Williams F1

Aero development per GP, suspension development....basically lack of funds or limited budget to constant develop the car. IMO, they are on a shoe-string budget given the rest of the field.

 

[gptoday] Sirotkin happy to take Kubica's seat.

Currently he's busy as a reserve driver for Renault.

 

Yes, a complete change of philosophy for Claire Williams who has criticised Haas in the past for not being a "proper" constructor, for buying components from different suppliers.
Now the brutal reality hits Williams, and they realise that they cannot maintain all their manufacturing in house.
Standardisation of some components may be the only chance of survival for small independent teams.

 

I thought that Sitotkin's sponsor (SMP) was less than happy with Williams performance last year and severed all links.

 

Claire is yesterday's news.

 

Or for the survival of F1.

 

Yes, I think he's just voicing out loud. Will he actually take Kubica's seat....doubtful.

Latifi is next in line.

 

Yep another Billionaire's son surfs into F1 on a wave of $$$$

 

Well, if Orlen is willing to front the money........I guess.

Orlen looks for another Formula 1 team for Kubica in 2020

The return of the Polish to Formula 1 has been disappointing so far
Robert's sponsor says they have options beyond Williams

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The sponsor of Robert Kubica, Orlen, has dropped that they study to look for a better seat to him to Robert Kubica for the season 2020, after the disappointing return that the Pole has had to the Formula 1 by the low yield of Williams.

The return of Robert Kubica to Formula 1 has not been as his fans expected. Faced with Williams' problems, the Polish sponsor, Orlen, is looking for another seat for next season.

Orlen, who is rumored to contribute ten million euros to Williams, has hinted at a possible departure for the pilot, looking for another better offer in the top category of motorsport.

"This is the job of Robert and Orlen, we have everything on the table and there are such possibilities, " Daniel Obatjek, president of the company, told the Newsroom program of Sports Facts WP and Polstat News.

"We often talk about the subject, a lot depends on the direction Robert takes, after all, he understands the sport well," added Obatjek.

This season is the first of Kubica in the Great Circus after eight years away from the top competition after a serious rally accident.

Given the complicated situation that the team is going through, the only battle they have been able to get into is the one between Robert and George Russell. In the seven races that have been played so far, the debutant George has overtaken Kubica in all, both in qualifying and race, despite being a pilot with much less experience.

In the comparison of all the teams on the grid, the Pole is the one who leaves the worst position in relation to his teammate, a factor that can make the current Williams driver have it more complicated when it comes to finding a seat for him. 2020

https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=https://soymotor.com/noticias/orlen-busca-otro-equipo-de-formula-1-para-kubica-en-2020-965318&prev=search

 

This may be a face saving way for Robert and his sponsor to fade out of F1. If he can't beat Russell than how can he talk to any other team, all of who have drivers who now beat the William's team. At this point there is nothing at Williams to attract any money from anywhere...the car sucks and neither driver is showing any flashes of rising above the car. The only hope for Kubica would be if his sponsor bought him a test drive in a competitor's car and Kubica was faster than the team drivers and maybe broke some amazing lap record.

 

It is easy to sit on the couch and judge but most people do not appreciate the level that F1 drivers are at and the importance of being race seasoned leading up to going racing. Even Schumacher struggled when he returned and George Russell is no slouch who is fresh off several race seasons all at a very high level. As nice as the fairy tale story it would be, Kubica was always going to struggle given his time away. I do not believe for a moment that he has lost any ability with the passage of time nor that his injury is hampering his performance. The fact is his weapons are not razor sharp honed by recent experience and the current testing bans and incredibly limited running the drivers can do (normally with the whole world watching) is making it almost impossible for Kubica to clean off the rust and get him to the level his talents are capable of.

 

FrenchGP 2019

- Kravitz says Robert Kubica could be replaced mid-season by Nicholas Latifi would could be getting a good budget from Sofina. The Latifi's company.

THEN

- Kravitz says that the rumors about Kubica could be swopped midseason was denied by Williams.

 

Given how uncompetitive the Williams car is, I think Kubica should be happy to leave and go find some racing where he'll have fun. Wasn't his other job offer before the Williams deal was as a reserve driver at Ferrari? If I was Kubica I'd be on my knees and begging for a shot at that. Or even see if he could get a ride back in F2...but it makes no sense to keep pounding out laps in the Williams and burning up his sponsor's money on such a disastrous team..

 

Every time there's an update to this thread, I click on it expecting an announcement that Williams has been purchased by an international racing concern based in Botswana.

 

Apparently Paddy Lowe has announced that he is leaving Williams for good.
Maybe one day we will learn more détails about that divorce.

 

There is sure to be an interesting story there! Let’s hope his replacement can turn this car around; or as somebody else said, hang in there but concentrate on 21!

 

The article in Motorsport says that Lowe started at Williams years ago, then migrated to McLaren where he worked for 20 years.
He was then poached by Mercedes but left after 4 years to rejoin Williams as a joint Technical Director/shareholder.
Lowe was successful for most of his career, but his last 2 1/2 years at Williams proved to be disastrous.

 

Nick Nack Paddy Wack!

He doesn't thank Frank or Claire (surprise, surprise):
“After a period of careful reflection I have reached the decision that I will not return to work at Williams,” said Lowe. “I wish all my previous colleagues the very best to meet the challenges ahead, which I am sure they will do.

“I would especially like to thank the Williams fans who are so supportive.”

Deputy team principal Claire Williams added: “We understand and respect the decision Paddy has reached and wish him well for the future“. Suuuuure.........

 

You have to be very PR these days, plus it's a very British attitude not to say intentionally anything that could hurt

 

What happens if Williams just doesn't show up and announces they will not race the rest of the season and need time to regroup. Then they spend the rest of the season on a new car and a new buyer and a new team. Would the new team be allowed back in?

 

No. They would be bounced and ineligible for any constructor payments(should they score any points). Williams would be considered a new team, see the process that Haas endured and that Racing Point circumvented.

 

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/144723/williams-close-to-extending-mercedes-engine-supply

Williams is closing in on a deal to extend its engine supply deal with Mercedes beyond the end of next year, deputy team principal Claire Williams has revealed.

The Grove-based outfit's current contract runs out at the end of 2020, and discussions have already taken place about finalising details to keep the partnership intact into the new era of F1 that begins from 2021.

While there were reports last week that the team had been considering a switch to Renault, Williams is clear that there has been no contact with the French car manufacturer regarding a future engine deal.

Asked by Autosport about the recent rumours regarding the team's engine plans, Williams said: "I saw the speculation. We aren't talking to Renault. We are talking to Mercedes, as you probably expect, and those conversations are going well.

"We hope to be able to conclude a new partnership with them going into 2021. They have been a fantastic partner of ours.

"They have been very, very supportive and everybody knows that Toto [Wolff] started his F1 career at Williams, and as such we have a great relationship with him. I would like that relationship to continue."

She added: "We have always had a great history with Renault but our future is with Mercedes."

 

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/williams-title-sponsor-extension/4492369/

The Williams Formula 1 team has extended its title sponsorship deal with ROKiT from three years to five, taking the relationship to the end of the 2023 season.

 

Good, personally I like Claire and I hope it all works out.
Paddy Lowe was a big mistake but I hope not terminal.

 

Is anyone here close to the team or have any insight as to what is going on ? They are an embarrassment to themselves with no end in sight . They is no way they should consistently be 3 to 4 seconds off the pace of the leading car at just about any track and with all the experience they have accumulated over the years , have not been able to narrow the gap , even a bit . Their finances have obviously been able to weather their futility on track , so what gives ? Thoughts ?