[BoneCollector]

Williams could sell the F1 team as board announced £13 million loss in 2019 and split from title sponsor.

Williams say they are considering selling a minority or majority stake in the iconic British Formula 1 team as they pursue a “new strategic direction” to ensure they are “well positioned to take advantage of Formula 1’s new era which will begin in 2021”.

Link

[raystriker]

I think the best way for Williams to be competitive would be by aping the Mercedes 2019 car just as Racing Point F1 did for their 2020 car.

[GTO]

Thanks for sharing, BoneCollector! Moving your post to a new thread. Very important news.

[Reinhard]

Hmm. The way they have taken that great name to the cleaners within last decade, hardly anybody would even blink when (not if) they get sold off or go bust. Their's is the most painful story to watch on the circuit every racing weekend sadly.

In the naval world, they say rechristening a vessel is a bad omen (along with a truck load more of such beliefs that the brave seamen have). This was the first thing I remembered when Williams F1 had changed their logo on car nose-tip from the iconic & tributary "Senna S" integrated W to the current bold simple "W". I don't remember a single positive thing that has happened since that logo change on their "ships".

[Eshan Joshi]

This is just mad. I remember that Williams used to be a top team in F1 just a few years ago. Massa used to get a few podiums with them.

There are two reasons for the fall of Williams.

1. The loss of Massa and Bottas.
2. Their small budget (due to poor performances and sponsorship losses).

The loss of Bottas and Massa was a huge blow. The first mistake was not replacing them with at least one midfield driver. I mean Stroll and the Russian driver (Forgot his name) were not ideal replacements. I mean the current Williams drivers are not that experienced(Never heard of them before).How does Williams expect to compete like this? They could have at least bought in Roman Grosjean or someone.

But the second point is the main reason they are leaving F1. I mean their budget of 150 mil won't help them in development (lowest among all).In context Ferrari has around 450 mil in development . The loss of Martini's sponsorship hurt them a lot.They have also recently lost Rexona .

Williams should not leave F1 . F1 are going to introduce a budget cap in 2021. They just have to hang on for a season. Hopefully then,we would be able to see them back at the top with the new rule in place.

[Hatari]

Originally Posted by Eshan Joshi

This is just mad. I remember that Williams used to be a top team in F1 just a few years ago. Massa used to get a few podiums with them.

There are two reasons for the fall of Williams.

1. The loss of Massa and Bottas.
2. Their small budget (due to poor performances and sponsorship losses).

The loss of Bottas and Massa was a huge blow. The first mistake was not replacing them with at least one midfield driver. I mean Stroll and the Russian driver (Forgot his name) were not ideal replacements. I mean the current Williams drivers are not that experienced(Never heard of them before).How does Williams expect to compete like this? They could have at least bought in Roman Grosjean or someone.

But the second point is the main reason they are leaving F1. I mean their budget of 150 mil won't help them in development (lowest among all).In context Ferrari has around 450 mil in development . The loss of Martini's sponsorship hurt them a lot.They have also recently lost Rexona .

Williams should not leave F1 . F1 are going to introduce a budget cap in 2021. They just have to hang on for a season. Hopefully then,we would be able to see them back at the top with the new rule in place.

They did really well in 2014 when the V6 ERS power units were first used, their supplier Mercedes had the best PU by a country mile. All other teams suffered.

But you are right with the budget. Shame they were so adamant on doing it on their own, one simply cannot compete with the big boys. A stake sale should have been considered long ago.

I think Claire Williams got too emotionally attached, wanting to carry on in her father's footsteps, not accepting economic realities. The cost cap would have benefited them hugely.

Must pay tribute to Frank Williams, an amazing man. The championship winning years of 96 & 97 are still very clearly etched in memory.

[BoneCollector]

Williams have been acquired by American investment firm, Dorilton Capital.

Link

The iconic British marque, founded by Sir Frank Williams and Sir Patrick Head, said in May that they were embarking on a “new strategic direction”, beginning talks with interested parties regarding a sale of a minority or majority stake in the company.

On Friday, nearly three months after they made that news public, the team said Dorilton Capital would be their new owners, marking “the beginning of an exciting new era in the history of Williams” with the team “now well positioned to capitalise upon the seeping rule changes coming into Formula 1 with the new Concorde Agreement” for 2021.

[ds.raikkonen]

Williams joined Formula One at the 1977 Spanish Grand Prix and has become the second most successful team in the sport behind Ferrari. The Grove-based outfit has won nine Constructors’ Championship titles and secured seven Drivers’ Championship titles. The team has scored a total of 114 victories and 128 pole positions.

Sad to see such a titanic constructor go down financially, but let's hope the new acquisition breathes new life into the legendary team.

The best thing to come out from Williams in recent years was perhaps their unique 'fly-wheel' based KERS system, which though could not gain in traction as the energy density was simply not enough but was good enough to be installed in the Porsche 911 RSR models and even in some prototypes if I can recall correctly.

The fly wheel in the system could spin at 50k-100k rpm and was spun electrically rather than mechanically in a vacuum to reduce losses and for better packaging (as per 2009 regs anyway). Similarly was 'discharged' electrically.

F1 moved on from KERS being power centric to more energy centric from 2009 to 2014 when the drivers could deploy KERS up to 20-30 secs as compared to just 10 sec earlier.

Still, was an incredible engineering feat which Williams engineering pulled off. Hats off to them.

[sgiitk]

I will be sorry for them.

Finally the Honda engine was coming good. So their quitting is really a hammer blow. Also, Williams have been reputed make for a long time.

[RM Motorsports]

Sir Frank Williams is a true RACER!. Even after his near fatal accident and wheel-chair bound, he and Patrick Head kept the team running like Champions. What Ross Brawn was to Ferrari, Patrick Head was to Williams. And after 43 years finally Williams F1 is sold.

I started watching F1 since 1997. There were so many other private teams like Jordan, Prost, Sauber, Minardi etc. Once the car manufactures started coming to F1 and the amount of money they started pumping in, all these privateers started disappearing.

Williams was last survivor. I hope the name "WILLIAMS" stays in F1 for a long long time.

For all Williams fans, you should watch this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wAMk1sllp0

[itsnotdeva]

This is quite sad for the world of motorport, really.

Williams, a team that has been in Formula 1 since 1977, and have won 9 constructors championships, have alas been sold to Dorilton Capital for €152m, thereby ending the family ownership of one of Formula 1's most successful teams.

The team has been having a bad run for the last few years, having won their last race at the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix and last podium at the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

For the last two years, Williams has been a back-marker, almost always finishing last in the races, with cars that were considerably off the pace of the rest of the pack. Despite having tried new things, hiring new officials and coming up with technical innovations, none of their efforts paid off. The consistent poor performance of the team also meant that they lost their sponsors without the funding, they were quite simply struggling to stay afloat.

Claire Williams, daughter of team founder, Frank Williams, and current Deputy Team Principal of Williams, did state that she would try her best to keep Williams a family-run venture, and would definitely not put the team up for sale, but COVID-19 was an uninvited guest that most certainly added to their woes. All of this resulted in the sale of one of the longest running teams in the sport.

The new owners, Dorilton Capital have stated that they understand and value the history that Williams is associated with in the world of Formula 1, and that the their "patient investment style" would allow the team to focus on its objective of running with the front-runners again.

[adityak7]

I am relatively new to the world of F1 and have been following it for the past 2 years. However, having read and watched videos into the history of the sport and various teams, it's sad that a team that has seen such a success had to come to its current state.
Hope the new management and capital can help turnaround things.

[deetjohn]

I feel this is great news really! For Williams and the world of F1 in general. Hear me out!

1) There is a question in F1 which I am sure most have heard. That is, 'How to make a small fortune in F1'? And the obvious answer is to begin with a large one. So, I am glad the team didn't fold and were able to find a good buyer in Dorilton Capital. And the name of the team is going to stay. So, it looks like Dorilton really knows what they are buying into.

2) Now, is that valuation low? Not at all in the current scenario. All assets have dropped in value. And, if there is liquidity, it is the right time to acquire other assets. So, the numbers are just that! Extremely relative! Besides, Frank has been able to save numerous jobs in these trying times with this deal.

3) Does it mean, it's a bad deal for Dorilton? Again, not at all! It is no coincidence that the news of this acquisition follows the new Concorde agreement which was signed last week by all teams. That was a big win for Liberty and the future of F1. With the proposed budget cuts, and other regulations, small teams like Williams will definitely have a shout at glory again!

Frank has lived his entire life with his heart fighting multiple odds and he along with Patrick Head has taken the team as far as he could. Also, it must be great to have a child in Claire who goes by the same principles in life! So, thank you, Williams team! And all the best!

PS: I feel the title of this thread is a little disrespectful to the great team! Also, there is a typo in the new owner's name!

[ChiragM]

One hand, its sad to see Williams leave the family. Its been with Frank for so many years and has achieved so much in this time that it is sad to see it go to someone else.

On the other hand, there will be some fresh investments coming in, maybe some new guys and some new ideas. With the changes in the regulations coming up, this would be an ideal opportunity for Williams to bounce back and get to the front of the field. I am sure F1 fans want to see the one-great time fight it out with the leaders again instead of languishing at the back.

Wonder if this will affect the driver line-up at Williams. Russell has been impressive and he needs a much better car to show his true capabilities.

[itsnotdeva]

Originally Posted by adityak7

I am relatively new to the world of F1 and have been following it for the past 2 years. However, having read and watched videos into the history of the sport and various teams, it's sad that a team that has seen such a success had to come to its current state.
Hope the new management and capital can help turnaround things.

I agree. It's sad that their under new management now, which means there are no more family-run teams left in the motorsport, but I do hope they find their way back to their former glory.