Williams bust, saved by Bernie

[donskar]

I would love to see Williams return to prominence, but I can't see it happening. I'm not sure Williams and Head are the right guys to lead a current day F1 team. Beyond that, it seems pretty clear they are marginal at best in money, men, and facilities.

Whatever, their cars always seem to be just a little off the pace and/or development lags and/or they do well at a few courses but not well at most.

I HOPE they do well this year, but I think it's more likely we'll see Rosberg behind the wheel of another car in 2010 - a red one, I hope.

[mx_tifoso]

Same here, Williams have been here for much too long and contribute a great amount to what Formula One is and has been. But if they don't make it that's just the way it is. But maybe Williams and Head aren't the problem, it's that they don't see past the racing aspect as much as they should, and that would be business (as 'donskar' also noted). Formula One and almost everything, including life, is a business. And without enough sponsors, they'll spend too much out of their own pocket and will ultimately face the door leading outwards, like Honda.

Hopefully the FW31 delivers and is not just a 'pretty face'

And 'donskar', Ferrari have both of their drivers contracted until the end of 2010. If thats who you meant by the red cars .

[xpensive]

I remember in the mid 90s, Briatore explained the difference between Benetton and Williams was that his was a racing team, while Williams was an engineering such.
This was of course true at the time, when Williams spent their money on active suspention and other gizmos such as a CVT system, not realizing that in the cynic world of F1, the latter would be banned before raced. But it paid off on the track.
This is why I fear that Patrick Head might have put all his eggs in the fly-wheel basket over the past year, hoping to "do it again", while sacrificing other aspects of the car due to a limited budget.
Perhaps it's just me, but you could almost tell by the eye that sometimes aerodynamics were not really top priority on some of his cars.

[markpatterson]

interesting im in the USA so im behind you all in Europe Williams MUST stay in F1 and B.E. did the right thing. could this $ advancing get Honda on the grid in 09? i think it would like you said Honda could surely get enough engines together for the year. im a lonely F1 fan here in the USA(NASCAR not 4 me!!)so its a pleasure to learn from these sites

[WhiteBlue]

http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_ ... t_id=36936

Pittpass make the point that Williams' Archilles heal is the high cost of staff compared with relative weak revenues and performance of those people. They have 500 staff like a top 3 team but they do not get above mid field and an occasional podium.

HONDA is an entirely different case. Honda could even afford to stay in F1 but the motivation isn't there due to the layers of egg on the face. That is hard to endure for Japanese. Toyota is making noises that they may pull the plug unless Cologne manages a race win this year.

[timbo]

Well, I wonder how this situation may influence Williams' role in the FOTA?

[Rob W]

The Pitpass article says:

"...since then it has suffered financially and this year it has lost and estimated 33M pounds in sponsorship from Baugur, Lenovo and Petrobras"

and

..we have some good solid sponsorship contracts in place for 2010 which...

Interestingly, I work in corporate partnership with one of the 2010 companies (on this exact project) who already sponsor another team but want to move to a more prime position on a car as well as hitting a more conservative target market in the UK. Williams' history was their best asset - overwhelmingly they're one of the best recognised names in motorsport despite their form in recent years. I wont say who it is (I'd probably lose my job ha ha) but it isn't a two-bit sponsor at all.

It will be out of the bag before mid-season though.

[xpensive]

The piece in Pittpass seems to verify Flavio's statement from 1995, regarding Williams neing an engineering-team more than a racing one, a staff of 700 people?

But to my mind, the team's biggest problem lies in its determination to do things their own way, it worked in the 80s and 90s, but perhaps not in today's corporate world. Examples of that are losing Honda over driver strategy, refusing Newey a more prominent role and BMW to become what Mercedes was to McLaren, which in turn lost them HP as BMW was an important asset in attracting sponsors. If they indeed prioritized the development of a ground-breaking fly-wheel technology, all on their own while being in the red, as well as refusing to lend their car to some theme-park, it's only further evidence.