, and perhaps closing off that ‘B Team’ option to them.
It’s tough, I’m sure the ‘goal’ is to build back to the front and get manufacturer backing, but they are a long way from that. Might be better to accept a few years of Merc help, give some breathing room to properly restructure the team while hopefully still able to compete, with a goal of returning to ‘full’ constructor status later?
As it stands, if you were looking to join the sport as an engine maker, there are 3 teams available for such a partnership, Mclaren, Racing Point and Williams. I struggle to think of a reason to pick Williams over the other two right now...
Ecclestone hitting the nail on the head here.Bernie Ecclestone says (both) Williams (and McLaren) need new management.
The once-great F1 teams are now struggling, and former F1 supremo Ecclestone thinks the problem is the people in charge.
Today, Zak Brown leads McLaren, while Frank Williams' daughter Claire is in charge at Williams."They are no longer in the hands of super competitive men like Ron Dennis and Frank Williams," he told Corriere della Sera.
To come back strong, they have to find another Ron and another Frank."
When asked about other F1 teams, Ecclestone said he is looking forward to the new Red Bull-Honda collaboration.
On the sport more generally, Ecclestone said F1 could survive without the FIA and its president Jean Todt."I suggested this alliance to Red Bull three years ago,
...Honda is competitive by nature...."
He also thinks it is possible Mercedes will not agree terms with Liberty for a 2021 Concorde Agreement."Jean did a good job of convincing Liberty that they need the FIA to change things. But F1 could even exist without them.
The teams and promoters could write the rules themselves and race under another name.
Personally I'm not for democracy, we need a dictator who says 'here are the rules'."
"I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't have an official team anymore," said Ecclestone.
I think you'd have to be an idiot to jump into F1 right now as an engine supplier. Honda was one year behind and it took them three to catch up, and that's Honda, far bigger than any of the others in the F1 game.
Clear and concise. Thanks for sharing.b2bL44 wrote: ↑14 Mar 2019, 01:40Dieter Rencken on Williams:
https://www.racefans.net/2019/03/13/the ... s-decline/
