Under the leadership of James Vowles, Williams has begun a process of reorganization and growth aimed at bringing the Grove team back to its former glory after some very challenging seasons. With the transfer of ownership from the Williams family to Dorilton Capital in July 2020, the financial situation has improved, along with performance on the track, culminating so far with seventh place in the Constructors’ standings in 2023. Expectations are higher for the future, and the foundation has been laid with the hiring of numerous high-profile technicians, as well as Carlos Sainz. After years in which one of the two seats was allocated to a pay-driver due to budgetary concerns, starting in 2025, the team will field a top-tier lineup consisting of the Spaniard and the confirmed Alex Albon.
Claire Williams: “In 2020, we ran out of money.”
Claire Williams, daughter of founder Sir Frank and team principal at the time of the transition to Dorilton Capital, reflected on the most difficult moments in the recent history of the British team. As a guest on Bloomberg’s *Business of Sport* podcast, the 48-year-old entrepreneur recalled with bitterness the extremely tough situation she had to face in 2020.
When talking about that year, the first thing that comes to mind is the Covid-19 pandemic, which disrupted everyone’s lives, not just economically. The team’s troubles, however, began for another reason: the decision by title sponsor ROKiT to withdraw from the deal in May. “We ran out of money, to be direct and honest,” Claire began. “That’s what happens when you lose a title sponsor, when they don’t pay. We took them to court and we won. They owe us about £30 million, which is half of what they actually owed us. The court ruled in our favor. Of course, they didn’t pay, and this left a huge gap in our budget for 2020. We were very fortunate that someone came along and filled that gap for us, allowing us to start the season.”
On top of this, the complications caused by Covid delayed the start of the F1 season until July: “We didn’t race until July that year, and when you don’t race, you don’t make money. That was the last nail in our coffin, so it was completely out of our control, unfortunately, the way events unfolded.” – she admitted.
The pain of the sale and gratitude towards Dorilton Capital
Williams, as a team, has been in F1 since 1977, and for Sir Frank’s family, it represents something of immense sentimental value. The need to sell the family jewel for financial reasons obviously carried a heavy emotional toll: “I will live with the pain of having lost it every single day,” Claire admitted. “Selling wasn’t a decision we made as a family because we had had enough of F1 or wanted to cash in. We all wanted to stay. It was our life forever; that was the plan. I wanted to run the team for my son or my grandchildren.”
Dorilton Capital took over this family treasure, but there is no resentment toward the American investment fund. However, Claire Williams admitted she had one small regret about how the deal was handled: “Dorilton represents the kind of people we wanted to sell to. I’m quite disappointed that, as part of the agreement, I didn’t simply say we wanted to keep 5%. However, I’m grateful that Dorilton has taken care of the team, its legacy, and the people we loved and who were our family. We were very fortunate because 2020 was a horrible time for everyone. People weren’t buying companies, and certainly not struggling F1 teams. We were very lucky that these people came along and did exactly that, and that was the best result we could have hoped for.”
Regret over the relationship with Stroll
The difficulties of 2020 came just a few years after the end of the relationship with Lawrence Stroll and his son Lance, who had made his F1 debut with Williams in 2017. The Canadian magnate had already been looking for a team in which to invest heavily for Lance’s career. The opportunity didn’t materialize with Williams, and by mid-2018, a consortium led by Stroll purchased the then-Force India team from Vijay Mallya, laying the foundation for the evolution that led to the current Aston Martin.
The Canadian businessman’s investments have been consistent over the years and have now culminated in the opening of a new technical facility, which will be led by none other than Adrian Newey. The brilliant British designer was crucial in developing the Williams cars that dominated F1 in the 1990s, and Claire believes that his hiring, which involved a significant financial investment, was absolutely the right move: “I think it’s worth it. Adrian is an absolute genius. He spent a lot of time at Williams and brought many of our world titles, along with the team in general. You’ve seen the success he’s had since. That was a brilliant move by Lawrence Stroll. The money that comes from winning the championship is worth whatever he’s paying. He’s that good.”
Reflecting on the fact that Stroll began his F1 journey with Williams represents another great regret for Claire: “It drives me crazy because Lawrence was with us.”
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