What has led to Williams struggle in F1?

What has led to Williams struggle in F1?

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Williams

If one talks about a team whose ride has been a roller-coaster in the F1, they have to name Williams. From glorious championship runs in the 90’s to managing only 1 point in the last season, Williams has seen it all. Subsequently, when Dorilton Capital bought the team, it not only marked an end of the misery for Williams Clan, Claire and Sir Frank. But also, denoted the end of an era at Williams. Fanatics suspect what has gone wrong from their championship victory in 1997 to their struggle in 2020? 

Williams was never the same after their engine partners, Renault left them after 1997. Struggling their way through with BMW, Williams couldn’t back a deal with Ferrari. This led to them being even more vulnerable. Though Williams did enjoy little resurgence in the early 2010’s when Claire Williams took the lead of team. Maldonado fetched a famous victory in 2012, drivers Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa secured few podium places.  

Williams struggle and downfall in F1 

“The top end of the grid [was] spending half a billion versus our budget of 120 [million]. And that’s just not a level playing field from the outset and therefore it’s very difficult to try and compete. When you’re in that situation, it’s difficult to claw your way back,” Claire told Spectator in an exclusive interview. 

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“We also had some other difficulties internally with personnel. We were all fighting these very technical, very complex technical regulations that just kept becoming ever more complex season upon season that we were wrestling with and not getting to grips with at Williams.” 

After making some personnel changes, they made some strong progress this season. However, just as when they were on their way up, COVID happened and threatened their existence among other teams. Title sponsors, Rokit, backed out, and they had to look for outside investment. Ultimately, they had to sell to ‘save the team’ to Dorilton Capital. 

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