Claire Williams recently revealed how tough the going got for the Williams team financially. Founded by her father, the Grove-based team housed drivers such as Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa not too long ago. However, the team did not have money to pay them despite a budget of $158 million.
Appearing as a guest on the Business of Sport Podcast, the former deputy team principal of Williams detailed her team’s woeful financial situation. The now 48-year-old admitted to not being able to meet the expectations of her drivers, which wasn’t a great feeling. She said,
“In my earlier time, I had budget to pay drivers. We had Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas and the expectation was to pay them. In my latter time, we weren’t really paying our drivers and that doesn’t feel good“.
Problems arose for the English team, owing to the no-cost cap barrier at the time. All of the money they had went into the development of their car, leaving behind little money for the rest of the elements necessary to operate an F1 team.
Running out of money, the Williams team eventually started dwindling and soon became the designated backmarker on the grid. They had to switch to pay drivers to ensure the team remained operational and on the grid.
Paying their drivers became the saving grace of Williams
The Williams team was always a team accused of hiring pay drivers over talent. Having now stepped away from the sport, the British executive revealed the accusations to be true.
Running low on money, they hired drivers who had backing from sponsors and were willing to shell out millions to drive in F1. Thus, at one point, Williams had effectively been “selling” their seats.
While the model wasn’t sustainable in the long run, it bought them enough time to find the appropriate buyer. Dorilton Capital ended up buying out the team, freeing Frank Williams’ daughter.
Now, the Grove-based team is doing a much better job. With the cost cap in effect, Williams is becoming more and more financially independent, and finishing races in the points has become a familiar sight for them.
