2019 Williams F1 Team - Mercedes

[Manoah2u]

350 million, please show a credible source with that.

[hibbsie]

For some so knowledgeable, this was news last year.

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/13620 ... investment

[Lotus102]

Well, this discussion is a trashfire of coded misogyny. Again.

[paulo_f1]

Well, this discussion is a trashfire of coded misogyny. Again.

Yep, Claire being responsible for everything (despite presiding over the good years too) and witch hunts where the remaining team members all have to dance around the burning remains of those to blame seems to be the order of the day!!!

[Lotus102]

Well, this discussion is a trashfire of coded misogyny. Again.

Yep, Claire being responsible for everything (despite presiding over the good years too) and witch hunts where the remaining team members all have to dance around the burning remains of those to blame seems to be the order of the day!!!

Precisely. Moreover, after the initial failures of the FW41 Claire backed Paddy to the hilt and gave him free rein to make changes in the technical dept. How on earth people figure the failures are everything to do with Claire and nothing to do with that dept are beyond me. Do they think she’s creeping in at night and messing up the drawings? Considering she’s kept money coming in and maintained the team in a very stable financial state, which she also gets no credit for, I can only conclude that people so desperate to see her gone are not looking only at performance.

[McG]

Dieter Rankin wrote a terrible article on racefans website. He is a bitter old man and that site absolutely stinks like a tabloid paper.

[Jolle]

For some so knowledgeable, this was news last year.

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/13620 ... investment

The investment was used to pay off and refinance loans worth about 500 mln from McLaren Automotive. Nothing to do with the racing team. They need a couple of more like these in the next few years. At least Williams seems to be financial healthy.

[paulo_f1]

Dieter Rankin wrote a terrible article on racefans website. He is a bitter old man and that site absolutely stinks like a tabloid paper.

It's completely hilarious, he seems to want precisely the situation Ferrari are always pilloried for at their worst, a blame, hire and fire, culture of fear.

The team was restructured last year, almost certainly too late to have a positive impact on this years car, as this happened quite late and at this stage has led to fewer experienced senior people. This means it may well be detrimental to the current car and only bear fruit next year as the new structure and processes have a positive impact.

Apparently firing loads more people without analysis of last weeks debacle is the way forward. It makes me wonder what planet some of the people on this forum are on, but Dieter I don't understand, he knows that it takes several years for these sort of changes to have a major positive impact. Recent history shows this to be the case repeatedly, whether Todt at Ferrari, Newey at Red Bull or Brawn at Honda/Mercedes, it often takes a major rule change even for these guys to really make a major impact...

[Lotus102]

Dieter Rankin wrote a terrible article on racefans website. He is a bitter old man and that site absolutely stinks like a tabloid paper.

Race‘fans’ eh?

I remember when fans were people who liked something.

[McG]

Dieter Rankin wrote a terrible article on racefans website. He is a bitter old man and that site absolutely stinks like a tabloid paper.

Race‘fans’ eh?

I remember when fans were people who liked something.

The only thing the "journalists" like on that site is creating clickbait and to try and cause arguments. Plus recycling interviews, even old ones, to create about 3 crappy mini "articles" that are barely 1 paragraph.

[ripleysend]

Dieter Rankin wrote a terrible article on racefans website. He is a bitter old man and that site absolutely stinks like a tabloid paper.

I read and commented on that article. Aside from the points made, it struck me also that he was annoyed that a) Claire didn't feel that journalists were owed an explanation and b) there's more news copy in blame, hire and fire.

I felt it was the article of a frustrated journalist who'd had their own self-importance punctured. Of course, this was cloaked in "the fans are owed an explanation". Which is true in good time, but Williams of course can now converse directly with its fans digitally rather via the traditional media.

Williams needs to face up to and into their predicament in an honest manner. They need to that first internally.

[coaster]

My personal opinion is the loss of Sam Micheal and Rob Smedley has led to a "brain drain" situation, coupled with their well document wind tunnel correlation problems and sponsor difficulties.

[Zynerji]

These failures inevitably expose gaps in "leadership". Not defined as "management", but the day- to- day act of leading a team as a cohesive unit towards defined goals.

[TwanV]

My personal opinion is the loss of Sam Micheal and Rob Smedley has led to a "brain drain" situation, coupled with their well document wind tunnel correlation problems and sponsor difficulties.

Sam Michael? Maybe I'm missing something but he left Williams for McLaren in 2011, and between 2004 and 2011 Williams were in decline under his technical directorship until.. he left basically. AFAIK he hasn't been active in F1 since 2014. Anyway not to bash Sam Michael there were probably many other factors but I don't see how 2011 is relevant in 2019.

[paulo_f1]

These failures inevitably expose gaps in "leadership". Not defined as "management", but the day- to- day act of leading a team as a cohesive unit towards defined goals.

How, what do you mean?