Former Williams boss recalls when she struggled to ‘keep the lights on’ amid financial crisis

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Williams are enduring a difficult 2024 season. They reached the summer break with just four points on the board, leaving them ninth in the championship.

But while this will be a source of disappointment, particularly after Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant brought home 28 points last year, it wasn’t necessarily expected. Team principal James Vowles overhauled their processes in the winter.

This led to a shortage of parts, with the impact most visible at the Australian GP. Williams didn’t have a spare chassis, leaving them with only one car available when Albon crashed heavily in practice.

Vowles decided to let the Thai driver race in Sargeant’s car for the remainder of the weekend. While that was inescapably embarrassing, Williams do now have a spare available after initially playing catch-up.

They remain in the early stages of a long-term project. But with the backing of Dorilton Capital, they have stability – something they won’t take for granted after the events of recent years.

The Grove outfit are one of F1’s most iconic teams, having won 16 combined championships since entering the sport in 1975. But by 2021, they were reliant on the introduction of the budget gap to secure their long-term future.

Claire Williams says F1 team nearly had to close factory in late 2019

Speaking to Planet F1, Claire Williams reflected on her time in charge of the team. Daughter of the team’s late founder Frank, she was the deputy team principal from 2013 to August 2020.

It was a family-owned operation from 1975 until the Dorilton sale, though the investment firm agreed to keep the name. They arrived at a defining moment, shortly after the struggling team had invited offers.

Williams says she was worried about ‘keeping the lights’ on in the months before the transaction. She feels the outside world wasn’t aware of just how bleak the situation had become.

They struck a title sponsorship deal with ROKiT in early 2019, but the telecommunications company failed to stump up the anticipated payments. Williams had to scrap the partnership with immediate effect in May 2020.

“It was probably the tail end of 2019 when we were having trouble with our title partner and the payments,” she said. “It was at that point, when we weren’t getting the payment for Q1 2020 that I was going, ‘Oh, my God, we don’t have that money, how do we keep the lights on?’

“It was that tight. I think what a lot of people didn’t realise about that time behind the scenes at Williams was how difficult it was just keeping the lights on.”

James Vowles shares ‘nuclear’ fear about Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz

Williams have won the race to sign Carlos Sainz for the 2025 season, a move that Vowles will see as key to their planned resurgence. They now have arguably the strongest line-up in F1’s midfield.

Albon has been utterly dominant against Sargeant, outqualifying him for every single Grand Prix during their partnership. But the arrival of Sainz will force him to up his game.

While Bernie Collins expects Albon to be the team leader at first, the Spaniard should have the upper hand once he adapts, given that he’s a three-time Grand Prix winner. They will both be expected to make sacrifices if necessary in the interests of the team.

Vowles believes Sainz and Albon will strike fear into competitors on the 2025 grid. He also acknowledges that he’s created a ‘small nuclear reaction’, but he hopes it raises standards across the operation.