Yep http://www.espn.com/f1/story/_/id/21931128/mercedes-open-idea-f1-b-team Edit: MB could do this with Force India or Williams. I think Force India is more likely as Williams will likely push back for no real reason. They rather die than sell out imo.
They have enough resources, what they need is better management, ie. someone from outside the family but this will never happen. Toyota outspent everyone by some margin and never managed a win or be more than a mid-field team. BMW never mounted a solid challenge either for all their resources either. Look at Force India on the other hand; they went from being a total back marker as Spyker to solid mid-field in a few years with minimal resources. Who knows, maybe there is hope yet with Paddy Lowe on board. These things take years to fix.
Let's see...Honda's own team couldn't attract a title sponsor. One of the largest car companies on the planet! How would Williams do it? McLaren cannot find a title sponsor. Toyota never found a title sponsor. NO ONE has a title sponsor except for sweetheart deals like Ferrari/Marlboro, or teams that pay for themselves like Red Bull, MB, Haas, and Renault. Williams has and is losing a title sponsor, but they get paid peanuts for it. If you think Williams is sad now, imagine how far off they'd be with a Honda. They can at least improve the chassis. They'd be utterly screwed with a bad chassis AND a bad engine. Why do people think that hitching their trailer to Honda's is going to save anyone? This is the company that tried for years with their own team and failed. They sold it for a pence to Ross Brawn who won with the team the next season! This is the same company that has made zero headway with their new engine in 4 seasons. Honda's engine was a boat anchor in the McLaren and is a boat anchor in the STR. Fernando Alonso was on track to win his first Indy 500 when his engine blew. What engine was it? A HONDA. Budget caps may help to save Williams and F1, not Honda. Most certainly not Honda anything.
Kubica was in the hunt for the title when MT decided to drop development on the current car and focus on the next season's car. This decision is one of the most befuddling things I have ever witnessed.
Oh well then... let me reconsider... Williams has the best engine but is in last place. Lost it's title sponsor for next year They're in last place. Last year they were 5th in the WCC. You're right after all. Things are going to plan for Williams.
No, you are right! LMAO. Hook up with a team that has been nothing but a failure for the last few decades in F1. I mean Honda was such a blazing success that McLaren was second to dead last with them last year and in 2015! In your mind, Honda has the winning formula, and all the teams should run Honda engines for instant success!
Where did I ever say Honda was a path to quick success? I am saying it was their best hope to SURVIVE. You're the one worried that they'd be worse with Honda. My point is they can't be worse than LAST.
That's the way I took your posts Simon^2, survivability....Williams just needs money even though they're sacrificing driver performance. Claire is keeping her head above water from a financial standpoint. Honda, from a financial standpoint, would have helped Williams. I don't know if Honda though would take on another team while with Mclaren.
As you know... Honda and McLaren divorced for 2018. I think Williams should have made a strong play to be Honda's F1 partner for 2018 and beyond. Those belittling Honda are ignoring the fact that they (Williams) turned to Stroll and SirGoSloski to fill the coffers and survive. Call me crazy,... but I think in the long term,... a Honda partnership has more potential upside than Stroll / Sirotkin.
Toto has said that they are "not opposed" to following the Ferrari/Haas model. I think that is a better option for Williams (as opposed to Honda).
Perhaps. My statement about Claire making a mistake not going all out for a Honda partnership was regarding options available then. But as far as today,... Perhaps. If you a "racing" team,... would you rather be the B team for the current WCC,... or the primary team for another mfg. Short term Mercedes would definitely be a better option... likely some podiums would fall your way,... but you will NEVER be WCC. Talk about selling your soul. Sir Frank would have never signed on to be a B-Team.
They outspend Force India and Sauber by some margin. Their lack of results (not even being able to be a consistent mid-field team) in the past few years has been purely down to poor management. Force India turned things around with Bob Fernley and Otmar Szafnauer, Sauber have made a step forward since Frederic Vasseur joined. Williams need a change at the top and Boullier probably should be replaced at McLaren too.
Troubled Williams Left Disappointed after Another Pointless Weekend in Monaco Paul Hensby May 29, 2018 Image Unavailable, Please Login Credit: Octane Photographic Ltd Paddy Lowe was left to reflect on another disappointing day for Williams Martini Racing around the Circuit de Monaco as Sergey Sirotkin and Lance Stroll ended well outside the points on Sunday. Sirotkin was left hampered right from the start after being handed a ten-second stop and go penalty after his tyres were not fitted to his car at the three-minute marker ahead of the race, which was even more depressing as the Russian had started higher up the field than expected and could have been in the fight for the points. Lowe, the Chief Technical Officer of the Grove-based team, admitted the penalty, caused by an unexpected wheel assembly problem, left Sirotkin well adrift of the field and unable to challenge for what would have been Williams’ second top ten finish of the season. “A hugely disappointing day because we’d had a pretty promising weekend so far, certainly with Sergey starting in a better grid position than we’ve had more recently,” said Lowe. “Unfortunately, we suffered a wheel assembly problem on the grid with Sergey’s car which meant we fitted the wheels after the three-minute deadline. Consequently, he was handed a 10-second stop-go penalty which put him half a lap adrift of the pack. “His race was ruined from that point on. He spent the afternoon in that situation suffering constant blue flags. We converted to a two-stop strategy as that is actually the quickest race if you’re not holding a position. It was good to see that he could put in some quick laps at the end whilst in free air.” On the other side of the garage, Stroll was having issues with overheating brakes, which caused not one but two punctures before the team could get on top of the problem, but the problems left him two laps down in seventeenth. “On Lance’s side, he had a puncture on lap nine due to the brakes becoming too hot, which overheated the rim and caused the failure,” said Lowe. “We failed to control that on the second set of tyres and he suffered another puncture. “The issue was managed for the rest of the race, but with so many pitstops and blue flags, Lance was in no position to make any progress.”
Is PL just making excuses for Stroll? Wasn't the first puncture caused when Stroll drove into the back of someone?? Seems like Stroll Sr is running the show and giving talking points. How to demoralize a team... throw you technical team / mechanics under the safetycar to blow smoke providing cover for a hapless driver.
What do expect Paddy Lowe to say? Seriously . . . Given the time and budget, I'm convinced Lowe can improve the car. But, as everyone knows, having two pay drivers and no professional PAID drivers doesn't help. So, the question is . . . what comes first . . . the ostrich or the egg?
Seriously?? If I were a mechanic / engineer I'd be ticked,... The loose nut behind the steering wheel caused the flat tire. Don't blame me / the car (for this one).
No doubt you'd be upset. But, that's life in the big city. The majority of the Williams team didn't put themselves into their current predicament. One lives with and adapts to circumstances they are faced with. In the meantime, a reporter waves a microphone in Paddy Lowe's direction and he puts on his PR face.
Williams is in the same boat as the "independent" teams that are not constructors, IMO, but they are now at the bottom of that league. As long as Williams is a client team, it will not rejoin the winning circles (ditto for McLaren). Apart from Renault which accept to be regularly dominated by his main customer Red Bull, I cannot see either Ferrari or Mercedes allow one of their "client" teams to get the better of them. Possibly the next engine formula will attract an independent engine builder able to supply several teams, like McLaren, Williams, etc.... That may depend on the technical rules, and the cost incurred of course, but Cosworth or Ilmor could be candidates to take that challenge. Aston Martin has also show an interest in backing such a project, but it's early days ...
Williams's head of aerodynamics Dirk de Beer steps down from his role with the F1 team per Autosport.
IMO I think big Frank will have to change his ways and be open to such an arrangement. Otherwise, the team will die a slow, painful death. To some, that's occurring already.
They essentially did that with BMW in the early 2000s...and were fairly successful, but overshadowed by the Schumi/Ferrari domination of the time. That experience probably illustrated the value AND frustration of such a partnership...who knows which of those is remembered more at Williams.
