F1 2019 SEASON: NEWS - RUMOURS

So... well.... it seems Stroll senior has bought a controlling stake in force India. AMuS reporting with others joining in.

 

Another nail in the coffin for Williams then. I hope they survive, they are part of the history of the sport but have made some blunders.

 

No surprise .

 

I support them , but even I can see them either disappearing by 2021 .

Or being bought out ( The name will still vanish though ) .

Notwithstanding Driver talent / lack of .

They have twice the work force of the other small teams , AND they are a PLC , so are beholden to the share holders .

I have stated the above many times before .

Prefect storm .

 

I can't argue with that synopsis, I just wonder how and why, They were there in the pack, well top of the mid pack 2 seasons ago and now this. We know they chased money, did they take their eye off the ball as a consequence? It smells of arrogance of a few, perhaps like McLaren.

 

Not disagreeing with you , but I have read it goes back further than that . When merc the car company and Fiat started backing their teams , it left Williams floundering . But yes , I can fully understand th3 arrogance bit . I suspect that comes from Claire .

Also have you seen the Williams tv clips on you tube . Chandhook interviewing Smedley like it’s a bloody game ?

 

I don't have the slightest sympathy for Williams (except for the members of its tireless but exhausted workforce). Yes, there's arrogance but Claire inherited it from her father.

Despite brief moments of appearing to be heading back in the right direction, the team has repeatedly made decisions amounting to nothing more than short-term solutions. This was even true with the passionately committed Félipe Massa who gave his heart and soul every year despite always being under Frank's guillotine.

Essentially, this has been the long-term fall-out of a terrible decision made long, long ago – which split the team in two and caused a fundamental disagreement between Sir Frank and Sir Patrick, the former always setting out to prove 'his' car was better than his drivers – whilst Patrick understood the need for balance and to show appreciation when merited. In short, Sir Frank turned out to be a Grade C four letter word, sometimes deliberately undermining his own drivers whilst bigging-up those of the opposition and, unfortunately for Claire, the team has reaped the yield of her father's sowing all those years ago.

I sympathise with much of the hard-working Williams staff; but nope, I don't have the slightest sympathy for the man who still lends his name to the team…

[Edited "latter" to "former". (Apologies to Patrick!)]

 

Wow .

That hurts to read , I always thought Sir Patrick was the hard nosed one .

Thanks anyway CC .

Honest answer , can you see a way of recovery for them , or will the name vanish . Or , even worse will the whole lot fold ?

Ps .

Does Sir Patrick have any dealings with the team these days ?

 

Given the old ideology (which in my view, was misguided and out-dated even at the time of its heyday), 'car before driver' which still hangs around like a bad smell, it's difficult to see a way to proper recovery unless the team comes under completely new management. And yes, in the long term, I can see the name vanishing for the same reason. The last real potential Drivers' Championship-winner the team had was Montoya, who in the end became utterly disillusioned with F1 politics – politics first viewed from under Sir Frank's hangar. Once again, the driver did not feel (and in my belief was not) sufficiently supported by his employer at the most critical time in his career.

To my knowledge, after an heroic effort but eventually selling most of his shareholding and finally quitting the team in 2011, Patrick's focus has been with Williams Hybrid Power (flywheel technology designed for commercial use) and is completely unrelated to the F1 team except by name, save that the technology has a valid and marketable claim on being at least vaguely F1 related, since it was pioneered in the Williams F1 car. That said, he is still very much interested in what goes on in and around F1, albeit from the sidelines, as it were.

In the long term, I do not see the whole team losing employment but I believe Williams will eventually be bought out. In this event, if the name is retained, it will be for aesthetic/historic/marketing reasons. I also see the possibility of taking to the grid under a new name. I'll refrain from suggesting any time scale on either hypothesis but I think both scenarios are a long way off yet.

Given the team's illustrious history – and despite my misgivings over its management – it'll be a sad day if it happens. In using the word "if" rather than "when", I'm trying to stay positive for what Williams has meant and contributed to F1.

 

'The car is the star' (but I'm gonna hire Prost, Senna, Piquet and Mansell anyway).

 

Having followed F1 for more years than I care to remember, much of what you have said I can relate too and even remember. There needs to be an acceptance they have screwed up. They have one of the two best engines yet are at the back of the grid. Like any business, if it fails it is the management who are responsible. It is sad to see this.
Felipe was passionate and loyal.
Send in the consultants! They need a disruptive change to get back. But if Lance Stroll's father can't make them see it, who can?.

 

If Williams goes to the wall, it will be a sad day indeed despite the managments blunders over the past couple of decades. They'll be ripe for picking by another manufacturer looking for a ready made team at a bargain basement price, and lets face it, manufacturers are mostly going to be short term residents in the sport. The name will likely be wiped out in whatever plays out.

Call me nostalgic, but I want to see the rise of true independent teams over manufacturers and big corporations again, but it's just not going to happen. I'm bored of the likes of Merc and Red Bull's soulless presence at the top of the sport.

 

You're referring to the decision to replace Hill with HHF for 97 (decided in 1995) against the better judgement of Adrian Newey?

They then end up with 2 drivers incapable of car development, which then just manifested itself year after year. Everytime there was a change in regs, Williams seemed to get close to the front again, only to slide back down the order as others got their act together and Williams development program faultered.

Okay, Hill leaving can only cover some of that in the immediate aftermath of his departure, but it lead to the loss of Newey as well, so the seeds were well and truly sewn.

 

Sergio Marchionne has died.

 

That is sad. He and I were the same age barring a couple of hours.

 

Bloody Hell .

R.I.P.

 

A remarkable man who really made a huge impact to the Fiat group. A really sad loss.

 

Just reading up on him . Turned Fiat & Chrysler around . To manage to do it to one of them is excellent , but both is unreal !

 

Yes.
OK, I'll get this off …
Hmm. No, I won't. [Big edit]

Very sad indeed.
Marchionne was one of the best guys Ferrari ever had…

- - -o0o- - -​

*Frentzen's feedback was the best from those who inherited the Newey/Hill package. Ralf and Villeneuve contributed very little whilst both were heavily overpaid – especially when compared to Frank's hitherto mean standards.

 

I tried to watch it but it didn't hold my attention for the full conversation, not one serious question. Embarrassing.