“We Missed Out by a Year”: Claire Williams Regrets Selling Williams Before Drive to Survive Craze

Having been a part of the F1 grid for 47 years, Williams was run by its founding family until COVID-19 hit. Claire Williams, the daughter of Frank Williams had to sell the team to Dorilton Capital in 2020 due to major financial issues. However, the British executive feels had they somehow found a way to sustain for another year, they would still be owners of her father’s team.

Speaking on the ‘Business of Sport’ podcast, Claire addressed the benefits F1 received from a financial point of view, owing to Netflix’s Drive to Survive. The hype created by the the docu-series brought in a new breed of sponsors, who were willing to shell out hundreds of millions on teams on the grid.

However, Claire and her team were unable to take advantage of the situation, as financial woes rendered it impossible to function for one more year.

“The money flooding into Formula 1 now is insane. And very unfortunately, we missed out on that by a year.”, she said.

Furthermore, the 48-year-old also hailed the cost cap as a reason for teams having financial stability. Until she owned an F1 team, there were no cost cap regulations and teams would spend everything they had to keep in touch with the top teams with big budgets.

But with a limit on maximum expenditure in a season, smaller teams have been able to save up money, improving their financial situation. And that only adds to the Brit’s sorrows.

Four years on, Williams still feels the pain of selling her team

Having sold the team in 2020, Claire is yet to move on from the heartache she suffered at the time. Talking further in the podcast, she detailed how the decision came as a result of the team running out of money. No one from the family wanted to sell the team, but they had no other option. “I will live with the heartbreak of losing it, every single day.”, she said.

Following the Dorilton Capital takeover, the Williams family will be leaving F1 after Monza. The end of an era pic.twitter.com/I0u2DKlK4n

— WTF1 (@wtf1official) September 3, 2020

Notably, a major reason behind the financial woes was the fact that the team’s title sponsor at the time did not pay their due amount. Owing nearly $80 million in total, the sponsors were then taken to court, where they had to pay half the amount as a settlement. However, even that amount remains unpaid.

Currently, Williams is in a decent position with Dorilton Capital steadily investing toward its revival. Under the leadership of James Vowles as the team principal, the Grove-based outfit has outlined plans to overhaul its infrastructure and make a step forward toward the front of the field.